{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://trentkelly.house.gov/newsroom/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5341", "Military Support Organizations Endorse Rep. Kim and Kelly Effort to Expand Healthcare to Service Members\n\nJune 17, 2021 | Posted in Press Releases\n\nTags:\nNational Defense / Veterans, \r\n              Healthcare\n\n\nWASHINGTON \u2013 In the wake of a bipartisan bill introduced by Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03) and Congressman Trent Kelly (MS-01) that would address what the head of the National Guard Bureau, Army General Daniel Hokanson, called \u201cone of my most pressing concerns\u201d, several military and service member support organizations have endorsed the Healthcare for our Troops Act.\r\n\r\nThe bill, H.R. 3512,\u2026 Read more \u00bb", "2021-06-17", "2021", "2021-06", "Republican", "House", "MS", "Trent Kelly", "K000388", "trentkelly.house.gov", "trentkelly", "https://trentkelly.house.gov/newsroom/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 In the wake of a bipartisan bill introduced by Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03) and Congressman Trent Kelly (MS-01) that would address what the head of the National Guard Bureau, Army General Daniel Hokanson, called \u201cone of my most pressing concerns\u201d, several military and service member support organizations have endorsed the Healthcare for our Troops Act.\n\nThe bill, H.R. 3512, which would make no-fee healthcare available to the over 800,000 Americans serving our nation in the Reserve and National Guard, is co-sponsored by the two co-chairs of the National Guard and Reserve Caucus, Congressman Tim Ryan (OH-13) and Congressman Steven Palazzo (MS-04), as well as Congressman Scott DesJarlais (TN-04), Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (NY-21), Congressman Marc Veasey (TX-33), Congressman Jim Cooper (TN-05), Congresswoman Marie Newman (IL-03), Congressman Kaiali\u02bbi Kahele (HI-02), and Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (WA-10).\n\nThis bill has the support of: National Guard Association of the U.S. (NGAUS), Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the U.S. (EANGUS), Association of the United States Army (AUSA), Chief Warrant Officers Association of the U.S. Coast Guard, Naval Enlisted Reserve Association, Reserve Organization of America (formerly Reserve Officers Association), Air Force Sergeants Association, the Wounded Warrior Project, VoteVets, and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation.\n\n\u201cYou would think members of the force America counts on to be always ready, always there would all have health insurance, but that\u2019s not the case. In fact, we\u2019ve had to send National Guard soldiers and airmen to the frontlines of the worst public health crisis in a century without medical coverage. This legislation would ensure that never happens again. We applaud it,\u201d said retired Brig. Gen. J. Roy Robinson, the NGAUS president. \u201cIt would also provide the Guard with a game-changing recruiting and retention tool, which would go a long way toward paying for this coverage,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s the right thing to do for the Guard and the nation.\u201d\n\n\"The Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States (EANGUS) would like to express our gratitude to Rep. Andy Kim for his hard work and dedication to the National Guard and his efforts to ensure medical readiness for our servicemembers,\" said Command Sergeant Major (Retired) Karen Craig, President of the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States. \"Ensuring that National Guard servicemembers are ready to answer our nation's call is always of the utmost concern. Medical readiness is one of the most critical aspects of ensuring our members are prepared at a moment's notice and providing healthcare is the key to ensuring this happens.\"\n\n\u201cThe Air Force Sergeants Association (AFSA) would like to extend its sincerest gratitude to Representatives Andy Kim and Trent Kelly for introducing this crucial legislation,\u201d said the AFSA\u2019s Executive Director Keith A. Reed. \u201cFor too long, members of the reserve component have been denied equitable access to the healthcare they are entitled to receive by virtue of serving our country in uniform. This legislation would remedy this wrong by allowing eligible beneficiaries to enroll in the healthcare plan of their choice at no cost and provide early age retirees who are drawing retirement pay with long-desired coverage parity. The AFSA is proud to support this bill, and we are looking forward to working with members of Congress to secure its expeditious codification in public law.\u201d\n\nSpecifically, if enacted, the Healthcare for our Troops Act would:\n\nEnsure every service member has healthcare\n\nProvide premium-free/zero cost sharing medical and dental coverage for Selected Reserve members eligible for TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS)\n\nAddress financial barriers to seeking mental health care\n\nImprove readiness\n\nPrepare service members for no-notice deployments\n\nProvide comprehensive treatment for illnesses and injuries which affect medical readiness, regardless of duty status\n\nRequire a study on eliminating annual physicals during drill and replacing them with forms to be completed by civilian providers to assess medical readiness--giving commanders back valuable training days and saving over $162 Million annually in contracted medical assessments\n\nProvide incentives for service and hiring service members\n\nProvide an employer incentive to hiring Guard and Reserve members by lessening demand for employer-sponsored healthcare plans.\n\nEliminate the statutory language that excludes those eligible for Federal Employees Health Benefits Program from TRICARE Reserve Select eligibility\n\nFix the parity gap for Reserve Component retirees receiving early retirement pay due to deployment credits making them eligible for TRICARE upon receipt of retirement pay", 1, "2026-04-07T14:16:54Z", "2026-04-07T14:20:30Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://trentkelly.house.gov/newsroom/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5341"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1593170929700136, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}