(a) The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is responsible for regulating eligibility for obtaining medical and dental care under the TRICARE Program, pursuant to 10 U.S.C. chapter 55. The FEDVIP laws at 5 U.S.C. chapter 89A was amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, Public Law 114-328, to allow individuals who were eligible for coverage under the TRICARE Retiree Dental Program (TRDP) in accordance with DOD rules to obtain dental coverage in a FEDVIP dental plan. Public Law 114-328 also added a provision allowing certain individuals who are concurrently enrolled for medical care in specified TRICARE health plans to obtain FEDVIP vision coverage.
(b) Categories of individuals who were eligible for TRDP and who are eligible to be covered under a FEDVIP dental plan are set forth in § 894.802. Categories of individuals who may be covered under specified TRICARE health plans and, if so covered, are eligible to be covered under a FEDVIP vision plan, are set forth in § 894.803. Individuals eligible for FEDVIP coverage are referred to as TRICARE eligible individuals (TEI).
(c)(1) FEDVIP rules provide an enrollee with the right to select:
(i) A dental and/or a vision plan; and
(ii) Type of enrollment that may cover the eligible individual in a self only enrollment or the eligible individual with one or more family members in a self plus one or self and family enrollment.
(2) For TRICARE eligible individuals (TEI), this means that:
(i) If the sponsor is both a TEI and enrolled, the sponsor may be an enrollee and may cover the sponsor and TEI family members under the plan.
(ii) If a sponsor is not eligible to enroll (or pursuant to § 894.309(a)(3)(iii) is not enrolled), a TEI who is a TEI family member may self-certify to serve as enrollee instead, and may cover other TEI family members.
(d) If a FEDVIP dental or vision plan has a specific geographic enrollment area, TEI family members must live or work in that area in order to be enrolled for coverage. An enrollee whose TEI family members are located in different geographic locations may select a plan that is nationwide/international in scope in order to obtain accessible coverage.