Servicemembers' Health Insurance Protection Act of 2005
Latest action. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on May 19, 2005. The summary of that version is repeated here.)
Servicemembers' Health Insurance Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to entitle a servicemember ordered to active duty, upon release from active duty, to reinstatement of health insurance in effect on the day before service commenced without any premium increase for the balance of the period for which there would have been coverage had it not been terminated. Permits a health care insurance carrier to increase a servicemember's premium if there was general premium increase for similarly covered individuals during the period between the termination and the reinstatement.
Amends the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) to preserve employer-sponsored health plan reinstatement rights for certain Reserve-component members who prior to entering active duty acquire TRICARE (a Department of Defense managed health care program) eligibility.
Makes technical corrections to the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 2004.
Amends the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief Act, 2005 to repeal provisions revising codified law concerning elections of members to reduce or decline insurance, and the redesignation of beneficiaries, under the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) program. Reinstates the codified provisions as if such amendments had not been enacted.
Requires that, whenever a member eligible for SGLI insurance executes a life insurance option (an option not to be insured, to be insured for less than the maximum coverage amount, or to designate a person other than a spouse or child as a beneficiary), the Secretary of the military department concerned shall notify the member's spouse or (if not married) next of kin of the execution of such option. Requires that, whenever an unmarried member who is eligible for such insurance marries, the Secretary concerned shall notify the member's spouse as to whether the member is insured under SGLI, what insurance coverage elections the member has made, and whether the member has designated a beneficiary other that the spouse or a child of such member.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House amended" stage on May 23, 2005. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on May 24, 2005: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 109th Congress (2005-06), 482 of the 10,701 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.5 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
STEPHEN BUYER (R-IN) introduced it on May 3, 2005, and 30 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 16 Democrats, 13 Republicans, 1 independent.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 3, 2005, 7848 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7827 days ago, on May 24, 2005.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 109th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2007 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers