Sponsors (33)
The bill creates a limited, transparent pilot to offer fixed-indemnity cancer supplements to TRICARE beneficiaries while containing federal costs, but it shifts costs and risk to service members and dependents and narrows state consumer protections and market competition.
Active-duty service members and their TRICARE-enrolled dependents can enroll in supplemental fixed-indemnity cancer plans that provide set payments for cancer-related costs, giving them an additional financial tool to manage cancer expenses.
The pilot requires price negotiation, publication of enrollment/benefits/costs on the TRICARE portal, and a three-year report with enrollment and use-case data, improving price transparency and producing evidence to inform whether to continue or expand the benefit.
The pilot structure prevents federal subsidies for plan premiums, limiting immediate federal spending exposure and reducing near-term taxpayer outlays associated with the program.
Enrollees could still face significant uncovered medical bills because fixed-indemnity plans pay set amounts and do not coordinate benefits with other health coverage.
Beneficiaries may need to pay additional premiums out of pocket because the pilot disallows federal subsidies for plan premiums, increasing their personal healthcare costs.
Preemption of most state insurance laws (except licensing/solvency) could limit state consumer protections that would otherwise apply to these plans, reducing protections for beneficiaries.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a DOD pilot letting active-duty service members and TRICARE dependents enroll in fixed indemnity plans for cancer-related costs not covered by TRICARE.
Creates a Department of Defense pilot that lets active-duty service members and their TRICARE-enrolled dependents buy fixed indemnity supplemental plans to pay for cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment costs that TRICARE doesn’t cover. The Secretary of Defense must select up to two licensed companies to offer these plans, set rules for enrollment (including payroll deduction), publish plan details on the TRICARE portal, and report to congressional defense committees within three years. The pilot must be in place by September 30, 2026, runs under at-most five-year limits unless made permanent, and may not use appropriated funds to subsidize plan premiums.
Introduced May 1, 2025 by Brian Jack · Last progress May 1, 2025