{"id":29097,"date":"2023-02-07T14:01:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-07T14:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/02\/07\/could-guard-troops-get-free-tricare-this-state-might-become-the-first\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:12:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:12:08","slug":"could-guard-troops-get-free-tricare-this-state-might-become-the-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/fedlife\/health\/2023\/02\/07\/could-guard-troops-get-free-tricare-this-state-might-become-the-first\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Guard troops get free TRICARE? This state might become the first"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Amid a long-standing push by National Guard officials to make TRICARE free for their troops, Maryland lawmakers want to reimburse premiums for their Guardsmen and military families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than half of the state\u2019s House of Delegates members \u2014 72 of them \u2014 are co-sponsoring the \u201cHealthcare for Heroes Act<\/a>,\u201d introduced Thursday at Gov. Wes Moore\u2019s request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If passed, the bill<\/a> will use state funds to reimburse monthly premium payments that Maryland National Guard members make for TRICARE Reserve Select or TRICARE Dental. The two insurance programs are available to non-active duty members of the National Guard and other drilling reserve components, and their respective monthly premiums to cover a service member and immediate family are $239.69<\/a> and $89.53<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program, which would cost around $5 million in state funds annually according to a press release<\/a> from Moore\u2019s office, would likely be the first of its kind, according to research by Military Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moore\u2019s top press secretary Brittany Marshall pointed at the Guard\u2019s efforts throughout the pandemic and beyond, and said the law is intended to ensure those \u201cwho have stepped forward to serve our state and nation don\u2019t have to make the difficult decision between healthcare premiums and other necessary expenses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move also comes after years of lobbying from top National Guard Bureau officials for Congress to eliminate TRICARE Reserve Select in favor of offering free year-round healthcare to Guard and other reserve troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TRICARE Reserve Select first became available for non-activated troops in 2004, according to a Congressional Research Service report<\/a>. Despite the plan\u2019s relative affordability, bureau officials have repeatedly said that approximately 60,000 members of the National Guard<\/a> don\u2019t have health insurance. The officials speculated it could help with recruiting<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\t