By MOAA Government Relations Staff

MOAA-backed protections for health care access, improvements to medical staffing procedures, and expanded support for currently serving members and their families are part of the more than 3,000 pages that make up the must-pass defense policy bill as it begins the final stages to becoming law.

MOAA is reviewing the full text of the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to determine how its provisions may affect servicemembers, families, retirees, veterans, and the broader uniformed services community. Below, you’ll find a recap of some of the key provisions of interest to MOAA.

The negotiated language, attached to an existing Senate bill (S. 1071), passed the House on Dec. 10 by a 312-112 margin. The bill now returns to the Senate, which can advance the measure by passing the identical text without further amendment. Once both chambers approve the same language, the bill proceeds to the president for signature.

Key Provisions: Currently Serving

Pay Matters: A 3.8% increase to base pay across the board, a mandate to provide transparency on the calculation of the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), and an increase in Family Separation Allowance to $300 a month, up from $250.

PCS Report: The conference bill adopts the provisions of the House NDAA requiring the Pentagon to determine the extent of unreimbursed expenses servicemembers incur when they move to a new duty location. These include terminating utilities at old duty stations, security deposits at new duty stations, credit card charges associated with moves, costs associated with finding new employment for spouses, and pet relocation, among many others. Congress is looking to determine the impact on retention when there are so many ancillary tasks associated with frequent PCS moves.

[RELATED: Bipartisan Bill Would Make Veterans, Military Spouses More Attractive Hires]

Expansion of Individual Longitudinal Exposure Record (ILER): To enhance collaboration between the Pentagon and the VA with respect to a servicemember’s medical record, the NDAA charges the Secretary of War with creating a data system accessible via web portal that will highlight the occupational and environmental exposures associated with specific servicemembers.

Reestablishment and Expansion of Women’s Initiative Teams: Similar to the Barrier Analysis Working Group (BAWG) organized by the Air Force in previous years, the NDAA requires the Pentagon to create a Women’s Initiative Team in each DoW branch to assess the issues faced by women in service. These teams will propose legislative and policy changes to increase the recruitment and retention of women in the armed services.

 

[RELATED: NDAA Clears Path for MOAA Member to Receive Medal of Honor]

 

Key Provisions: Retirees and Veterans

Improved Transition Assistance: The NDAA enhances requirements for preseparation counseling for transitioning servicemembers and provides opportunities for reserve component members to waive such a requirement, if applicable. It also improves counseling pathways to account for family-life elements such as a need for child care, the employment status of other adult household members, and the location of the transitioning servicemember.

 

Dependent Transition Assistance: The NDAA establishes a pilot program for spouses of transitioning servicemembers to receive preseparation counseling at five installations, to include at least one outside the continental U.S.

 

[RELATED: Transition and Career Resources From MOAA]

 

Key Provisions: Families and Survivors

Child Safety at Child Development Centers (CDCs): The bill requires the Pentagon to establish regulations for notification of a parent or guardian of a child who is the suspected victim of child abuse at a CDC within 24 hours.

 

Extension of In-Home Child Care Pilot: Existing fee assistance for in-home child care would continue until Dec. 31, 2029.

 

Deployment-Related Support: Along with the $50 monthly increase in Family Separation Allowance (see Currently Serving provisions, above), the bill authorizes $20 million for programs to support families of deployed servicemembers in areas such as employment counseling, suicide prevention, housing advocacy, and financial counseling.

 

[RELATED: Military Families Continue to Struggle With Off-Base Housing Costs]

Helping Military-Connected Students: The bill authorizes $50 million in Impact Aid funds to support local educational agencies (LEA) with higher concentrations of military-connected students, and another $20 million for LEAs with significant numbers of military children with severe disabilities.

 

Privatized Housing Safety: The NDAA establishes a pilot program to assess and implement emerging technologies for moisture control and mitigation in privatized housing, and would require the establishment of common guidelines for the remediation of mold in military housing, facilities, and other DoW-controlled property.
 

Key Provisions: Health Care

Medical Billet Cuts and Military Treatment Facility (MTF) Restructuring: The bill would extend the MOAA-supported halt to medical billet cuts (included in the FY 2023 NDAA) to 10 years. It also expands notification requirements for any MTF restructuring plans to include endorsements from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (that the proposed modification will have no effect on operational requirements) and the surgeon general (that the proposed modification will have no effect on training or readiness of military medical personnel), along with an assessment from the director of the Defense Health Agency that explains how servicemembers and beneficiaries will continue to receive care.

 

[RELATED: Major Change for TRICARE Coverage of Breakthrough Alzheimer’s Drug]

Medical Personnel Assignment: The bill addresses MTF staffing, provider readiness, and access to care by requiring a Pentagon plan to prioritize the assignment of active duty medical and dental personnel at these facilities.

 

Specialty Care Access: The distance required to access the TRICARE Prime Travel Benefit for active duty servicemembers and their families who must travel to access specialty care would drop from 100 miles to 75.

 

[RELATED: MOAA's TRICARE Guide]

 

Provider Credentialing: The bill includes legislative language from the MOAA-supported DOCS Act requiring a centralized credentialing system to speed up MTF provider license verifications and ensure providers meet continuing medical education requirements.  

 

MTF/VA Resource Sharing: The NDAA directs action plans to increase utilization, case volume/complexity, and enrolled veteran access at MTFs with excess capacity or space, including cross-credentialing of health care providers to jointly care for veterans in MTFs and VA facilities, expedited access to military installations for enrolled veterans, and a secure complaint mechanism for veterans to report concerns about care received.

Next Steps

As the NDAA moves toward final passage, MOAA is actively engaging with lawmakers and their staffs to highlight the provisions most important to the uniformed services community and the need to complete the NDAA without further delay.

 

Many of the authorities established and renewed annually by this bill — including special pays, bonuses, and key quality-of-life programs — expire at the end of December. Finishing the bill before that deadline avoids unnecessary lapses and ensures continuity for our nation’s servicemembers, families, retirees, veterans, and survivors.

Keep up with the latest on this legislation and other bills of interest at MOAA’s Legislative Action Center.