MENU Overview Impacts nearly 35,000 Service members in 43 MHAs and 82 other locations in the Continental United States.
Index points range from one to nine.
MHAs, a collection of zip codes, are determined and defined by the BAH program. Other non-MHA areas are also considered as eligible for the program based on costs for cities, townships, or urban areas in the vicinity. Indexes are adjusted annually based on new cost data. Availability and average savings members enjoy through use of Government supported commissary and exchange services are provided by those services based on periodic price comparison studies. Utilization rates for commissary and exchange facilities are obtained from living pattern surveys conducted approximately once every three years by the Per Diem, Travel and Transportation Allowance Committee through the Defense Manpower Data Center.