Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

Childhood Cancer Lantern
Search Saved

Federal, exists in every state

Extra care at home through TRICARE ECHO

Official name: TRICARE Extended Care Health Option (ECHO)

Up to $36,000 a year for extra support through ECHO. Active-duty families pay a monthly share by rank. Home health care has a separate cap.

Up to $36,000 a year of extra help at home, for a monthly share.

Program details

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Keep DEERS records current, enroll in EFMP and ask the contractor for an ECHO review. Get each service approved before it starts.

Your social worker

Coordinates with the military case manager and documents the unmet needs at home.

The care team

Writes the certification that leaving home places the child at medical risk, with the immunosuppression dates, and the functional description.

Who decides
The TRICARE regional contractor (services) and the sponsor's service (EFMP)
Ask your social worker
“Can you connect us with the TRICARE cancer case manager? Will the oncologist document any medical risk from leaving home for the ECHO review?”

How to apply

First step: Call the regional contractor: East 1-800-444-5445 or West 1-888-874-9378. Ask for cancer case management and an ECHO review; enroll in EFMP through the sponsor's service.

  1. Call the regional contractor and ask for cancer case management and an ECHO review.
  2. Enroll in EFMP through the sponsor's service.
  3. Get the oncologist's written medical-risk certification.
  4. Get each service pre-approved before it starts.

Where it starts: Regional contractor: East 1-800-444-5445, West 1-888-874-9378. EFMP through the sponsor's service

What to gather

  • military eligibility records (DEERS) and EFMP paperwork
  • The oncologist's written certification of medical risk if the child leaves home, with the immunosuppression dates
  • A list of the home services or equipment requested

How long: Registration and each approval run on the contractor's time limit. Do not delay ordinary oncology referrals while ECHO is reviewed.

What a yes looks like

ECHO registration and named service approvals with the monthly cost share.

What a no looks like, and the next move

“Does not meet the extraordinary-condition definition”: ask which element failed (homebound certification, EFMP, sponsor status) and resubmit with the oncologist's letter.

Watch out

  • Cancer alone is not the test. The oncologist must certify in writing that leaving home puts the child at medical risk (the under-18 homebound rule). A bare “ALL, on chemotherapy” application paperwork can fail.
  • EFMP enrollment is generally required, with specified exceptions. ECHO registration and advance approval for each service are separate; registration is not retroactive.
  • ECHO also includes certain transitional beneficiary groups. Ask the regional contractor to check the child's exact status rather than rely only on the sponsor's current employment label.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 7, 2026.

What it is worth

Up to $36,000 per calendar year for ECHO services, plus ECHO Home Health Care under its own cap, for a monthly cost share from $25 to $250 by rank.

  • $25/month (only in months ECHO is used) — Monthly cost share, sponsor pay grade E-1 to E-5
  • $250/month (only in months ECHO is used) — Monthly cost share, sponsor pay grade O-10

Covers: Home nursing (ECHO Home Health Care, separate fiscal-year cap) · Respite care · Durable equipment · Training for the family · Case management

Legal protection: No enrollment fee · For a child under 18 the homebound test is met by a physician's written certification of medical risk

What it costs the family: A monthly cost share by sponsor pay grade ($25 for E-1 to E-5, up to $250 for O-10), charged only in months ECHO is used.

The eligibility facts, as published

Sponsor status
active-duty family member or another beneficiary group listed by TRICARE, subject to plan and qualifying-condition requirements
Efmp enrollment required
Generally required; TRICARE lists exceptions that the contractor or USFHP must confirm
Echo registration required
yes
Preauthorization required
yes
Qualifying condition
an extraordinary physical or psychological condition; for a child under 18 the homebound test is a physician’s written certification that leaving home places the child at medical risk
Annual cap usd
36000

Decisions this site cannot make: Sponsor status and DEERS · EFMP enrollment · ECHO qualifying condition · Service approval

Expect friction on: Three separate offices (service EFMP, regional contractor, treating team) · Preauthorization per service

The trap: Cancer alone is not the test. For a child under 18 the homebound rule is a doctor's written certification that leaving home puts the child at medical risk. A bare “ALL, on chemotherapy” application paperwork can fail.

What changes by state: Nothing. The regional contractor (East or West) handles it.

Where I read this

← Pick your state