For too many servicemembers, retirees, their families, caregivers, and survivors, navigating the military health system means encountering significant barriers to care. Whether the problem occurs at military treatment facilities (MTFs) or within the TRICARE civilian provider network, beneficiaries often lack a consistent, clear, and widely understood way to report an access problem, ensure it reaches the right resource, and know what happens after they raised the concern.

That needs to change.

Together with a group of military and veterans service organizations, MOAA recently led a letter urging Congress to preserve a key provision in the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) version of the FY 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would give military health system patients a better way to report and track access to care problems.

[TAKE ACTION: Ask Your Lawmakers to Address Military Care Access Problems]

Section 701 of the SASC version requires a digital system that would enable TRICARE beneficiaries to electronically file a complaint, raise awareness about an issue, or provide positive feedback about access to care at military hospitals/clinics or through the TRICARE network. The system would route complaints to the appropriate patient resource and allow beneficiaries to track the status of their submission.

Not only would this system direct patients to assistance, but the increased visibility on beneficiary-level access problems should drive improvements through more effective oversight and greater accountability.

[READ THE LETTER]

Bipartisan Momentum for a Better Reporting System

Section 701 builds on bipartisan efforts already underway in Congress in the form of H.R. 6796 – the Military Care, Access, Reporting, and Evaluation (Military CARE) Act. The NDAA language mirrors this bipartisan House bill supported by MOAA and many other stakeholders, but expands to include access to care complaints in the TRICARE network along with those in MTFs.

Together, these efforts reflect bipartisan, bicameral recognition that existing problem reporting options are fragmented, inconsistent, and insufficient to ensure beneficiaries receive timely assistance when they encounter barriers to care. They also underscore the need for Congress and the Defense Health Agency to have greater visibility on beneficiary access challenges to ensure the military health system is properly funded to deliver on both the medical readiness and benefit provision missions.

Improving the way beneficiaries report and track access problems will not, by itself, solve every challenge facing the MHS. However, it is an important step toward a system that is adequately funded, responsive, and accountable.

Access to timely, high quality health care is essential to military readiness and quality of life, and it is a core part of the nation’s commitment to those who serve. Your voice matters – please urge your lawmakers to support this important legislation.