FY21 NDAA Update
The Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is moving full steam ahead despite COVID. The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) will conduct its Subcommittee Mark-ups during the week of June 8. All Subcommittee Mark-ups, except for the Personnel Subcommittee, are closed to the public. The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) will conduct its NDAA Mark-ups later in the month of June. As one of the largest Congressional Committees, HASC staff are working to identify safe locations and procedures to successfully host its marathon mark-up hearing. COVID should not impact the FY21 NDAA from being passed by Congress and signed by POTUS by the end of the calendar year.
Call to Action
Representatives Joe Cunningham and Steven Palazzo introduced H.R. 6967 the, “Support our National Guard Act” to provide members of the National Guardsmen and their families with six months of TRICARE medical coverage following federal Title 32 active duty statuses. Senators Joe Manchin and Joni Ernst introduced its counterpart language, S. 3713.
“Our National Guard men and women have been called upon, once again, by the nation’s leadership to help combat the novel coronavirus pandemic in America. The risks are great; so are the hazards. By definition, Hazardous Duty Incentive Pay is a monetary incentive for volunteers who perform hazardous duty based upon the inherent dangers of that duty and the risks of physical injury. EANGUS agrees with Senator Joni Ernst that the duty our National Guard members are performing embodies that risk, and should receive Hazardous Duty Incentive Pay for COVID-19 response duty,” said Sergeant Major (retired) Frank Yoakum, Executive Director of the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States.
This spring, there has been National-level attention regarding the current COVID-related order statuses set to expire one day prior to health benefits and GI Bill Benefits are due to RC Servicemembers. The EANGUS National Office staff are optimistic and believe that the White House, FEMA, and DOD will work to ensure that the 46,000 members of the Guard that have responded to COVID-19 in their states will be extended through June 25 to ensure extended health care coverage for COVID-related illness. Many of these members of the Guard are serving on Title 32 502(f) orders. The EANGUS National Office requests members encourage their Congressional Delegation to co-sponsor H.R. 6967 and S. 3713, and our staff are working to champion H.R. 6967 and S. 3713 become part of the FY21 NDAA.
Telehealth Update from DOD Public Affairs
TRICARE Revises Telehealth Policy to Respond to COVID-19. To improve virtual access to health care during COVID-19, TRICARE recently revised its policy on telehealth services. This temporarily allows you access to care more easily during the constraints of the pandemic. These changes will remain for the duration of the stateside public health emergency. They may be in place overseas beyond the U.S. national emergency end date, based on local conditions. Click here for more information.
As a reminder, the Military Health System has established www.tricare.mil/coronavirus as the primary information resource for MHS beneficiaries. DOD will update this regularly as new information comes available. DOD also maintain up-to-date information about our Military Health System policies at https://Health.mil/Coronavirus.
