Order Code 98-1006 F
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Military Health Care:
The Issue of “Promised” Benefits
Updated August 12, 2003
David F. Burrelli
Specialist in National Defense
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

Military Health Care:
The Issue of “Promised” Benefits
Summary
Many military health care beneficiaries, particularly military retirees, their
dependents, and those representing their interests, state that they were promised “free
health care for life at military facilities” as part of their “contractual agreement” when
they entered the armed forces. Efforts to locate authoritative documentation of such
promises have not been successful. Congressional report language and recent court
decisions have rejected retiree claims seeking ‘free care at military facilities’ as a
right or entitlement. These have held that the current medical benefit structure made
up of military health care facilities, Tricare and Medicare provide lifetime health care
to military members, retirees and their respective dependents. Nevertheless, claims
continue to be made, particularly by those seeking additional benefits from the
Department of Defense, or attempting to prevent an actual or perceived reduction in
benefits.

Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
“The Promise” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Recent Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Military Health Care:
The Issue of “Promised” Benefits
Introduction
In recent years, numerous efforts have been made to increase, or prevent any
decrease, of health care benefits and options available to military retirees. Many
military retirees and others seeking these increases, or attempting to prevent any
decrease in their benefits, often justify their claims based on assertions that the
medical care promised to them is no longer available.1 These retirees say that the
relatively large military medical infrastructure that existed during the cold war
provided greater access for retirees. They note that as a result of the reduction of the
size of the Department of Defense (DOD), fewer medical facilities are available.2
In certain instances, organizations representing military retirees have alluded to
“broken promises.” Some individuals have claimed that these benefits include “free”
health care for life, or more liberally, “free care for life in military health care
facilities.”
Such contentions are not supported by a review of the legislative history of the
statutory language related to military health care for retirees and dependents. These
claims also have not been supported by authoritative written documentation.
In response, a number of bills have been introduced seeking to expand military
health care options. In the 108th Congress, at least two of these bills (H.R. 58 and
S. 56) cite a “promise” or “commitment” as the rationale for provisions that would
“restore health care coverage to retired members of the uniformed services.”3
Although previous attempts to pass such legislation have failed, Congress
substantially expanded the military retiree health care benefits via the FY2001
National Defense Authorization Act.4
1 “About 365,000 elderly retirees and dependents-a thousand a day-will be seen by military
doctors this year, Defense Department officials say.” Adde, Nick, Medical care access not
difficult for all, Army Times, February 23, 1998: 22.
2 Burrelli, David F., and Elizabeth A. Dunstan, Military Retiree Health Care: Base Closures
and Realignments
, CRS Report 95-435, March 28, 1995.
3 H.R. 58, Rep. Edwards, January 7, 2003 and S. 56, Sen. Johnson, January 7, 2003.
4 P.L. 106-398, Oct. 30, 2000.

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Background
Under current law, active duty personnel are entitled to military health care and
have a right or claim to this care. Active duty dependents are also entitled to this
care, however, this entitlement is limited to space or service availability restrictions.
Such an entitlement obligates the military to provide this care (subject to any stated
restrictions such as space-availability for active duty dependents). As enforced by
the Department of Defense, and interpreted by the courts, retirees and their
dependents, while eligible for care on a space- or service-available basis, have no
entitlement in statute to such care. In other words, they have no right to military
health care and the military services have total discretion in when and under what
circumstances retirees and their dependents will get care in military treatment
facilities or MTFs. Historically, those dependents and retirees (under age 65) who are
unable to get care at MTFs can seek care via civilian providers under DOD’s Tricare
benefit plan.
Tricare is the name of the health benefit plan for all military beneficiaries.
