Active-duty service members (ADSMs) are required to have regularly scheduled eye exams to stay fit for duty. Patients who have TRICARE Prime Overseas can get eye exams at a military hospital or clinic, unless a primary care manager refers them to a civilian provider. For patients with TRICARE Prime Remote, eye exams can be obtained from any network optometrist or ophthalmologist, but patients may need a referral. Patients can also see a non-network provider with approval from a regional contractor, as is the case with those with TRICARE Prime Remote Overseas.
“Tending to your vision is an important part of supporting an overall healthy lifestyle,” said Jeannine Pickrell, MS, RN, director for Population Health and Disease Management, TRICARE Health Plan at the Defense Health Agency, in a recently issued statement about vision healthcare.1 “Taking care of your eye health throughout your life can help preserve your vision as you age.”
Active-duty family members (ADFMs) may be eligible for TRICARE-covered eye exams, depending on beneficiary status, health plan, and age. TRICARE covers the following:
- One eye exam per year for ADFMs
- One eye exam every 2 years for children aged 3 to 6 years as part of the well-childcare benefit
TRICARE covers 1 eye exam every 2 years for retirees and their family members enrolled in TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Young Adult Prime.
TRICARE covers glasses or contact lenses to treat certain conditions, like infantile glaucoma; however, if the patient is:
- An ADSM or activated National Guard or Reserve member: They may be able to get glasses from a military hospital or clinic’s optometry department, or they may be eligible to order through the Naval Ophthalmic Readiness Activity (NORA) Yorktown
- A retiree: They may be eligible to order glasses from NORA Yorktown. To see if a patient is eligible, visit the NORA Yorktown webpage
Patients may also qualify for vision coverage through FEDVIP.
Reference
- TRICARE Communications. Keep an Eye on Your Vision Health With TRICARE. June 10, 2025. Accessed June 17, 2025. https://newsroom.tricare.mil/News/TRICARE-News/Article/4210858/keep-an-eye-on-your-vision-health-with-tricare