I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7081 

To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to submit to Congress 

a report on lapses in coverage under the TRICARE program for certain 

members of the National Guard and reserve components. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 1, 2020 

Mr. ROUDA (for himself, Mr. GREEN of Tennessee, Mr. CISNEROS, Ms. FOXX

of North Carolina, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. NORTON, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. 

AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. PAPPAS, Mrs. 

RADEWAGEN, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. RYAN, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. CASE, 

Mr. BABIN, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. CORREA, Mr. HARDER of California, 

Mr. MCGOVERN, and Mr. CA ́RDENAS) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to 

submit to Congress a report on lapses in coverage under 

the TRICARE program for certain members of the National Guard and reserve components. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Our 

5 Servicemembers’ Care Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REPORT ON LAPSES IN TRICARE COVERAGE FOR 

2 MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL GUARD AND RE3 SERVE COMPONENTS. 

4 (a) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

5 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of 

6 the United States shall submit to the appropriate congres7 sional committees a report containing an analysis of each 

8 of the following: 

9 (1) Any lapses in coverage under the TRICARE 

10 program for a member of a reserve component that 

11 occurred during the eight year period ending on the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act and were caused 

13 by a change in the duty status of such member, in14 cluding an identification of the total number of such 

15 lapses. 

16 (2) The factors contributing to any such lapses, 

17 including— 

18 (A) technological factors, including factors 

19 relating to outdated systems; 

20 (B) human errors in processing changes in 

21 duty status; and 

22 (C) shortages in the level of administrative 

23 staffing of the National Guard. 

24 (3) How factors contributing to any such lapses 

25 were identified under paragraph (2) and whether ac26 tions have been taken to address the factors. 


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1 (4) The effect of any such lapses on— 

2 (A) the delivery of health care benefits to 

3 members of the reserve components and the eli4 gible dependents of such members; or 

5 (B) force readiness and force retention. 

6 (5) The parties responsible for identifying and 

7 communicating to a member of a reserve component 

8 issues relating to eligibility under the TRICARE 

9 program. 

10 (6) The methods by which a member of a re11 serve component, an eligible dependent of such mem12 ber, or the Secretary of Defense may verify the sta13 tus of enrollment in the TRICARE program regard14 ing the member before, during, and after a deploy15 ment of the member. 

16 (7) The comparative effectiveness, with respect 

17 to the delivery of health care benefits to a member 

18 of a reserve component and eligible dependents of 

19 such member, of— 

20 (A) continuing the current process by 

21 which a previously eligible member must transi22 tion from coverage under TRICARE Reserve 

23 Select to coverage under TRICARE Prime after 

24 a change to active service in the duty status of 

25 such member; and 


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1 (B) establishing a new process by which a 

2 previously eligible member may remain covered 

3 by TRICARE Reserve Select after a change to 

4 active service in the duty status of such mem5 ber (whether by allowing a previously eligible 

6 member to pay a premium for such coverage or 

7 by requiring the Federal Government to provide 

8 for such coverage). 

9 (8) Whether the current process referred to in 

10 paragraph (7)(A) negatively affects the delivery of 

11 health care benefits as a result of transitions be12 tween network providers. 

13 (9) The actions necessary to prevent future oc14 currences of such lapses, including legislative ac15 tions. 

16 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 (1) The term ‘‘active service’’ has the meaning 

18 given that term in section 101(d) of title 10, United 

19 States Code. 

20 (2) The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com21 mittees’’ means the congressional defense commit22 tees (as defined in section 101(a) of title 10, United 

23 States Code) and the Committees on Veterans’ Af24 fairs of the House of Representatives and the Sen25 ate. 


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1 (3) The term ‘‘eligible dependent’’ means a de2 pendent of a member of a reserve component— 

3 (A) described in subparagraph (A), (D), or 

4 (I) of section 1072(2) of title 10, United States 

5 Code; and 

6 (B) eligible for coverage under the 

7 TRICARE Program. 

8 (4) The term ‘‘previously eligible member’’ 

9 means a member of a reserve component who was el10 igible for coverage under TRICARE Reserve Select 

11 pursuant to section 1076d of title 10, United States 

12 Code, prior to a change to active service in the duty 

13 status of such member. 

14 (5) The terms ‘‘TRICARE Prime’’ and 

15 ‘‘TRICARE program’’ have the meanings given 

16 those terms in section 1072 of title 10, United 

17 States Code. 

18 (6) The term ‘‘TRICARE Reserve Select’’ has 

19 the meaning given that term in section 1076d(f) of 

20 title 10, United States Code. 

Æ 


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