Tricare is composed of three types of coverage: Prime, Extra and Standard. Tricare
Prime is comparable to a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) using the MTF
as the base of health care services. Tricare Extra is similar to a Preferred Provider
Organization or PPO. Finally, Tricare Standard is a fee-for-service plan (formerly
known as the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services,
(CHAMPUS5)). Active duty personnel and their dependents are automatically
enrolled in Tricare Prime. Retirees (under age 65) and their dependents must enroll
in Tricare Prime or seek care via Tricare Extra or Standard. Until recently, at age 65,
retirees lose eligibility for Tricare and become eligible for Medicare benefits. Thus,
military service provides lifetime care from a number of government-sponsored or
reimbursable sources.6
With the passage of the FY2001 National Defense Authorization Act, beginning
in October 2001, eligible military retirees over age 64 were allowed to participate in
Tricare provided that they are enrolled in Medicare Part B. This new benefit is
known as “Tricare for Life.”
5 P.L. 89-614, 80 Stat. 862, September 30, 1966.
6 This general benefit structure is not new, nor has its consideration by Congress been a
recent phenomenon. For example, see U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Armed
Services, CHAMPUS and Military Health Care, Subcommittee 2, Hearings, 93rd Cong., 2nd
Sess., HASC No. 93-70, October 8, 1974. Interestingly, claims of “free health care for life”
did not surface in these hearings.

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“The Promise”
The creation of health care benefits and the rules and regulations pertaining to
these benefit are matters for Congress. Under the Constitution, Congress has the
authority
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces.7
Without explicit authorization from Congress, such benefits can not be created nor
conferred by the military or others. A search of the relevant literature shows that at
no time did Congress authorize rules and regulations providing “free health care for
life at military facilities” for military retirees. Some have asserted that prior to 1956,
the lack of legal language to the contrary allowed the military to be contractually
obliged to provide “promised” care. However, under our system of government, the
military does not have the constitutional authority to create such a contractual
obligation. The courts (as discussed below on pages 5, 6, and 7) have held that only
Congress has such authority under the Constitution.
The history of military health care shows that care provided to active duty
members was originally paid for by the members as far back as 1799.8 In that year,
Congress enacted legislation for the military establishment to care for the “regimental
sick” as well as an act for the “relief of sick and disabled seamen.”9 Later changes
provided permissive care to dependents and, later still, to retirees and their
dependents. However, at no time were military retirees provided an entitlement to
care. In 1956, Congress put the permissive nature of this benefit into law:
... a member or former member of a uniformed service who is entitled to retired
or retainer pay, or equivalent pay may, upon request, be given medical and
dental care in any facility of any uniformed service, subject to the availability of
space and facilities and the capabilities of the medical and dental staff
.10
[Emphasis added.]
In 1966, Congress created Medicare which was designed to provide health care
for people over age 65 as well as certain disabled individuals. A problem arose in
that military personnel tended to retire at a relatively younger age (in most cases,
early- to mid-40s) and could be without guaranteed access to health care until age 65.
In other words, these retirees were not entitled to military health care and were too
young to participate in Medicare. In an effort to address this inability to gain access,
as well as provide for those active duty dependents who could not gain access to
military medical facilities, Congress created the Civilian Health and Medical
Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS). Modeled after the Blue
Cross/Blue Shield high option, CHAMPUS was a fee-for-service benefit. Although
7 U.S. Constitution, Art. 1, Sec. 8, cl. 14.
8 U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Armed Services, Subcommittee No. 2, CHAMPUS
and Military Health Care, 93d Cong., 2d Sess., December 20, 1974: 6.
9 1 Stat. 721 and 1 Stat. 729, March 2, 1799, respectively.
10 10 United States Code, sec. 1074(b).

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it required no premiums, CHAMPUS did require cost sharing on the part of the
beneficiary. Thus, CHAMPUS was not free, nor did it relate to care from MTFs.
(As noted above, CHAMPUS later became part of Tricare.)
Numerous claims have been made concerning “promises” to military personnel
and retirees with regard to health care benefits. Many appear to believe that they
were “promised free health care for life at military facilities.” Efforts to locate
written authoritative documentation of such “promises” have not been successful.
