Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) and Congresswoman Elaine Luria (D-Va.) introduced H.R. 6573, the Help Our Heroes Access Medicine Act. This legislation will help ensure military retirees and their families can affordably access their prescription drugs and practice social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect our communities and our military, the country has adopted social distancing policies to flatten the curve so our public health institutions can continue to save lives. Forcing our servicemen & women to make the decision between saving money and their health is wrong,” said Rep. Blunt Rochester. “Our bill, the Help Our Heroes Access Medicine Act, will resolve this issue by providing the Secretary with the authority to waive TRICARE pharmacy copays during a national emergency or public health emergency. This will allow our service members to access mail order prescriptions through TRICARE without the cost of a copay. This is the least we can do for those who have served our nation.”

“Americans who choose to serve sacrifice so much for our country, it is critical that we ensure military retirees and military families can afford their prescription drugs while protecting themselves during this time of national uncertainty,” said Congresswoman Luria.  “By temporarily eliminating the copay for mail order prescriptions through TRICARE, beneficiaries can continue to access their prescription medications at no cost out of pocket while practicing social distancing and protecting mission critical personnel.”

The Help Our Heroes Access Medicine Act would: 

• Provide the Secretary of Defense authority to waive copayments for TRICARE’s pharmacy benefit during a public health emergency or national emergency.

• This includes the authority to waive the mail-order pharmacy copay.

• Provides guidelines to the Secretary to future-proof this policy if additional waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, future pandemics, or other national emergencies necessitate the waiver.
• Provides the Secretary the authority immediately upon enactment.

Full text of the bill can be found here.

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