Ellmers Introduces the TIME Act

Press Release

Congresswoman Renee Ellmers (R-NC-02) released the following statement this evening after introducing the TIME Act:

"Today I'm honored to announce the introduction of the Time Act. This bill addresses a problem facing tens of thousands of military members and their families who are left to navigate the bureaucracy of their health care benefits without adequate information and timely updates from their provider - TRICARE. For far too long, military families have been caught off guard by changes to policies and procedures regarding their benefits, leaving them ill-equipped to plan ahead and navigate their options effectively."

Yesterday, Congresswoman Ellmers introduced H.R. 4101 - The Timely Information Management Enforcement (TIME) Act. The legislation has been referred to the House Armed Services Committee.

Congresswoman Ellmers learned of the inconsistency and lack of timely notification provided by TRICARE to its beneficiaries after speaking with numerous military families and veterans. The legislation introduced yesterday mandates TRICARE to notify all affected beneficiaries and providers of changes made to benefits that are provided by TRICARE no less than 90 days before the date on which the change covered is to occur.

H.R. 4101 takes into account that some changes to beneficiaries' coverage provided by TRICARE may require more than 90 days to allow affected parties adequate time to understand and respond to changes made. To ensure beneficiaries are notified well in advance, the Secretary of Defense may determine if more than 90 days is required for notification. This particular section was written to provide the Secretary with the necessary flexibility to determine the appropriate time needed by beneficiaries and providers to adjust to a major change in coverage.

This measure protects service members, their families, and veterans from being blindsided by changes made to their TRICARE coverage.

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