Tricare Tax Free Premiums Update

Active federal employees have had the benefit of pre-tax payment of TRICARE-related health and dental premiums since 2000.

Sen. John Warner (R-VA) and Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA) have introduced legislation to accomplish this for the military community. Both bills would allow TRICARE dental premiums to be deducted from active duty pay on a pre-tax basis and allow similar deductions from retired pay for TRICARE Prime enrollment fees and the TRICARE retiree dental premiums.

Federal civilian retirees could have FEHBP premiums deducted from retired pay.

The bills also would allow a tax deduction for TRICARE supplemental insurance premiums.

So far, S. 484 has 54 Senate cosponsors, and H.R. 994 has 290 in the House [up from 49 & 275 in NOV 05]. Both bills remain stuck in the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee, respectively, despite having a majority of cosponsors in each chamber.

Increasing co-sponsor support and pushing for full Committee action and a floor vote in both chambers is needed to move this issue forward. Readers can assist in doing this by urging their legislators to cosponsor the bills.

Under "Health Care Issues" at http://capwiz.com/moaa/issues/bills/ can be found links to these bills.

By entering your zip code you can send a MOAA-suggested message to your legislator. Those who are already cosponsors will receive "thank you" messages that urge them to keep pressing for passage of the legislation.