[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 278 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 278

  To restore health care coverage to retired members of the uniformed 
                               services.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 7, 2001

 Mr. Johnson (for himself, Mr. Bingaman, and Ms. Snowe) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                             Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To restore health care coverage to retired members of the uniformed 
                               services.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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 makes the following findings:
            (1) No statutory health care program existed for members of 
        the uniformed services who entered service prior to June 7, 
        1956, and retired after serving 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 employed 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 dental 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, without 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 Fiscal Year 2001 (Public 
        Law 106-398) extended coverage under the TRICARE program to 
        medicare eligible military retirees age 65 and older, those 
        provisions did not address the health care needs of military 
        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 program for members who entered active duty on 
        or prior to June 7, 1956, and who subsequently earned 
        retirement.
            (9) The United States should reestablish adequate health 
        care for all retired members of the uniformed services that is 
        at least equivalent to that provided to other retired Federal 
        employees by extending 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 ``paragraphs (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 employee, 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 Dependents.--(1) Section 1108 
of title 10, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 1108. Health care coverage through Federal Employees 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 uniformed services 
        described in section 1074(b) of this title;
            ``(B) an individual who is an unremarried former spouse of 
        a member or former member described in section 1072(2)(F) or 
        1072(2)(G) of this title;
            ``(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 section 
                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 section 
                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 member or former member who is a family member for 
purposes of such chapter.
    ``(3) A person eligible for coverage under this subsection shall 
not be required to satisfy any eligibility criteria specified in 
chapter 89 of title 5 (except as provided in paragraph (1)(C) or 
(1)(D)) as a condition for enrollment in health benefits plans offered 
through the Federal Employees Health Benefits program under this 
section.
    ``(4) For purposes of determining whether an individual is a member 
of family under paragraph (5) of section 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 enroll 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 of this title. 
Such a beneficiary may continue to receive health care in a military 
medical treatment facility, in which case the treatment facility shall 
be reimbursed by the Federal Employees Health Benefits program for 
health care services or drugs received by the beneficiary.
    ``(c) Change of Health Benefits Plan.--An eligible beneficiary 
enrolled in a Federal Employees Health Benefits plan under this section 
may change health benefits 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 benefits plans under chapter 89 of 
title 5 to maintain a separate risk pool for purposes of establishing 
premium rates for eligible beneficiaries who enroll in such a plan in 
accordance with this section.''.
    (2) The item relating to section 1108 at the beginning of such 
chapter is amended to read as follows:

``1108. Health care coverage through Federal Employees Health Benefits 
                            program.''.
    (3) The amendments made by this subsection shall take effect on 
January 1, 2002.
                                 <all>