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Once you become eligible for Medicare Part B, which happens when you reach the 24th month of being rated 100-percent disabled by the Social Security Administration (not DoD or the VA,) you must enroll in Medicare Part B to keep TRICARE eligibility, with one exception: Medicare-eligible active duty servicemembers and/or their Medicare-eligible Social Security Disability Insurance family members enrolled in a TRICARE Prime option are allowed a special enrollment period for the servicemember’s remaining time on active duty. They can delay their enrollment in Medicare Part B until their service retirement or medical retirement. People in this situation must request an active duty certificate of creditable coverage from the Defense Manpower Data Center Support Office to use the special enrollment period. But they must enroll in Medicare Part B before they retire or are medically retired from active duty or receive activation orders to avoid a break in medical coverage and a Medicare penalty. It is highly advisable to accept Medicare when it is offered and pay the monthly enrollment fee early and start paying Medicare premiums when servicemember retires