I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2176

To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide limited TRICARE program 

eligibility for members of the Ready Reserve of the Armed Forces, 

to provide financial support for continuation of health insurance for 

mobilized members of reserve components of the Armed Forces, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 20, 2003

Mr. TURNER of Ohio (for himself, Mr. HOBSON, and Ms. KAPTUR) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Education and the Workforce, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL

To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide limited 

TRICARE program eligibility for members of the Ready 

Reserve of the Armed Forces, to provide financial support for continuation of health insurance for mobilized 

members of reserve components of the Armed Forces, 

and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Guard and 

3 Reserve Comprehensive Health Benefits Act of 2003’’. 

4 SEC. 2. TRICARE COVERAGE FOR MEMBERS OF THE READY 

5 RESERVE. 

6 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—(1) Chapter 55 of title 10, United 

7 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1076a 

8 the following new section: 

9 ‘‘§ 1076b. TRICARE program: coverage for members 

10 of the Ready Reserve 

11 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBILITY.—Members of the Selected Reserve 

12 of the Ready Reserve and members of the Individual 

13 Ready Reserve described in subsection 10144(b) of this 

14 title are eligible, subject to subsection (h)(1), to enroll in 

15 the following TRICARE program options: 

16 ‘‘(1) TRICARE Prime. 

17 ‘‘(2) TRICARE Standard. 

18 ‘‘(b) TYPES OF COVERAGE.—(1) A member eligible 

19 under subsection (a) may enroll for either of the following 

20 types of coverage: 

21 ‘‘(A) Self alone coverage. 

22 ‘‘(B) Self and family coverage. 

23 ‘‘(2) An enrollment by a member for self and family 

24 covers the member and the dependents of the member who 

25 are described in subparagraph (A), (D), or (I) of section 

26 1072(2) of this title. 
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1 ‘‘(c) OPEN ENROLLMENT PERIODS.—The Secretary 

2 of Defense shall provide for at least one open enrollment 

3 period each year. During an open enrollment period, a 

4 member eligible under subsection (a) may enroll in the 

5 TRICARE program or change or terminate an enrollment 

6 in the TRICARE program. 

7 ‘‘(d) SCOPE OF CARE.—(1) A member and the de8 pendents of a member enrolled in the TRICARE program 

9 under this section shall be entitled to the same benefits 

10 under this chapter as a member of the uniformed services 

11 on active duty or a dependent of such a member, respec12 tively. 

13 ‘‘(2) Section 1074(c) of this title shall apply with re14 spect to a member enrolled in the TRICARE program 

15 under this section. 

16 ‘‘(e) PREMIUMS.—(1) The Secretary of Defense shall 

17 charge premiums for coverage pursuant to enrollments 

18 under this section. The Secretary shall prescribe for each 

19 of the TRICARE program options referred to in sub20 section (a) a premium for self alone coverage and a pre21 mium for self and family coverage. 

22 ‘‘(2) The monthly amount of the premium in effect 

23 for a month for a type of coverage under this section shall 

24 be the amount equal to 28 percent of the total amount 
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1 determined by the Secretary on an appropriate actuarial 

2 basis as being reasonable for the coverage. 

3 ‘‘(3) The premiums payable by a member under this 

4 subsection may be deducted and withheld from basic pay 

5 payable to the member under section 204 of title 37 or 

6 from compensation payable to the member under section 

7 206 of such title. The Secretary shall prescribe the re8 quirements and procedures applicable to the payment of 

9 premiums by members not entitled to such basic pay or 

10 compensation. 

11 ‘‘(4) Amounts collected as premiums under this sub12 section shall be credited to the appropriation available for 

13 the Defense Health Program Account under section 1100 

14 of this title, shall be merged with sums in such Account 

15 that are available for the fiscal year in which collected, 

16 and shall be available under subsection (b) of such section 

17 for such fiscal year. 

