II 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5458 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 30, 2016 

Received 

AN ACT 

To provide for coordination between the TRICARE program 

and eligibility for making contributions to a health savings account, 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 ‘‘Veterans TRICARE 

3 Choice Act of 2016’’. 

4 SEC. 2. COORDINATION BETWEEN TRICARE PROGRAM AND 

5 ELIGIBILITY TO MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS TO 

6 HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 223(c)(1)(B) of the Inter8 nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ 

9 at the end of clause (ii), by striking the period at the end 

10 of clause (iii) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding at the 

11 end the following new clause: 

12 ‘‘(iv) coverage under the TRICARE 

13 program under chapter 55 of title 10, 

14 United States Code, for any period with 

15 respect to which an election is in effect 

16 under section 1097e of such title providing 

17 that the individual is ineligible to be en18 rolled in (and receive benefits under) such 

19 program.’’. 

20 (b) PROVISIONS RELATING TO ELECTION OF INELI21 GIBILITY UNDER TRICARE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 55 of title 10, 

23 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

24 section 1097d the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 1097e. TRICARE program: election of eligibility 

2 ‘‘(a) ELECTION.—Beginning January 1, 2017, a 

3 TRICARE-eligible individual may elect at any time to be 

4 ineligible to enroll in (and receive any benefits under) the 

5 TRICARE program. 

6 ‘‘(b) CHANGE OF ELECTION.—(1) If a TRICARE-eli7 gible individual makes an election under subsection (a), 

8 the TRICARE-eligible individual may later elect to be eli9 gible to enroll in the TRICARE program. An election 

10 made under this subsection may be made only during a 

11 special enrollment period. 

12 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall ensure that a TRICARE13 eligible individual who makes an election under subsection 

14 (a) may efficiently enroll in the TRICARE program pur15 suant to an election under paragraph (1), including by 

16 maintaining the individual, as appropriate, in the health 

17 care enrollment system under section 1099 of this title in 

18 an inactive manner. 

19 ‘‘(c) PERIOD OF ELECTION.—If a TRICARE-eligible 

20 individual makes an election under subsection (a), such 

21 election shall be in effect beginning on the date of such 

22 election and ending on the date that such individual makes 

23 an election under subsection (b)(1) to enroll in the 

24 TRICARE program. 

25 ‘‘(d) HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNT PARTICIPATION.— 

26 (1) For provisions allowing participation in a health savVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:35 Dec 02, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5458.RDS H5458

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1 ings account in connection with coverage under a high de2 ductible health plan during the period that the election 

3 under subsection (a) is in effect, see section 

4 223(c)(1)(B)(iv) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

5 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall submit to the Commissioner 

6 of Internal Revenue the name of, and any other informa7 tion that the Commissioner may require with respect to, 

8 each TRICARE-eligible individual who makes an election 

9 under subsection (a) or (b), not later than 90 days after 

10 such election, for purposes of determining the eligibility 

11 of such TRICARE-eligible individual for a health savings 

12 account described in paragraph (1). 

13 ‘‘(e) RECORDS.—The Secretary shall ensure that a 

14 TRICARE-eligible individual who makes an election under 

15 subsection (a) is maintained on the Defense Enrollment 

16 Eligibility Reporting System, or successor system, regard17 less of whether the individual is eligible for the TRICARE 

18 program during the period of such election. 

19 ‘‘(f) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary 

20 shall provide to each TRICARE-eligible individual who 

21 seeks to make an election under subsection (a) information 

22 regarding— 

23 ‘‘(1) health savings accounts in connection with 

24 coverage under a high deductible health plan de25 scribed in subsection (d)(1), including a comparison 


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1 of such health saving accounts and the health care 

2 benefits the individual is eligible to receive under the 

3 TRICARE program; and 

4 ‘‘(2) changing such an election under subsection 

5 (b)(1). 

6 ‘‘(g) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after 

7 the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to 

8 the congressional defense committees a report on elections 

9 by TRICARE-eligible individuals under this section that 

10 includes the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) The number of TRICARE-eligible individ12 uals, as of the date of the submittal of the report, 

13 who are ineligible to enroll in (and receive any bene14 fits under) the TRICARE program pursuant to an 

15 election under subsection (a). 

16 ‘‘(2) The number of TRICARE-eligible individ17 uals who made an election described under sub18 section (a) but, as of the date of the submittal of the 

19 report, are enrolled in the TRICARE program pur20 suant to a change of election under subsection (b). 

21 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 ‘‘(1) The term ‘TRICARE-eligible individual’ 

23 means an individual who is— 

24 ‘‘(A) eligible to be a covered beneficiary en25 titled to health care benefits under the 


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1 TRICARE program (determined without regard 

2 to this section); and 

3 ‘‘(B) not serving on active duty in the uni4 formed services. 

5 ‘‘(2) The term ‘special enrollment period’ means 

6 the period in which a beneficiary under the Federal 

7 Employees Health Benefits program under chapter 

8 89 of title 5 may enroll in or change a plan under 

9 such program by reason of a qualifying event or dur10 ing an open enrollment season. For purposes of this 

11 section, such qualifying events shall also include 

12 events determined appropriate by the Secretary of 

13 Defense, including events relating to a member of 

14 the armed forces being ordered to active duty.’’. 

15 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 

16 sections at the beginning of chapter 55 of such title 

17 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

18 section 1097d the following new item: 

‘‘1097e. TRICARE program: election of eligibility.’’. 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 subsection (a) shall apply to months beginning after De3 cember 31, 2016. 

Passed the House of Representatives November 29, 

2016. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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