However, some military recruiting literature does make general statements about
health care. As an example, a recruiting brochure cited by The Retired Officers
Association states:
Health care is provided to you and your family members while you are in the
Army, and for the rest of your life if you serve a minimum of 20 years of Federal
service to earn your retirement.11
This language, of course, does not mention “free” health care. Nor does it mention
that such care is to be provided via the military health services system and/or in
military facilities. This advertised statement is correct in that military retirees do
receive their promised lifetime benefits via MTFs (including space- or service-
available care in retirement), Tricare and Medicare — all earned as a result of their
federal military service.
The same source quotes a 1991 CRS report as stating that “the ‘free health care
for life’ promise was functionally true and had been used to good advantage for
recruiting and retention.”12 The report is much more nuanced, and developed the
analysis more deeply than this.13 It noted that the 1956 legislation did not authorize
a legal entitlement for care to be provided to retirees and their dependents, but that
the retiree and dependent population, in proportion to the available space in military
health care facilities, was so low that as a practical matter, such care was usually
available. It also observed that this de facto availability was, without question, a
useful tool for recruiters. The end result appears to be that, regardless of the lack of
statutory entitlement, many active duty personnel and their dependents, and retirees
and their dependents, erroneously came to believe that they were guaranteed free
health care in military facilities for life.
Other sources have noted that such promises, whether or not actually made, are
groundless. For example, in responding to questions from Congress concerning what
benefits were promised, Rear Admiral Harold M. Koenig, Deputy Assistant Secretary
of Defense for Health Affairs, sought to clarify a statement made by Vice Admiral
Hagen concerning these benefits. Rear Admiral Koenig stated in 1993 that:
11 Army brochure cited and reproduced in The Retired Officers Association Magazine, April
1996.
12 The Retired Officers Association, April 1996. This CRS report was also similarly
represented in Roberts, C.R., “Veterans Call It The Big Lie,” The American Legion, October
1995: 18. The article is based on exerts from The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA, by the same
author.
13 Best, Dick, Memo to Congress, Promises of Lifetime Medical Care, April 21, 1997.

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There is a problem here of interpretation. [Vice Admiral Donald Hagen, Medical
Corps Surgeon General, U.S. Navy] said medical care for life. That is true. We
have a medical care program for the life of our beneficiaries, and it is pretty well
defined in the law. That easily gets interpreted to, or reinterpreted into, free
medical care for the rest of your life. That is a pretty easy transition for people
to make in their thinking, and it is pervasive. We spend an incredible amount of
effort trying to reeducate people that that is not their benefit.14
According to the Department of Defense, “[a]s thus formulated, medical care
for retirees in military medical facilities has always been, and to this day remains, a
privilege, not an absolute right, as has been assumed by many.”15
The federal courts have repeatedly held that such claims of a “promise” have no
legal standing. In late 1997, a U.S. District Court dismissed a lawsuit by retirees
against the U.S. seeking “free health care” from the military. According to the court:
The court must reject plaintiffs’ contention that [10 United States Code sec.
1074(b)] confers authority on the military branches to guarantee free lifetime
medical care to retirees and their dependents. First, plaintiffs cite to no
regulation under sec. 1074(b) guaranteeing such care, but only cite to recruiting
materials that make general representations as to eligibility for continued health
care for retirees and their dependents. Even if the military departments had
promulgated regulations under sec.1074(b) that make an unequivocal promise of
lifetime medical care for retirees and their dependents, the language of sec.
1074(b) itself is clearly conditional. Any regulations purporting to guarantee
free and unconditional lifetime health care to retirees and their dependents would
be inconsistent with the statute and therefore invalid. Larionoff, 431 U.S. at 873
n.13 (“A regulation which ... operates to create a rule out of harmony with the
statute ... is a mere nullity.”) (citing Manhatten General Equip. Co. V.
