FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Modern Military Association of America
Email: [email protected]
Modern Military is outraged and deeply disappointed by the Senate’s passage of the FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) containing a provision that bans medically necessary healthcare for transgender and nonbinary military dependents under the age of 18. Failure to remove this provision — added in the House version at the last-minute to a clean bill that took months of negotiation — is a direct attack on military families and a betrayal of our nation’s promise to those who serve.
By implementing this ban — one of the first times Congress has passed a federal statute targeting trans people — TRICARE will fall below the standard of care offered by civilian healthcare plans under the Affordable Care Act. This decision overrides the expertise of every major U.S. medical and mental health association and removes a parent’s right to make private medical decisions with their family and providers. Military families were not requesting new benefits; this bill strips away coverage that thousands of families already rely on today.
“This federal prohibition puts countless already-vulnerable families in precarious legal, financial, and logistical positions,” said Rachel Branaman, Modern Military Executive Director. “While the NDAA includes benefits like pay raises and access to childcare, these will be negated for families forced to pay out-of-pocket for essential care or travel to access it. The state-by-state approach to basic human rights and healthcare access is fundamentally incompatible with the realities of military life. Unlike other Americans, military families do not have the luxury of choosing where they live.”
Beyond the personal hardships and injustices this ban will create, it also directly impacts military readiness. By forcing families to choose between their military careers and their children’s healthcare, this bill would hamper recruitment and decrease retention in our all-volunteer force. Families have made it clear that they will choose healthcare for their loved ones over their careers if this provision is passed.
We acknowledge the NDAA does contain some positive improvements for service members and their families. However, allowing this bill to pass as-is sets a dangerous precedent that lawmakers are free to take away healthcare for political gain rather than relying on proven science and the needs of real military families.
We strongly urge the Biden administration to veto this bill, ensuring the next NDAA is focused on supporting our nation’s military rather than serving as a vehicle for legal discrimination. Our obligation must be to strengthen the families of those who serve in our nation’s armed forces, not to undermine their health and well-being for political gain.
Learn more here: https://modernmilitary.org/2024/12/ndaamedcoverage2024/#
https://modernmilitary.org/2024/12/press-release-ndaahealthcare2024/
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Modern Military is the nation’s largest organization of LGBTQ+ service members, military spouses, veterans, their families, and allies. We educate, advocate, and champion for the rights and well-being of LGBTQ+ service members, veterans, and their families as well as people living with HIV. We envision an inclusive and equitable military environment where every member of the LGBTQ+ and HIV-positive community is respected, valued, and empowered to thrive.
