Ahead of Veterans Day, Stauber Introduces Bill to Eliminate TRICARE Enrollment Fees for American Heroes

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Days before Veterans Day, Congressman Pete Stauber (MN-08) introduced the Restore TRICARE Select Act to eliminate or cap TRICARE enrollment fees that were placed on American veterans without much warning. Stauber introduced this bipartisan legislation with Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02).

Specifically, this legislation will completely eliminate the TRICARE Select enrollment fees for service members who retired prior to January 1, 2018 and were especially caught off-guard by these new fees. It also caps enrollment fees for veterans who retired after January 1, 2018.

Of his legislation, Congressman Stauber stated, "Despite promises made to America's heroes, President Obama signed legislation that enabled his Department of Defense to place burdensome enrollment fees on military retirees who signed up for TRICARE. This broken promise came as a surprise to American veterans as they were never required to pay for TRICARE before. That's why I am proud to join my colleague Jared Golden in introducing legislation to help correct this wrong and reinstate important healthcare protections for countless veterans."

Read the bill text HERE.

The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), and the American Legion all support this legislation.

BACKGROUND:

TRICARE is a civilian network administered by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) that provides healthcare benefits to active-duty and retired service members, National Guard Reserve Members, and their families when services cannot be provided at a military treatment facility.

Despite promises made to veterans, the FY17 National Defense Authorization Act signed by President Obama approved a request from the DoD to implement enrollment fees for TRICARE Select -- $150 per individual and $300 per family.

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