Commissioner
, 297 U.S. 129, 134 (1936)).
Furthermore, under sec. 1074(b), “a retired member of a uniformed service is not
entitled to medical care as a matter of right,” Lord v. United States, 2 Cl. Ct. 749,
756 (1983), and “retired personnel who fail to receive such care cannot
successfully maintain an action for money damages based on such failure.” Id.
At 757; see also Watt v. United States, 246 F. Supp. 386, 388 (E.D.N.Y. 1965 )
(“furnishing [medical care in a military facility] to a retired soldier is
discretionary, not mandatory”). Because the law states that retirees are not
entitled to health care as a matter of right, the representations upon which
plaintiffs rely are to no effect.16
14 U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Armed Services, National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 1994, H.R. 2401, Hearings, 103rd Cong., 1st Sess., H.Rept. 103-13, April
27, 28, May 10, 11, and 13, 1993: 505.
15 U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Military Compensation
Background Papers, Fifth Edition, September 1996: 609.
16 Coalition of Retired Military Veterans, et al. v. United States of America, U.S. Dist. of
South Carolina, C.A.#2:96-3822-23, Dec. 10, 1997: 11-12.

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With respect to the contention that recruiters and others allegedly made
“promises of free care for life,” and that such “promises” must be honored by the
government, the court notes:
Federal officials who by act or word generate expectations in the people they
employ, and then disappoint them, do not ipso facto create a contract liability
running from the Federal Government to the employee ....17
In a separate case (Schism and Reinlie v. U.S.), another federal judge found
military “retirees 65 and older do not have a binding contract with the Pentagon that
guarantees them free health care for life at military hospitals.”18
In 1999, a federal appeals court stated:
Nothing in these regulations provided for unconditional lifetime free medical
care or authorized recruiters to promise such care as an inducement to joining or
continuing in the armed forces. While the Retirees argue that the above
mentioned section 4132.1 gave those of them who served as officers in the Navy
and Marine Corps the right to free unconditional medical care, we cannot agree.
The [1922 Manual of the Medical Department of the United States Navy]
Manual provided guidelines for the Navy’s Medical Department, but did not
create any right in such officers to the free unconditional lifetime medical care
they claim. It related only to hospital care, not the broader services that these
Retirees seek, and covered only the period when it was in effect. In any event,
in view of the general pattern of the military regulations that provides medical
care to retirees only when facilities and personnel were available, we decline to
read into the creation of such an enduring and broad right to unconditional free
lifetime medical care.
In sum, we conclude that the Retirees have not shown that they have a right
to the health care they say was “taken” by the government. Since the basic
premise of their claim fails, their taking claim necessarily also fails.19
On December 8, 1999, the Coalition of Retired Military Veterans appealed their
case to the Supreme Court.20 The Supreme Court denied the petition to review the
lower court ruling on April 17, 2000.21
17 Coalition v. U.S.: 15-16.
18 Adde, Nick, Judge: lifetime care is no guarantee, Army Times, Sept. 21, 1998: 10. An
appeal in this case is anticipated. Schism and Reinlie v. U.S. No. #:96cv349/RV United
States District Court, N.D. Florida, June 10, 1997.
19 Sebastain v. United States, 185 F.3d 1368, 1372 (Fed. Cir. 1999). An appeal of this
decision is pending.
20 Adde, Nick, Retirees head to Supreme Court, The Times, January 10, 2000: 14.
21 Sebastian v. U.S., 529 U.S. 1065, 120 S.Ct. 1669, 146 L.Ed.2d 479, 68 USLW 3391, 68
USLW 3655 (U.S., Apr. 17, 2000)(NO. 99-977). Summary of Orders: “Neither statutes nor
regulations ever authorized armed services to promise free lifetime medical care to enlistees,
and thus claim by now-retired members of the armed services that new regulations that
diminish medical care previously available for military retirees constitute compensable
(continued...)

