A bipartisan, MOAA-endorsed bill would accelerate a fix allowing Guard and Reserve members who are also federal employees to enroll in TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS).

The Servicemember Healthcare Freedom Act of 2025 (H.R. 3547/S. 1861) opens TRS to these servicemembers, who are also eligible for the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) program, four years earlier than existing law, allowing them to enroll as of Jan. 1, 2026.

[TAKE ACTION: Ask Your Lawmakers to Support Guard and Reserve Members and Their Families]

The bill would open TRS to approximately 113,000 reserve-component members, including 67,000 dual-status technicians. Per federal statute, they are ineligible for TRS, which offers coverage at a lower out-of-pocket cost than FEHB plans. Enrolling in TRS would save families an estimated $400 per month.

Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.), a former Navy helicopter pilot, and Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), a former intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve, led the House bill. It was also included in a legislative package that aims to improve services and benefits for military families led by Kiggans and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn).

“This bipartisan bill is a commonsense fix that will do a lot for the common good by expanding health care access and choice for National Guardsmen and Reservists who play a critical role in the security of our state and our nation,” Goodlander said in a press release announcing the House bill. “I’m proud to be working with Congresswoman Kiggans to expand access to affordable healthcare and strengthen our military readiness.”

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Blumenthal said that “by easing the financial burden on families and ensuring access to critical health care coverage, our measures will improve the quality of life for thousands of military families.”

Kiggans added, “As a Navy spouse and mom of four, I know the extraordinary sacrifices our military families make to keep our nation safe — and they deserve more than just words of appreciation. That’s why I’ve worked across the Capitol to advance commonsense legislation that improves health care access, protects earned benefits, and provides greater financial security for our servicemembers.”

TRS Access Issues Date Back Decades

Reservists (and their family members) have access to TRICARE while on active duty, but prior to 2005, there was little to no health care coverage authorized for nonactivated reservists or their families.

In response to frequent mobilizations for global operations, Congress began examining reserve-component health care coverage that year and soon enacted a series of expanded health care benefits.

The FY 2005 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) established TRS, a plan that mirrors the benefits and cost-sharing requirements of TRICARE Select. TRS is a premium-based plan. DoD is legally required to subsidize the benefit, with servicemembers paying 28% of the cost in the form of monthly premiums.

[RELATED: MOAA's TRICARE Guide]

Initially, TRS eligibility was limited to certain reservists who had served on continuous active duty in support of a contingency operation. The FY 2007 NDAA expanded eligibility to nearly all Selected Reserve members and their families, but it included a prohibition for those eligible for the FEHB program.

Congress has not explicitly addressed why the prohibition on TRS for FEHB-eligible reservists and their family members was established, but it was reportedly related to potential impacts on FEHB health insurance risk pools and cost implications to federal mandatory and discretionary spending.

MOAA has long supported eliminating the TRS enrollment prohibition on those with FEHB eligibility. The FY 2020 NDAA included a provision to remove the statutory prohibition on TRS eligibility for federal employees, but it does not take effect until Jan. 1, 2030, to avoid mandatory spending offset requirements.

Please join MOAA in urging lawmakers to support an accelerated fix to provide TRS access for FEHB-eligible reserve-component servicemembers.