US Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has filed legislation aimed at improving military maternal healthcare vis-a-vis access and quality.
The bill would statutorily redefine pregnancy and loss of pregnancy as ‘qualifying life events’ (QLE) under TRICARE to allow mothers to change their TRICARE plan.
TRICARE is the military’s healthcare system.
Under TRICARE, QLEs enable military personnel and their families to update or change their health plans.
If Senator Rubio’s bill is passed, pregnant military moms or those who have suffered loss of pregnancy would be eligible for such healthcare changes.
Currently, the military only considers the birth of a child, not pregnancy, as grounds for a QLE.
Rubio explained the reasoning for his bill via press release.
“Raising a family while serving in the military frequently poses additional difficulties, particularly for expectant mothers,” said Rubio. “My Military Moms Act would address these challenges and ensure that pregnant women in our military are better served under TRICARE.”
The bill would also create a Department of Defense (DOD) website listing available maternal and infant health resources and create a Congressional study into the military’s current maternal healthcare.
Rubio filed a similar bill last February, the Improving Access to Maternal Health for Military and Dependent Moms Act, to require the DOD review maternal health care within the military.
If passed, the Secretary of Defense’s report to Congress on military maternal care would be comprehensive.
Some of the required information would include details regarding availability of maternal care, identification of staffing shortages and barriers for access, timeliness of access to care, funds spent on maternal care, and legislative proposals to deal with identified challenges.