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On February 8, 2001, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed
the lower court ruling (Schism and Reinlie v. U.S.) declaring “... the government
breached its implied-in-fact contract with retirees when it failed to provide them with
health care benefits.”22 The appeals court reversed the district court decision and
remanded the case for a determination of damages. Despite various claims, this
finding applied only to the two named plaintiffs (and not to all military retirees), and
no determination of damages was made. (Some have erroneously reported that the
ruling “would have required the government to pay to three million retirees, widows
and dependents up to $10,000 apiece.”23) On June 13, 2001, the Appeals Court
vacated the judgment, withdrew its opinion, and agreed to rehear the appeal en banc.
As stated “[t]he court has determined to rehear this case en banc to resolve the
question of whether the promises of free lifetime care made to and accepted by
Plaintiffs-Appellants should be afforded binding effect.”24
On November 18, 2002, the U.S. Court of Appeals (voting 9-4) stated:
In the end, because no actual authority existed for the recruiters’ promises of full
free lifetime medical care, the plaintiffs cannot show a valid implied-in-fact
contract. Thus, the plaintiffs’ claim must fail as a matter of law.25
On June 2, 2003, the Supreme Court denied the petition to review this case as
well.26
The claim of “free” or “promised” care is often reported in the media or by
lobbying groups. Some media sources have contradicted the notion of free health
care for life.27 Conversely, others appear to accept or support the existence of such
“promises.” Although these sources have no legal authority to effect such claims,
their repetition of these so-called promises may serve to create or reinforce the notion
of the existence of such “promises.”28
21 (...continued)
taking is meritless.” Sebastian v. United States, 68 USLW. 3649 (April 18, 2000). Note:
citations to this case make reference to different titles including, Coalition of Retired
Military Veterans, CORMV, CRMV, or Sebastain and Sebastian, v. U.S. or United States.
22 Schism and Reinlie v. U.S., 2001 U.S. App., 239 F.3d 1280, Feb. 8, 2001.
23 Armed Forces News, [http://www.armedforcesnews.com/backissues/2001/062201.htm]
June 22, 2001.
24 Schism and Reinlie v. U.S. 2001 WL 664440 (Fed. Cir. (Fla)), June 13, 2001.
25 Schism and Reinlie v. United States, 2002 WL 31549178 (Fed.Cir.(Fla.)), November 18,
2002.
26 Schism and Reinlie v. United States, 123 S.Ct. 2246; 156 L.Ed.2d 125; 2003 U.S. LEXIS
4404; 71 USLW 3750, June 2, 2003.
27 Hamby, James E., Jr., ‘Free care for life is a myth,’ Air Force Times, September 20, 1993:
18.
28 See, for example, Rich, Spencer, Military Health Care Downsizing Leaves Retirees in a
Bind, Washington, Post, July 30, 1996: A11; Editorials, Veterans should not be force to pay
(continued...)

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Notably, certain former recruiters claim to have made such promises. They may
well have. Nevertheless, as pointed out above, unauthorized promises based on
mistakes, fraud, etc., do not constitute a contractual obligation on the part of the
government/taxpayer.
In a different vein, others suggest that although no such legal entitlement exists,
a moral obligation or an obligation based on popular opinion is sufficiently
compelling to make such a promise a reality. For example, Hon. Stephen Joseph,
former Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) stated before a congressional
subcommittee in 1995:
The lawyers will tell you that there is no fine print that says free medical care
guaranteed for life. I think though it is facetious for anybody to sit up here and
say that, that is not what recruits believe when they are talked to by their
recruiter. That is a fact of life.29
Whether there is or should be a moral obligation is a matter of opinion; as decided
by the courts and enforced by the administrators, these claims, like the others, do not
create a contractual obligation on the part of the government/taxpayer. The courts,
and other analysts, have noted that allowing these claims to create such an obligation
would thwart the constitutional role of Congress (i.e., prevent the Congress from
determining the compensation and benefits of the armed forces) and create a situation
wherein military personnel/retirees (and potentially all other federal employees)
could create or expand their own benefits with popular myth or rumor and without
review.
