More Guard and Reserve members will be eligible for transitional health care coverage after leaving a period of active service under revised Pentagon policy released Aug. 10, and some who were denied such coverage could receive retroactive benefits.

The Transitional Assistance Management Program (TAMP) provides 180 days of premium-free health and dental coverage to eligible servicemembers leaving active service and their families. This includes members of the reserve component who served on active duty for at least 30 days under certain types of orders.

A servicemember “does not need to demonstrate that his or her service period was substantively connected in some way to a war, a contingency operation, or a national emergency” to be eligible for the program, according to an Aug. 10 Pentagon memo. Those eligible under this revision who have been denied TAMP since April 24, 2020, can request reimbursement for medical costs that would have been covered under the program.

[RELATED: MOAA-Backed Program Will Expand Fertility Options for Military Families]

Servicemembers who believe they may be eligible for reimbursement can email the Defense Health Agency at dha.san-diego.healthcare-ops.mbx.thp-eligibility-adj@health.mil, according to the memo.

Ongoing Lawsuit

Previous policy required the orders to be coded as “in support of a contingency operation” in the Pentagon’s personnel system, according to an ongoing class action lawsuit spearheaded by Lt. Cmdr. Anthony Gontarz, USNR, a MOAA Life member. Gontarz served nearly four years on active duty orders but was denied TAMP benefits. The lawsuit notes that the coding requirement “does not appear in statute” and amounts to an “extra-statutory policy” that unfairly denies the benefit to eligible Guard and Reserve members.

The class action suit was filed on behalf of Gontarz by the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) and Dechert LLP. It will remain active as the Pentagon rolls out the policy change, an NVLSP official told MOAA via email.

“We encourage MOAA members denied TAMP on or after April 24, 2020, because their orders lacked the required contingency-operation coding to now ask DoD to review their eligibility and, if eligible, seek reimbursement for certain health-insurance premiums and out-of-pocket health-care expenses,” NVLSP Senior Managing Attorney Esther Leibfarth wrote in the email. NVLSP maintains a list of answers to frequently asked questions regarding the case and the policy change.

The suit, filed in April in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was first reported by Stars and Stripes in May. The Pentagon policy change was first reported by Federal News Network.