18 ‘‘(f) OTHER CHARGES.—A person who receives 

19 health care pursuant to an enrollment in a TRICARE pro20 gram option under this section, including a member who 

21 receives such health care, shall be subject to the same 

22 deductibles, copayments, and other nonpremium charges 

23 for health care as apply under this chapter for health care 

24 provided under the same TRICARE program option to de-
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1 pendents described in subparagraph (A), (D), or (I) of sec2 tion 1072(2) of this title. 

3 ‘‘(g) TERMINATION OF ENROLLMENT.—(1) A mem4 ber enrolled in the TRICARE program under this section 

5 may terminate the enrollment only during an open enroll6 ment period provided under subsection (c), except as pro7 vided in subsection (h)(2). 

8 ‘‘(2) An enrollment of a member for self alone or for 

9 self and family under this section shall terminate on the 

10 first day of the first month beginning after the date on 

11 which the member ceases to be eligible under subsection 

12 (a). 

13 ‘‘(3) The enrollment of a member under this section 

14 may be terminated on the basis of failure to pay the pre15 mium charged the member under this section. 

16 ‘‘(h) RELATIONSHIP TO TRANSITION TRICARE COV17 ERAGE UPON SEPARATION FROM ACTIVE DUTY.—(1) A 

18 member may not enroll in the TRICARE program under 

19 this section while entitled to transitional health care under 

20 subsection (a) of section 1145 of this title or while author21 ized to receive health care under subsection (c) of such 

22 section. 

23 ‘‘(2) A member who enrolls in the TRICARE pro24 gram under this section within 90 days after the date of 

25 the termination of the member’s entitlement or eligibility
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1 to receive health care under subsection (a) or (c) of section 

2 1145 of this title may terminate the enrollment at any 

3 time within one year after the date of the enrollment. 

4 ‘‘(i) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Defense, in 

5 consultation with the other administering Secretaries, 

6 shall prescribe regulations for the administration of this 

7 section.’’. 

8 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such 

9 chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating 

10 to section 1076a the following new item:

‘‘1076b. TRICARE program: coverage for members of the Ready Reserve.’’.

11 (b) DEFINITIONS.—(1) Section 1072 of title 10, 

12 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

13 following new paragraphs: 

14 ‘‘(10) The term ‘TRICARE Prime’ means the 

15 managed care option of the TRICARE program. 

16 ‘‘(11) The term ‘TRICARE Standard’ means 

17 the option of the TRICARE program that is also 

18 known as the Civilian Health and Medical Program 

19 of the Uniformed Services’’. 

20 (2) Section 1097a(f) of such title is amended by 

21 striking ‘‘DEFINITIONS.—In this section:’’ and all that fol22 lows through ‘‘(2) The term’’ and inserting ‘‘CATCHMENT

23 AREA DEFINED.—In this section, the term’’. 

24 (c) PERIOD FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—Section 1076b 

25 of title 10, United States Code (as added by subsection 
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1 (a)), shall apply with respect to months that begin on or 

2 after the date that is 180 days after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 3. ALLOWANCE FOR CONTINUATION OF NON-TRICARE 

5 HEALTH BENEFITS COVERAGE FOR CERTAIN 

6 MOBILIZED RESERVES. 

7 (a) PAYMENT OF PREMIUMS.—(1) Chapter 55 of title 

8 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after sec9 tion 1078a the following new section: 

10 ‘‘§ 1078b. Continuation of non-TRICARE health bene11 fits plan coverage for certain Reserves 

12 called or ordered to active duty and their 

13 dependents 

14 ‘‘(a) PAYMENT OF PREMIUMS.—The Secretary con15 cerned shall pay the applicable premium to continue in 

16 force any qualified health benefits plan coverage for an 

17 eligible reserve component member for the benefits cov18 erage continuation period if timely elected by the member 

19 in accordance with regulations prescribed under sub20 section (j). 

21 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE MEMBER.—A member of a reserve 

22 component is eligible for payment of the applicable pre23 mium for continuation of qualified health benefits plan 

24 coverage under subsection (a) while serving on active duty 

25 pursuant to a call or order issued under a provision of 
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1 law referred to in section 101(a)(13)(B) of this title dur2 ing a war or national emergency declared by the President 

3 or Congress. 

