[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7081 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7081

  To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to submit to 
 Congress a report on lapses in coverage under the TRICARE program for 
     certain members of the National Guard and reserve components.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 1, 2020

Mr. Rouda (for himself, Mr. Green of Tennessee, Mr. Cisneros, Ms. Foxx 
 of North Carolina, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Norton, Mr. Young, Mr. 
Austin Scott of Georgia, Mr. McNerney, Mr. Pappas, Mrs. Radewagen, Mr. 
   Lynch, Mr. Ryan, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Case, Mr. Babin, Mr. 
 Fitzpatrick, Mr. Correa, Mr. Harder of California, Mr. McGovern, and 
Mr. Cardenas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to submit to 
 Congress a report on lapses in coverage under the TRICARE program for 
     certain members of the National Guard and reserve components.

    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 ``Protecting Our Servicemembers' Care 
Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. REPORT ON LAPSES IN TRICARE COVERAGE FOR MEMBERS OF THE 
              NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVE COMPONENTS.

    (a) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 
containing an analysis of each of the following:
            (1) Any lapses in coverage under the TRICARE program for a 
        member of a reserve component that occurred during the eight 
        year period ending on the date of the enactment of this Act and 
        were caused by a change in the duty status of such member, 
        including an identification of the total number of such lapses.
            (2) The factors contributing to any such lapses, 
        including--
                    (A) technological factors, including factors 
                relating to outdated systems;
                    (B) human errors in processing changes in duty 
                status; and
                    (C) shortages in the level of administrative 
                staffing of the National Guard.
            (3) How factors contributing to any such lapses were 
        identified under paragraph (2) and whether actions have been 
        taken to address the factors.
            (4) The effect of any such lapses on--
                    (A) the delivery of health care benefits to members 
                of the reserve components and the eligible dependents 
                of such members; or
                    (B) force readiness and force retention.
            (5) The parties responsible for identifying and 
        communicating to a member of a reserve component issues 
        relating to eligibility under the TRICARE program.
            (6) The methods by which a member of a reserve component, 
        an eligible dependent of such member, or the Secretary of 
        Defense may verify the status of enrollment in the TRICARE 
        program regarding the member before, during, and after a 
        deployment of the member.
            (7) The comparative effectiveness, with respect to the 
        delivery of health care benefits to a member of a reserve 
        component and eligible dependents of such member, of--
                    (A) continuing the current process by which a 
                previously eligible member must transition from 
                coverage under TRICARE Reserve Select to coverage under 
                TRICARE Prime after a change to active service in the 
                duty status of such member; and
                    (B) establishing a new process by which a 
                previously eligible member may remain covered by 
                TRICARE Reserve Select after a change to active service 
                in the duty status of such member (whether by allowing 
                a previously eligible member to pay a premium for such 
                coverage or by requiring the Federal Government to 
                provide for such coverage).
            (8) Whether the current process referred to in paragraph 
        (7)(A) negatively affects the delivery of health care benefits 
        as a result of transitions between network providers.
            (9) The actions necessary to prevent future occurrences of 
        such lapses, including legislative actions.
    (b) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``active service'' has the meaning given that 
        term in section 101(d) of title 10, United States Code.
            (2) The term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means 
        the congressional defense committees (as defined in section 
        101(a) of title 10, United States Code) and the Committees on 
        Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 
        Senate.
            (3) The term ``eligible dependent'' means a dependent of a 
        member of a reserve component--
                    (A) described in subparagraph (A), (D), or (I) of 
                section 1072(2) of title 10, United States Code; and
                    (B) eligible for coverage under the TRICARE 
                Program.
            (4) The term ``previously eligible member'' means a member 
        of a reserve component who was eligible for coverage under 
        TRICARE Reserve Select pursuant to section 1076d of title 10, 
        United States Code, prior to a change to active service in the 
        duty status of such member.
            (5) The terms ``TRICARE Prime'' and ``TRICARE program'' 
        have the meanings given those terms in section 1072 of title 
        10, United States Code.
            (6) The term ``TRICARE Reserve Select'' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 1076d(f) of title 10, United States 
        Code.
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