What happens to TFL if I join Medicare Advantage?
You keep TFL — it becomes secondary to the Medicare Advantage plan. Three things change: you must stay in the plan's network (even on a PPO), claims route through WPS with form DD2642 as the backstop, and an MAPD's drug coverage goes primary, ending Express Scripts home delivery.
What stays and what shifts
Your TRICARE eligibility is untouched — TFL simply pays second behind the MA plan for covered services, generally reimbursing in-network cost-sharing. The friction arrives in three places: networks replace TFL's go-anywhere freedom, claims lose their automatic Medicare crossover (providers bill WPS; you file DD2642 within a year when they can't), and pharmacy — the big one — flips if the plan includes drug coverage. The complete mechanics live on the TFL + MA guide.
The configuration that minimizes regret
If MA's extras genuinely earn their place, an MA-only plan leaves Express Scripts untouched as your sole drug benefit — and the creditable coverage SEP exists to move TFL households out of MAPDs into exactly that shape.
Related questions
Does TFL pay my Medicare Advantage copays?
Can I go back to Original Medicare later?
You earned these benefits. Make them work together.
Whether you keep exactly what you have or add Medicare coverage alongside it, the right answer depends on your health, budget, and how you like to get care.
No cost, no obligation. You can also get help from Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), or your local SHIP office.