4 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED HEALTH BENEFITS PLAN COV5 ERAGE.—For the purposes of this section, health benefits 

6 plan coverage for a member called or ordered to active 

7 duty is qualified health benefits plan coverage if—

8 ‘‘(1) the coverage was in force on the date on 

9 which the Secretary notified the member that 

10 issuance of the call or order was pending or, if no 

11 such notification was provided, the date of the call 

12 or order; 

13 ‘‘(2) on such date, the coverage applied to the 

14 member and dependents of the member described in 

15 subparagraph (A), (D), or (I) of section 1072(2) of 

16 this title; and 

17 ‘‘(3) the coverage has not lapsed. 

18 ‘‘(d) APPLICABLE PREMIUM.—The applicable pre19 mium payable under this section for continuation of health 

20 benefits plan coverage in the case of a member is the 

21 amount of the premium payable by the member for the 

22 coverage of the member and dependents. 

23 ‘‘(e) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The total amount that 

24 may be paid for the applicable premium of a health bene-
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1 fits plan for a member under this section in a fiscal year 

2 may not exceed the amount determined by multiplying—

3 ‘‘(1) the sum of one plus the number of the 

4 member’s dependents covered by the health benefits 

5 plan, by 

6 ‘‘(2) the per capita cost of providing TRICARE 

7 coverage and benefits for dependents under this 

8 chapter for such fiscal year, as determined by the 

9 Secretary of Defense. 

10 ‘‘(f) BENEFITS COVERAGE CONTINUATION PE11 RIOD.—The benefits coverage continuation period under 

12 this section for qualified health benefits plan coverage in 

13 the case of a member called or ordered to active duty is 

14 the period that—

15 ‘‘(1) begins on the date of the call or order; and 

16 ‘‘(2) ends on the earlier of the date on which—

17 ‘‘(A) the member’s eligibility for transi18 tional health care under section 1145(a) of this 

19 title terminates under paragraph (3) of such 

20 section; or 

21 ‘‘(B) the member elects to terminate the 

22 continued qualified health benefits plan cov23 erage of the dependents of the member.

24 ‘‘(g) EXTENSION OF PERIOD OF COBRA COV25 ERAGE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law—
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1 ‘‘(1) any period of coverage under a COBRA 

2 continuation provision (as defined in section 

3 9832(d)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) 

4 for a member under this section shall be deemed to 

5 be equal to the benefits coverage continuation period 

6 for such member under this section; and 

7 ‘‘(2) with respect to the election of any period 

8 of coverage under a COBRA continuation provision 

9 (as so defined), rules similar to the rules under sec10 tion 4980B(f)(5)(C) of such Code shall apply. 

11 ‘‘(h) NONDUPLICATION OF BENEFITS.—A dependent 

12 of a member who is eligible for benefits under qualified 

13 health benefits plan coverage paid on behalf of a member 

14 by the Secretary concerned under this section is not eligi15 ble for benefits under the TRICARE program during a 

16 period of the coverage for which so paid. 

17 ‘‘(i) REVOCABILITY OF ELECTION.—A member who 

18 makes an election under subsection (a) may revoke the 

19 election. Upon such a revocation, the member’s depend20 ents shall become eligible for benefits under the 

21 TRICARE program as provided for under this chapter. 

22 ‘‘(j) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Defense shall 

23 prescribe regulations for carrying out this section. The 

24 regulations shall include such requirements for making an 
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1 election of payment of applicable premiums as the Sec2 retary considers appropriate.’’. 

3 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such 

4 chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating 

5 to section 1078a the following new item:

‘‘1078b. Continuation of non-TRICARE health benefits plan coverage for certain Reserves called or ordered to active duty and their dependents.’’.

6 (b) APPLICABILITY.—Section 1078b of title 10, 

7 United States Code (as added by subsection (a)), shall 

8 apply with respect to calls or orders of members of reserve 

9 components of the Armed Forces to active duty as de10 scribed in subsection (b) of such section, that are issued 

11 by the Secretary of a military department on or after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act.

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