Rep. Luria Reintroduces Health Care Fairness for Military Families Act

VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia, Jan. 26 -- Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Virginia, issued the following news release on Jan. 25:

Congresswoman Elaine Luria and Congressman Michael Waltz (R-FL) introduced the Health Care Fairness for Military Families Act, which would allow TRICARE dependents to remain on their parents' policy until age 26 without a premium increase.

"The Affordable Care Act allows young adults to stay on their parents' health plans until age 26, however, the ACA did not give military families this same benefit," said Congresswoman Luria. "During this public health emergency, it is more important than ever to provide our servicemembers and their families with affordable and accessible health care."

"Our service members have risked everything to protect our nation and preserve our freedoms," said Congressman Waltz. "They should not have to worry about the health and welfare of their families while serving our country. That's why I'm proud to support this legislation to support our military families, provide an additional retention-incentive for our service members, and ensure the children of our troops have the same, equal access to health care as their civilian counterparts."

Under current law, TRICARE dependents are only permitted to stay on their parents' policy until they are 21 years old. If the dependent is enrolled in a full-time course of study at an approved institution of higher learning and the parent provides more than half of the dependent's financial support, the dependent can remain on the TRICARE policy until the age of 23 or until the dependent is out of school, whichever comes first.

Congresswoman Luria's legislation would bring equity to TRICARE beneficiaries by conforming eligibility for dependents with that offered by private insurance plans regulated by the Affordable Care Act. Under the ACA, children up to age 26 can remain on their parents' health insurance plans at no additional out of pocket cost to the dependent.

Congresswoman Elaine Luria represents Virginia's 2nd Congressional District. She serves on the House Armed Services Committee, where she is the Vice Chair of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, where she serves as Chair of the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee, and the House Committee on Homeland Security.