Tricare to Raise Pharmacy Copays in 2026 While Expanding Coverage for Cancer, Heart Disease, and Pain Treatments

Starting Jan. 1, 2026, military beneficiaries will face higher retail and mail-order prescription costs but gain access to expanded benefits — including new cancer therapies, heart screening procedures, and chronic pain relief technologies.

WASHINGTON | Military service members, retirees, and their families will see higher out-of-pocket pharmacy costs in 2026 under Tricare’s latest update — but they’ll also gain access to expanded medical coverage for cancer, cardiac, and chronic pain treatments, according to a notice published Tuesday in the Federal Register.

The Department of Defense’s Tricare Pharmacy Program will raise copayments for prescriptions filled outside military treatment facilities beginning Jan. 1, 2026, while continuing to provide free prescriptions at on-base hospitals and clinics.

Under the new schedule, 30-day retail prescriptions will remain at $16 for generic medications but will climb to $48 for brand-name drugs. Mail-order prescriptions will cost $14 for generics and $44 for branded medications, while non-formulary drugs will rise to $85 for both retail and mail-order fills.

This marks a 12% to 15.8% increase compared to current copay levels set in early 2024 — part of a broader Congress-approved initiative (2018) requiring patients to gradually shoulder a higher portion of Tricare’s costs.

“The goal is to modernize cost-sharing while improving access to evidence-based treatments for chronic and life-threatening conditions,” a Defense Health Agency (DHA) spokesperson said Tuesday.