Tricare Reserve Select Cost: Average Rates & What Drives Them

TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) is a premium-based health plan for members of the Selected Reserve. Unlike TRICARE plans tied to active duty, the enrollee pays a monthly premium, then an annual deductible and cost-shares when care is used. Those three pieces make up what the plan costs in a year.

The premium is the largest and most predictable part. It depends on coverage level, and TRICARE resets it each calendar year. The deductible depends on the member's pay grade, and a yearly cap limits how much a family pays in covered cost-shares. The figures below come from TRICARE.mil, checked on Oct 14, 2026.

For 2026, member-only coverage costs $57.88/mo. Coverage for the member and family costs $286.66/mo. Enrolling family members therefore multiplies the premium several times over, which is the main reason families compare it against other options.

TRICARE publishes the following year's premiums ahead of time. For 2027, member-only coverage is listed at $60.54/mo and member and family coverage at $307.48/mo. If you are budgeting across a calendar-year boundary, use the later figures for the months after January.

Premiums are only part of the bill. TRS also has an annual deductible, which you pay before the plan begins sharing costs for most covered services. The deductible is lower for pay grades E-1 through E-4 than for E-5 and above, and each grade band has an individual and a family amount.

The catastrophic cap limits the cost-shares a family pays in a year. TRICARE lists it at $1,324 per family for TRS. Premiums are paid separately from the cap, so a full year of premiums adds to the total on top of it.

Most of the variation comes from a short list of factors:

• Coverage level. Member-only and member-and-family premiums are separate rates, and the gap between them is large.
• Pay grade. The deductible differs between E-1 to E-4 and E-5 and above.
• Network use. TRICARE cost-shares are lower with network providers. Non-network care is billed as a percentage of the allowed amount, so it can cost more.
• How much care you use. Once the deductible is met, copayments and cost-shares apply to each visit, and the cap stops them for the year.
• The calendar year. Premiums are reset each January, so last year's figure is not a safe guide.

The monthly premium buys the plan, not free care. Expect to pay the deductible, copayments for office visits, urgent care and emergency visits, and cost-shares for hospital stays. TRICARE publishes the current copayment for each type of visit on its health plan costs page. Dental and vision are separate programs, so check TRICARE.mil for how those are offered and priced.

Start with twelve months of premiums at your coverage level. Add the deductible for your pay grade. Then add a realistic number of visits at network copayments, and compare the total with the catastrophic cap for your family. The cap sets a ceiling on cost-shares for planning.

TRS is for members of the Selected Reserve. TRICARE.mil says you do not qualify if you are on active duty orders for more than 30 days, covered under the Transitional Assistance Management Program, or eligible for the Federal Employees Health Benefits program on your own. Eligibility and enrollment are checked through DEERS, so confirm your record is correct before you apply.

For questions about which plan fits your situation, contact TRICARE directly or speak with a benefits advisor at your unit. This page covers costs only and is not a plan recommendation.