Light shed on reservists’s “gray area”

Congressman Bob Latta (R-Ohio) held a press conference in support of the TRICARE Continuity of Coverage for National Guard and Reserve Families Act of 2008. The bill proposes to expand coverage for retirees of the National Guard and Reserve to include the “gray area.” The TRICARE program supplies medical coverage to members of the Retired Reserve who are qualified for retirement benefits but are not age sixty.

The “gray area” refers to those retired members who have given twenty or more years of service, but are not yet old enough to qualify for benefits. Latta said that there are about 220,000 members who are in this “gray area”, with 12,100 members entering this status this year. Latta also said that many retirees in this status are uninsured. The bill states that those who are between retirement and age sixty will receive coverage on or after October 1, 2009.