Extended Tricare for children still in limbo - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Extended Tricare for children still in limbo

Most parents all over the U.S. are eligible starting today to use their health insurance to cover their children up to age 26, but military families are left out because Congress has yet to pass bipartisan legislation that would extend the same benefit to those using Tricare.

The House and Senate versions of the 2011 defense authorization bill include similar provisions opening Tricare to children of service members and retirees who are under the age of 26 and are not eligible for other health coverage. But the defense bill is deadlocked in the Senate over unrelated issues, creating doubt about when or even if the bill might become law.

Under current law, Tricare covers unmarried children up to age 23 if they are full-time college students and up to age 21 if they are not.

The coverage gap for Tricare families is disappointing military family advocates.

“We deeply regret Tricare is lagging behind the private sector,” said Kathy Moakler of the National Military Family Association.

Robert Price of the Air Force Sergeants Association said he is working with Sens. Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawaii, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, to pass Tricare legislation to extend coverage to older children without higher premiums. That would cost about $171 million a year for about 80,000 policies.

Price said an Akaka-Collins bill possibly could pass as separate legislation rather than being attached to the annual defense bill.

If the law is changed, the Tricare Management Agency would still have to come up with rules for the extended coverage, which could take several months. Coverage would not be free under the pending legislation, but monthly premiums have not been determined.

Moakler said she still hopes that Congress might decide to waive the extra premiums because private-sector workers who have family coverage from their employers are not being asked to pay a higher premium if they cover an older child.

Similarly, Congress has not passed legislation extending CHAMPVA health insurance to cover children up to age 26.

The military and veterans health programs were excluded from Patient Rights and Affordable Care Act, which became law in April, in response to complaints that some of the provisions of health care reform could interfere with these programs or raise costs. A downside from being exempt is that some of the benefits, such as covering older children, also did not apply to Tricare and CHAMPVA beneficiaries.