Tricare Dependent Coverage Extension Act

Floor Speech

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, our brave men and women in uniform sacrifice so much for our Nation, and it is our duty to keep our promise that they have the benefits that they deserve and have earned through their service.

I know that many are familiar with the sentiment that a veteran, whether active duty, retired National Guard, Reserve, is someone who at one point in his or her life wrote a blank check made payable to the United States of America for an amount of up to and including their life.

We all know that the families of our men and women in uniform share the burden of this service to our Nation. To ease this burden, I introduced H.R. 4923, the TRICARE Dependent Coverage Extension Act.

H.R. 4923 would ensure that our Nation's troops and military retirees are able to provide health coverage to their dependent children up to the age of 26. This is one of the most popular provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the health insurance overhaul that Congress passed and that President Obama signed into law last month.

However, health insurance for our Nation's military servicemembers, retirees, and their families is under the control of the U.S. Department of Defense, so this benefit for dependent children was not extended to military families.

Contrary to some misinformation we've heard, TRICARE was not altered, changed, modified in any way by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The good news is that H.R. 4923 would now provide dependent children of military families with the same benefits given to civilian children. Specifically, this bill would amend Title 10 to change the maximum age of coverage for children from 23 to 26, and it would take effect October 1 of this year.

Currently, in order for dependent children to remain in the TRICARE system, they need to be attending college full time and only up to the age of 23. However, the new policy in H.R. 4923 would allow all dependent children to be covered until age 26, whether or not they're full-time students.

I'm proud to tell you that that bill is supported by a growing number of veterans' service organizations, including the Military Officers Association of America, the National Guard Association of the United States, and the Air Force Association.

Mr. Speaker, allowing parents to provide health coverage to their dependent children is just one way we can show our military families how much we appreciate them. With each individual who generously dedicates their life to military service, there is a significant impact on those closest to them. We know this especially well in New Mexico where we have a long and proud tradition of military service.

Each time a soldier leaves home, they leave behind caring husbands and wives, loving sons and daughters, worried parents and whole communities that remain concerned for their safety. Our military families stand behind our troops and lift them up. They make significant sacrifices just like our servicemembers do.

Let's honor their service to our Nation by ensuring that their health coverage meets the same standard that we have set for the rest of America and nothing less.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to cosponsor this important legislation.

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