The Health Insurance Marketplace was created as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010. The primary combined goal of the ACA and the Marketplace is to provide affordable health care to all Americans. The ACA also strives to reduce the costs of healthcare in the U.S. by implementing advanced and increasingly efficient healthcare delivery systems.
Another goal of the ACA is to make access to affordable health insurance fair and understandable to every American consumer, including U.S. Veterans and active-duty service members.
TRICARE insurance is one way the Marketplace helps support the availability of quality insurance to active and/or retired U.S. Military personnel and their applicable families. TRICARE is the program for military insurance programs that are designed to meet the standards as set forth by the ACA and all Marketplace regulations.
This means out-of-pocket expenses are capped accordingly in each plan, and each plan is required to provide a minimum specific amount of essential coverage options. While all TRICARE plans meet all Marketplace standards, the overall program is actually managed by the U.S. Defense Health Agency via the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs.
Military health insurance is essential to the wellbeing of U.S. military personnel across the nation and around the world. TRICARE provides standard health plans but it also provides special programs.
These programs include dental plans, prescription coverage, autism care, clinical cancer trials, chiropractic services and more. Applying for TRICARE online is easy and convenient to do. Simply enter your zip code to begin the process. People with no online access are able to call TRICARE to begin the application process as well.
There are numerous TRICARE plans from which to choose. It is even possible to compare TRICARE coverage options with those offered through the Marketplace to find the best health insurance plan for you.
