Posted on: Monday, January 31, 2005

MILITARY UPDATE

By Tom Philpott

Thirty years ago, Congress decided the nation could no longer afford to offer military volunteers the robust draft-era GI Bill, so it concocted VEAP, the most unpopular veterans' education benefit of the past century.

Last year, Congress decided the nation couldn't afford to open active-duty TRICARE healthcare benefits to all drilling reservists, so it created TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS).

Time will tell if TRS is the reserve healthcare equivalent of VEAP, but advocates for reservists fear it might be.

Certainly some reservists among the estimated 20 percent who lacked healthcare coverage before mobilization will see TRS as a welcome option. Many more eligibles could find it to be too expensive, too restrictive and too complex.

"I don't think many will'' sign up, said Joyce Wessel Raezer, director of government relations for the National Military Family Association. "We will all know better once we see the premiums (in late March). But a lot of people will ask about it. A lot will get bogged down in the process and never make it through. And then some folks will sign up for it under the impression that it's the same as TRICARE Prime, and be very unhappy."

When TRS begins April 26, thousands of Reserve and National Guard members previously deactivated from post-9/11 deployments, and thousands more soon to complete deployments, will gain access to a scaled-down version of TRICARE Standard, the fee-for-service insurance plan.

To qualify, they must have been mobilized under contingency orders of 30 days or longer and have served at least 90 days of continuous active service. For every 90 days served, they will be eligible for a year of TRS. So a year of continuous deployment could qualify them for four years of TRS coverage for themselves and their families.

Coverage comes at a cost, however. Members must make a binding agreement to remain in the Selected Reserve for the duration of TRS coverage. They also will pay monthly premiums, with rates to be announced, that will cover 28 percent of TRS costs. The Congressional Budget Office last year estimated member-only premiums at $50 a month and family premiums at $183.

If a reservist stops payment, perhaps because of new health benefits offered by a civilian employer, TRS coverage would end but the extended service obligation would stand.

Reservists must decide to enroll in TRS before leaving active duty, which likely will mean making quick decisions at demobilization sites. If they depart without a "preliminary" TRS agreement, eligibility expires.

Most deployed reservists and families are eligible for TRICARE for six months after mobilization. Congress made that temporary post-mobilization benefit permanent last year. TRS coverage will start after transition coverage, so on the 181st day after leaving active service.

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