Despite extensive documentation, including court decisions, to the contrary, the
belief in legally guaranteed “free lifetime care” persists,30 and such claims continue
color debate over the availability of these and other military health care benefits.31
28 (...continued)
for ‘free’ health care, Kerrville Daily Times, December 8, 1997: 4A; “ ... the promise of free
health care in their later years was a major enticement to stay for a full career.”, AFSA Calls
for Tricare Reform, Sergeants, November 1995: 9; Kaczor, Bill, AP, Miami Herald, Military
Retirees Appealing Benefits Denial, December 12, 1998: “At the heart of the matter is a
1956 law that permits free care for retirees at military hospitals and clinics but only on a
space[-]available basis.” and, Joyce, Terry, Network Offers Health Care Answers For
Military Families, Charleston Post and Courier, January 9, 2000, “Folks who are upset about
care that’s no longer available or cash outlays for what was supposed to be free.”
29 U.S. Congress. House. National Security Committee, Military Personnel Subcommittee,
Hearings, Oversight of Previously Authorized Programs, 104th Cong., 1st Sess., H.Rept 104-
7, March 28, 1995: 828. The Retired Officer Association also credits Dr. Joseph with
testifying (in 1995) “before Congress that DoD has an ‘implied moral commitment’ to
provide health care to all eligible beneficiaries.”
30 See U.S. Congress. House. National Security Committee, Military Personnel
Subcommittee, Hearings on National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998-H.R.
1119 and Oversight of Previously Authorized Programs. HNSC No. 105-6, 105th Cong., 1st
Sess., Feb. 27, 1997: 1-162, for a lengthy treatment of this issue.
31 For example, an insert in The Retired Officer Magazine, January 1998, seeking FEHBP
(continued...)

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Recent Legislation
Though Congress has never authorized “free health care for life at military
facilities,” various congressional reports have commented on the issue, and there
have been recent legislative actions on the subject. For example, the Senate,
explaining its support of additional benefits for military retirees, included non-
binding language in its report on the fiscal year 1998 National Defense Authorization
Act that reiterated its intention with regard to the promise of lifetime care:
A longstanding priority of the committee has been the improvement of the
military health care system ....
[T]he committee is concerned that the Department of Defense (DOD) faces
significant constraints on its ability to meet the entire range of benefits expected
by participants in the Military Health Service System ....
The issue of health care for military retirees over age 65 is of special
concern to the committee. The nation has incurred a moral obligation to attempt
to provide care to military retirees who believe they were promised lifetime
health care in exchange for a lifetime of military service. The nation fulfills its
obligation through Medicare.32
Here, the Senate is clearly expressing its view that a “promise” to military retirees
was made — and that existing statutes and institutions do fulfill that promise.
Later, with the enactment of the FY1998 National Defense Authorization Act,
Congress included the following language:
SEC. 752. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING QUALITY HEALTH
CARE FOR RETIREES
(a) Findings.-Congress makes the follow findings:
(1) Many retired military personnel believe that they were promised
lifetime heath care in exchange for 20 or more years of service.
(2) Military retirees are the only Federal Government personnel who have
been prevented from using their employer-provided health care at or after 65
years of age.
(3) Military health care has become increasingly difficult to obtain for
military retirees as the Department of Defense reduces its health care
infrastructure.
(4) Military retirees deserve to have a health care program that is at least
comparable with that of retirees from civilian employment by the Federal
Government.
31 (...continued)
benefits for military retirees over 65, is entitled, “FEHBP-65: The fix for broken health care
promise.” According to the U.S. General Accounting Office, a demonstration project
affording military retirees access to FEHBP coverage suffered low enrollment. The
demonstration was ultimately terminated. US GAO, GAO-03-547, June 2003.
