To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish a pilot program regarding treating pregnancy as a qualifying event for enrollment in TRICARE Select.

Bill: 118-hr-10129
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7]
Introduced: 2024-11-14
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Latest action: action_date: 2024-11-14
text: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.

Summaries:

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 10129 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES November 14, 2024 Ms. Sewell (for herself and Mr. Kim of New Jersey ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish a pilot program regarding treating pregnancy as a qualifying event for enrollment in TRICARE Select.

1. Pilot program to treat pregnancy as a qualifying event for enrollment in TRICARE Select (a) Establishment Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall commence a five-year pilot program under which the Secretary shall treat pregnancy as a qualifying event under section 1099(b)(1)(B) of title 10, United States Code, for enrollment in TRICARE Select by an eligible beneficiary. (b) Initial briefing Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall provide to the appropriate congressional committees a briefing on the status of the pilot program under subsection (a). (c) Annual report Not later than one year after the Secretary commences the pilot program under subsection (a), and annually thereafter for the next four years, the Secretary shall provide to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the pilot program. Each such report shall include the number of covered enrollment changes, disaggregated by— (1) month, beginning with January 2026; and (2) whether the eligible beneficiary made such covered enrollment change— (A) because the eligible beneficiary is a member of the uniformed services who separated from active duty; (B) because the eligible beneficiary is a member of the uniformed services who returned to active duty; (C) because the eligible beneficiary is a dependent of a member of the uniformed services who separated from active duty; (D) because the eligible beneficiary is a dependent of a member of the uniformed services who returned to active duty; or (E) based on the treatment, under the pilot program, of pregnancy as a qualifying event for enrollment in TRICARE Select. (d) Definitions In this section: (1) The term covered enrollment change means a change to a previous election by an eligible beneficiary under subsection (b)(1) of section 1099 of title 10, United States Code, to enroll in a health care plan designated under subsection (c) of such section. (2) The term eligible beneficiary means an individual who is eligible to enroll in TRICARE Select under section 1075(b) of title 10, United States Code. (3) The terms TRICARE program and TRICARE Select have the meanings given such terms in section 1072 of title 10, United States Code. (4) The term appropriate congressional committees means— (A) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives; (B) the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; (C) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives; and (D) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate.