Does Tricare cover eating disorder treatment?

Tricare is the health care program for uniformed service members, retirees, and their families, not a commercial insurer. It covers eating disorder treatment, but it works differently from an employer plan: it is administered region by region, and rules around referrals and authorizations depend on which Tricare plan you have. This page explains how Tricare coverage generally works for eating disorder treatment and how to verify your benefits.

Does Tricare cover eating disorder treatment?

Yes. Tricare covers medically necessary eating disorder treatment across levels of care for eligible beneficiaries.¹² Because it is a government program rather than a commercial plan, the way you access care, referrals, authorizations, and which providers participate, follows Tricare's own rules rather than a typical insurer's.

What to know about Tricare for eating disorder treatment

• It is regional. Tricare is run region by region, and the company that manages your region handles authorizations and provider networks.³
• Plan type matters. Plans like Tricare Prime and Tricare Select differ in whether you need referrals and authorizations and in how you access specialty care.⁴
• Active duty has specific rules. Active-duty service members generally have additional requirements for accessing care, often coordinated through their command and military treatment facilities.
• Medical necessity still drives coverage of higher levels of care. Medical-necessity determinations should align with generally accepted standards of care for eating disorder treatment.⁵

Levels of care

When treatment is medically necessary, Tricare can cover the continuum, outpatient, intensive outpatient, partial hospitalization, residential, and inpatient or medical stabilization. Your region's Tricare plan approves the higher levels, and on Tricare Prime you will usually need a referral to reach specialty eating disorder care, while Tricare Select gives more direct access.

Verifying your Tricare benefits

Tricare's rules depend on your region and plan, so the surest step is to have a program handle the referral and authorization for you. Call the number here and a licensed eating disorder program will check your Tricare coverage, your region's referral and authorization requirements, and whether it participates. For how authorization and cost-shares work in general, see verifying your insurance.

Finding a program that accepts Tricare

Not every eating disorder program takes Tricare, and a program can confirm participation and your region's rules when it verifies your benefits. Search the directory and call to speak with a licensed eating disorder facility. EDrehab is not a Tricare provider; the licensed eating disorder programs we connect you with bill Tricare directly.