32 U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Armed Services, National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 1998, 105th Cong., 1st Sess., S.Rept. 105-29, S. 924, June 17, 1997: 294-
5.

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(5) The availability of quality, lifetime health care is a critical recruiting
incentive for the Armed Forces.
(6) Quality health care is a critical aspect of the quality of life of the men
and women serving in the Armed Forces.
(B) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.- It is the sense of the Congress that-
(1) the United States has incurred a moral obligation to provide health care
to members and former members of the Armed Forces who are entitled to
retired or retainer pay (or its equivalent);
(2) it is, therefore, necessary to provide quality, affordable health care to
such retirees; and,
(3) Congress and the President should take steps to address the problems
associated with the availability of health care for such retirees within two years
after the date of the enactment of this Act.33
Although this language is also non-binding, it does give a sense of the rationale
behind creating additional benefits for retirees.34
Some in Congress would like to go further in clarifying the issue. On August
6, 1998, Representative Jo Ann Emerson introduced legislation that would have
established a “Medicare eligible military retiree health care consensus task force.”
Among its proposed duties, this task force would conduct “a comprehensive legal
and factual study of ... [p]romises, commitments, or representations made to
members of the Uniformed Service by Department of Defense personnel with respect
to health care coverage of such members and their families after separation from the
Uniformed Services.”35 The twelve-member task force (including representatives of
military retiree organizations) would determine what had been promised to military
members and to what extent these promises were binding. This legislation was
reintroduced in the 107th and 108th Congresses.36
One reported response to this legislation by an unidentified representative of a
military retiree organization was somewhat muted, suggesting that “... we are really
beyond the point of looking at broken promises. We are at the stage now where
Congress knows something has to be done and is just trying to decide what to do.”37
The legislation was referred to committee but was not reported out of committee
prior to adjournment.
33 P.L. 105-85, Sec. 752, November 18, 1997.
34 These additional benefits include the creation of demonstration projects known as
Medicare Subvention and a Federal Employees Health Benefits Program option. In
addition, Congress has instructed DOD to insure an improved pharmaceutical benefit for
eligible beneficiaries. For additional information, see CRS Issue Brief IB93103, Military
Medical Care: Questions and Answers
, by Richard Best, updated regularly.
35 H.R. 4464, August 6, 1998: 2.
36 H.R. 67, January 3, 2001, and H.R. 62, January 7, 2003.
37 Cited as “a representative of a major military organization” lobbying for improved
medical care for military retirees; see Maze, Rick, A Broken Promise, Navy Times, August
24, 1998: 24.

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As noted above, H.R. 58 and S. 56 were introduced on January 7, 2003. Among
their provisions, H.R. 58 and S. 56 seek to expand military retiree health care options
to include access to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. In offering
these benefits, these bills present a number of “findings” (some of which appear
inconsistent with the official history of military medical care). For example, H.R. 58
and S. 56 find that:
Statutes enacted in 1956 entitled those who entered service on or after June 7,
1956, and retired after serving a minimum of 20 years or by reason of a service-
connected disability, to medical and dental care in any facility of the uniformed
services, subject to the availability of space and facilities and the capabilities of
the medical and dental staff.
In addition to not being consistent with the statute, the Department of Defense has
always maintained that military retiree health care is, and always has been,
permissive in nature and therefore not an entitlement.
As noted above, although none of these bills was enacted, Congress
substantially expanded the health care benefits available to military retirees via the
FY2001 National Defense Authorization Act. Among its provisions, this legislation
provides an enhanced pharmacy benefit and, with certain restrictions, it extends
Tricare coverage to those age 65 and older (known as “Tricare for Life”). For
additional information, see CRS Issue Brief IB93103, Military Medical Care
Services: Questions and Answers
, by Richard Best, updated regularly.