Veterans TRICARE Choice Act of 2016
Floor Speech
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Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise today in support of H.R. 5458, the Veterans TRICARE Choice Act of 2016. This legislation, introduced by the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Stewart), addresses a gap in current law which prevents veterans and their families with TRICARE coverage who also choose to participate in a high-deductible health plan from utilizing a health savings account, or HSA.
While veterans or their family members who participate in TRICARE may also have private health insurance coverage, including high-deductible plans, they are prohibited from contributing to an HSA affiliated with a high-deductible plan. In order to contribute to an HSA under current law, an individual must permanently renounce their TRICARE eligibility because no mechanism to allow reenrollment currently exists.
H.R. 5458 addresses this issue by allowing certain TRICARE-eligible individuals to voluntarily pause their TRICARE coverage for a period of time in which they choose to contribute to an HSA. The bill also creates special enrollment periods should these individuals choose to reenroll in TRICARE at a later date.
Our veterans devoted their lives to defending our freedoms. We should not allow arbitrary, bureaucratic obstacles to stop them from making the best healthcare choices for themselves and their families. This bill creates a mechanism to improve veterans' health coverage options and provides them greater opportunities to save toward their own healthcare needs. It also ensures patients can be more engaged in their own care while eliminating the inconsistency in our Tax Code.
I applaud the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Stewart) for bringing us this good idea today. I urge support.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to again thank Mr. Stewart for his efforts. This is a good bill that, as the gentlewoman from Hawaii mentioned, will help many folks--certainly, those that she has heard from and I know others have as well. I support more veterans having more options. I support the bill's passage and urge my colleagues to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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