Gold Star Spouses Health Care Enhancement Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Gold Star Spouses Health Care Enhancement Act changes military survivor health coverage. Under current related rules, surviving spouses and dependents can lose certain TRICARE Prime treatment after a limited period following a service member's death. This bill removes the three-year time limit for a surviving spouse or dependent whose service member's death is covered by title 10 section 1126. It applies regardless of whether the death occurred before, on, or after enactment, so the change reaches already affected Gold Star families as well as future survivors.
Who Benefits and How
Gold Star spouses benefit because TRICARE Prime eligibility would not expire after a three-year survivor period. Surviving military dependents benefit from continued access to military health coverage tied to the deceased service member. Families of fallen service members benefit because the fix applies to deaths that occurred before enactment as well as future deaths. Veterans service organizations benefit from a clear statutory answer to a recurring survivor health coverage problem.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Defense Health Agency eligibility staff must update survivor coverage rules and records. TRICARE contractors must administer continued coverage for eligible surviving spouses and dependents. Federal taxpayers bear the additional health coverage cost from keeping survivors enrolled longer. Military personnel offices must communicate the revised survivor health benefit to affected families.
Key Provisions
- Removes the three-year limit on TRICARE survivor coverage for covered surviving spouses and dependents.
- Applies the rule to deaths covered by title 10 section 1126.
- Extends the fix to deaths occurring before, on, or after enactment.
- Requires Defense health systems and TRICARE administrators to maintain eligibility beyond the former cutoff.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Removes the three-year limit on TRICARE Prime and related health coverage for surviving spouses and dependents of service members whose deaths are covered by the title 10 death-gratuity statute, applying the fix to deaths before and after enactment.
Key Policy Areas
Military Families, Health Care, Survivor Benefits
Primary Purpose
Removes the three-year limit on TRICARE Prime and related health coverage for surviving spouses and dependents of service members whose deaths are covered by the title 10 death-gratuity statute, applying the fix to deaths before and after enactment.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Gold Star spouses
- Surviving military dependents
- Families of fallen service members
- Veterans service organizations
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Defense Health Agency eligibility staff
- TRICARE contractors
- Federal taxpayers
- Military personnel offices
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMs. Kaptur (for herself and Mr. Bacon) introduced the following …
Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
Introduced in House
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology