U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH) on May 25 proposed a bipartisan bill to provide lower-cost TRICARE health coverage specifically designed for retired military reserve personnel.
“With everything our National Guard and Reserve members do for us, the least we can do is ensure that when they finish their service to our country and retire, they are not forced to wait up to ten years before being eligible for the less costly TRICARE healthcare plans they have earned,” Rep. Johnson said. “We owe it to them to get this legislation across the finish line and signed into law.”
Rep. Johnson sponsored the TRICARE Fairness for National Guard and Reserve Retirees Act, H.R. 3668, alongside lead original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) to permit Retired Reserve personnel (former National Guard and Reserve members) who are not yet age 60, but are receiving retirement pay, to purchase the lower-cost TRICARE coverage, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
Under current law, Reserve Component personnel may retire before age 60, but not before 50, based on active-duty performance. At that time, they are eligible for the TRICARE Retired Reserve plans, but not the cheaper TRICARE healthcare plans, the summary says.
“When Congress authorized a reduction in the retirement age to below 60 for our National Guard and Reserve members in 2008, it erred by not ensuring that eligibility ages for the TRICARE Standard, TRICARE Extra, and TRICARE Prime healthcare plans were also lowered,” said Rep. Johnson. “This bipartisan legislation would align the age that many Retired Reserve personnel begin receiving retired pay with the age at which they become eligible for the less costly TRICARE healthcare plans.”
Companion legislation is being sponsored by U.S. Sens. J.D. Vance (R-OH) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in the U.S. Senate, according to Rep. Johnson’s staff.
“Providing affordable, high-quality health care should be the very minimum standard of support afforded to our service members, especially those in the National Guard and Reserve who have earned early retirement,” said Rep. Phillips. “H.R. 3668 brings our nation one step closer to this goal, which is why I am proud to have introduced it alongside Rep. Johnson.”
The measure is supported by the Reserve Organization of America, the Military Officers Association of America, and the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States.