MEDIPLUS® TRICARE SUPPLEMENT INSURANCE PLAN — WHAT IS IT AND WHY DO I NEED IT?

MEDIPLUS is a TRICARE supplement insurance plan that helps pay the cost-shares, copayments, and excess charges TRICARE leaves on your plate. Out-of-pocket medical bills can add up fast, and MEDIPLUS is built specifically to help close that gap.

You may think of MEDIPLUS as a supplement that picks up where TRICARE cost-shares and copayments leave off, and that’s true, but it’s only part of the picture. The plan also has a handful of additional features that often go unnoticed, even by members who’ve carried the coverage for years, and a few of them might change how you think about who it covers and what it’s actually worth to your family.

A Quick MEDIPLUS Refresher

MEDIPLUS pairs with TRICARE Select or TRICARE Prime, and you choose the version that fits your situation: a TRICARE Select In- and Outpatient Plan, an Inpatient Only Plan, or a TRICARE Prime Supplement. From there, it works quietly in the background, often more extensively than members realize.

Reserve Select and Retired Reserve Have Options Too

MEDIPLUS isn’t limited to TRICARE Select and TRICARE Prime. If you’re covered under TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) or TRICARE Retired Reserve (TRR), MOAA offers a MEDIPLUS supplement built specifically for those plans, with the same core job: helping cover costshares, copays, and excess charges once your deductible is met.

That matters because TRS and TRR function more like commercial PPOs than TRICARE Prime, and both carry their own annual catastrophic cap. If you’re someone who reaches that cap most years, or comes close, a MEDIPLUS supplement built for your specific plan can meaningfully reduce your out-of-pocket costs.

Electronic Claims: You May Never Have to File Anything

One of the most underappreciated parts of MEDIPLUS is its electronic claims process, referred to as DirectClaim. In most situations, once TRICARE processes and pays its portion of a claim, MEDIPLUS automatically picks up where TRICARE left off, with no separate claim form, no mailing receipts, and no waiting on hold to ask “did you get my paperwork?”

For you, that means one less administrative task during what’s often already a stressful time, whether that’s after surgery, a hospital stay, or simply a string of doctor visits. You’ll know your claim has been filed electronically because it’s noted directly on your MEDIPLUS Explanation of Benefits (EOB). A few claim types fall outside this automatic process, including prescription claims, most skilled nursing or nursing home claims, and claims filed from overseas, but for the bulk of everyday medical claims, the system is built to work without you lifting a finger.

The 15% Excess Benefit: Reimbursement Beyond What TRICARE Allows

Here’s a benefit that’s easy to miss simply because it’s a bit technical: MEDIPLUS pays up to 15% above the TRICARE-allowed amount for covered excess charges. In practical terms, if a TRICARE-authorized doctor charges more than what TRICARE recognizes as the allowable amount, which can happen depending on the provider and the type of care, MEDIPLUS is designed to help close that specific gap, not just the standard cost-share.

This is the kind of benefit you may never notice until you need it, and then you’re glad it’s there. Excess charges aren’t always obvious on a bill, which is part of why this feature tends to go unrecognized. It works automatically alongside your existing cost-share coverage, so there’s nothing extra you need to do to activate it.

Coverage for Your Spouse and Children, Even If You Opt Out

This is the feature most members are surprised to learn: your spouse and children remain eligible for MEDIPLUS coverage even if you, the member, choose not to enroll yourself.

Why does this matter? Families don’t always have identical health coverage needs. Maybe you’re healthy and feel like you can manage your own cost-shares, but your spouse has more frequent medical visits, or your children need predictable, supplemental coverage for routine pediatric care. With MEDIPLUS, you’re not forced into an all-or-nothing decision for the household. You can tailor coverage to the people who need it most, when they need it, even if that doesn’t include you. It’s one of the more flexible aspects of the MOAA TRICARE Supplements lineup, and it’s easy to overlook if you’ve only ever thought of MEDIPLUS as “your” plan rather than your family’s.

Coverage That Grows With Your Family

MEDIPLUS also extends coverage at exactly the moments families need it most: when a child transitions into adulthood, or when a child’s care needs extend beyond childhood.

Young Adult Coverage. TRICARE eligibility for dependent children typically ends at 21 (or 23 for full-time students). If your child enrolls in TRICARE Young Adult to help bridge the gap, they can keep their MEDIPLUS supplement too, all the way until age 26.
Special Needs Coverage. Most dependent children age out of standard coverage around 21, but children with disabilities can retain their MEDIPLUS coverage beyond that point, providing continuity through an already complex caregiving journey.

If either of these applies to your family, it’s worth understanding before you need to rely on it.

Why These Features Matter Now

None of this changes what MEDIPLUS fundamentally does: helping cover the TRICARE cost-shares and copayments that can otherwise catch your family off guard. What it does change is how complete a picture you have of the plan. Healthcare costs have continued to climb in recent years, and unplanned medical expenses can put additional financial strain on families. In a 2026 West Health-Gallup survey, roughly one-third of U.S. adults said they had made at least one trade-off with daily living expenses to afford healthcare, highlighting the kind of financial gap a supplement like MEDIPLUS is meant to help soften. [1]

If you’ve had MEDIPLUS for years and assumed you already knew everything it offered, hopefully one of these features gave you something new to think about, for yourself, your spouse, or your kids. If you don’t currently have MEDIPLUS, these are exactly the kinds of details that can be easy to miss when comparing a supplement on cost alone.

Take the Next Step*

Whether you’re considering MEDIPLUS for the first time or just want to make sure your spouse and children are getting full advantage of the coverage available to them, it’s worth a closer look. Compare plan options available through MOAA to find the coverage that fits your family’s needs today and the needs that might come up down the road.

[1] Ellyn Maese, “One-Third of Americans Cut Back to Cover Healthcare Expenses,” Gallup, March 11, 2026.

*All benefits are subject to the terms and conditions of the policy. Policies underwritten by Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company detail exclusions, limitations, and terms under which the policies may be continued in force or discontinued.

Underwritten by Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company, Hartford, CT 06155

TRICARE Form Series includes GBD-3000, GBD-3100, or state equivalent.