Servicemembers gain healthcare choice: military or federal civilian plans
H.R. 3547 — Servicemember Healthcare Freedom Act of 2025 · Filed by Jennifer Kiggans (R-VA) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced May 21, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill allows members of the Selected Reserve and National Guard who work for the federal government as civilians to enroll in TRICARE Reserve Select (military healthcare) instead of being forced into the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) plan. Currently, federal law prohibits this dual enrollment. The bill moves the effective date forward from January 1, 2030 to January 1, 2026, allowing these servicemembers to choose their healthcare plan starting in 2026.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is removing a prohibition that prevents a specific class of federal employees (Selected Reserve and National Guard members) from choosing military healthcare. It is a straightforward choice-expansion measure for a defined beneficiary group.
What the text implies
- Advancing the effective date from 2030 to 2026 may create administrative burden for federal health benefits administrators and TRICARE systems to process dual-eligible enrollments sooner than previously planned.
- The bill does not address whether servicemembers can switch between TRICARE and FEHB mid-year or only during annual open enrollment, potentially creating coverage gaps during mobilization.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
TRICARE (military healthcare system); Servicemembers in Selected Reserve and National Guard with federal civilian employment