I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 58
To restore health care coverage to retired members of the uniformed services. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 7, 2003
Mr. EDWARDS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on 
Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak-
er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju-
risdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To restore health care coverage to retired members of the 
uniformed services.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Keep Our Promise to 
America’s Military Retirees Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) No statutory health care program existed 
for members of the uniformed services who entered
service prior to June 7, 1956, and retired after serv-
ing a minimum of 20 years or by reason of a service-
connected disability. 
(2) Recruiters for the uniformed services are 
agents of the United States Government and em-
ployed recruiting tactics that allowed members who 
entered the uniformed services prior to June 7, 
1956, to believe they would be entitled to fully-paid 
lifetime health care upon retirement. 
(3) Statutes enacted in 1956 entitled those who 
entered service on or after June 7, 1956, and retired 
after serving a minimum of 20 years or by reason 
of a service-connected disability, to medical and den-
tal care in any facility of the uniformed services, 
subject to the availability of space and facilities and 
the capabilities of the medical and dental staff. 
(4) After 4 rounds of base closures between 
1988 and 1995 and further drawdowns of remaining 
military medical treatment facilities, access to 
‘‘space available’’ health care in a military medical 
treatment facility is virtually nonexistent for many 
military retirees. 
(5) The military health care benefit of ‘‘space 
available’’ services and medicare is no longer a fair
and equitable benefit as compared to benefits for 
other retired Federal employees. 
(6) The failure to provide adequate health care 
upon retirement is preventing the retired members 
of the uniformed services from recommending, with-
out reservation, that young men and women make a 
career of any military service. 
(7) Although provisions enacted in the Floyd D. 
Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fis-
cal Year 2001 (Public Law 106–398) extended cov-
erage under the TRICARE program to medicare eli-
gible military retirees age 65 and older, those provi-
sions did not address the health care needs of mili-
tary retirees under the age of 65. 
(8) The United States should establish health 
care that is fully paid by the sponsoring agency 
under the Federal Employees Health Benefits pro-
gram for members who entered active duty on or 
prior to June 7, 1956, and who subsequently earned 
retirement. 
(9) The United States should reestablish ade-
quate health care for all retired members of the uni-
formed services that is at least equivalent to that 
provided to other retired Federal employees by ex-
tending to such retired members of the uniformed
services the option of coverage under the Federal 
Employees Health Benefits program. 
SEC. 3. COVERAGE OF MILITARY RETIREES UNDER THE 
FEDERAL 
EMPLOYEES 
HEALTH 
BENEFITS 
PROGRAM. 
(a) EARNED COVERAGE
FOR CERTAIN RETIREES 
AND DEPENDENTS.—Chapter 89 of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended—
(1) in section 8905, by adding at the end the 
following new subsection: 
‘‘(i) For purposes of this section, the term ‘employee’ 
includes a retired member of the uniformed services (as 
defined in section 101(a)(5) of title 10) who began service 
before June 7, 1956. A surviving widow or widower of 
such a retired member may also enroll in an approved 
health benefits plan described by section 8903 or 8903a 
of this title as an individual.’’; and 
(2) in section 8906(b)—
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘para-
graphs (2) and (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs 
(2) through (5)’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(5) In the case of an employee described in section 
8905(i) or the surviving widow or widower of such an em-
ployee, the Government contribution for health benefits 
shall be 100 percent, payable by the department from 
which the employee retired.’’. 
(b) COVERAGE FOR OTHER RETIREES AND DEPEND-
ENTS.—(1) Section 1108 of title 10, United States Code, 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 1108. Health care coverage through Federal Em-
ployees Health Benefits program 
‘‘(a) FEHBP OPTION.—The Secretary of Defense, 
after consulting with the other administering Secretaries, 
shall enter into an agreement with the Office of Personnel 
Management to provide coverage to eligible beneficiaries 
described in subsection (b) under the health benefits plans 
offered through the Federal Employees Health Benefits 
program under chapter 89 of title 5. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE BENEFICIARIES; COVERAGE.—(1) An 
eligible beneficiary under this subsection is 
‘‘(A) a member or former member of the uni-
formed services described in section 1074(b) of this 
title; 
‘‘(B) an individual who is an unremarried 
former spouse of a member or former member de-
scribed in section 1072(2)(F) or 1072(2)(G); 
‘‘(C) an individual who is—
‘‘(i) a dependent of a deceased member or 
former member described in section 1076(b) or 
1076(a)(2)(B) of this title or of a member who 
died while on active duty for a period of more 
than 30 days; and 
‘‘(ii) a member of family as defined in sec-
tion 8901(5) of title 5; or 
‘‘(D) an individual who is—
‘‘(i) a dependent of a living member or 
former member described in section 1076(b)(1) 
of this title; and 
‘‘(ii) a member of family as defined in sec-
tion 8901(5) of title 5. 
‘‘(2) Eligible beneficiaries may enroll in a Federal 
Employees Health Benefit plan under chapter 89 of title 
5 under this section for self-only coverage or for self and 
family coverage which includes any dependent of the mem-
ber or former member who is a family member for pur-
poses of such chapter. 
‘‘(3) A person eligible for coverage under this sub-
section shall not be required to satisfy any eligibility cri-
teria specified in chapter 89 of title 5 (except as provided 
in paragraph (1)(C) or (1)(D)) as a condition for enroll-
ment in health benefits plans offered through the Federal 
Employees Health Benefits program under this section.
‘‘(4) For purposes of determining whether an indi-
vidual is a member of family under paragraph (5) of sec-
tion 8901 of title 5 for purposes of paragraph (1)(C) or 
(1)(D), a member or former member described in section 
1076(b) or 1076(a)(2)(B) of this title shall be deemed to 
be an employee under such section. 
‘‘(5) An eligible beneficiary who is eligible to enroll 
in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program as an 
employee under chapter 89 of title 5 is not eligible to en-
roll in a Federal Employees Health Benefits plan under 
this section. 
‘‘(6) An eligible beneficiary who enrolls in the Federal 
Employees Health Benefits program under this section 
shall not be eligible to receive health care under section 
1086 or section 1097. Such a beneficiary may continue 
to receive health care in a military medical treatment facil-
ity, in which case the treatment facility shall be reim-
bursed by the Federal Employees Health Benefits pro-
gram for health care services or drugs received by the ben-
eficiary. 
‘‘(c) CHANGE OF HEALTH BENEFITS PLAN.—An eli-
gible beneficiary enrolled in a Federal Employees Health 
Benefits plan under this section may change health bene-
fits plans and coverage in the same manner as any other
Federal Employees Health Benefits program beneficiary 
may change such plans. 
‘‘(d) GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTIONS.—The amount 
of the Government contribution for an eligible beneficiary 
who enrolls in a health benefits plan under chapter 89 of 
title 5 in accordance with this section may not exceed the 
amount of the Government contribution which would be 
payable if the electing beneficiary were an employee (as 
defined for purposes of such chapter) enrolled in the same 
health benefits plan and level of benefits. 
‘‘(e) SEPARATE RISK POOLS.—The Director of the 
Office of Personnel Management shall require health bene-
fits plans under chapter 89 of title 5 to maintain a sepa-
rate risk pool for purposes of establishing premium rates 
for eligible beneficiaries who enroll in such a plan in ac-
cordance with this section.’’. 
(2) The item relating to section 1108 at the begin-
ning of such chapter is amended to read as follows:
‘‘1108. Health care coverage through Federal Employees Health Benefits pro-
gram.’’.
(3) The amendments made by this subsection shall 
take effect on January 2, 2004.
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