President Obama on April 26 signed the legislation sponsored by Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) to ensure the Administration’s new health care reform law would not adversely affect Tricare. Both the House and Senate passed the Tricare Affirmation Act (HR 4887) unanimously. In an April 26 statement, Skelton said that the Tricare and non-appropriated fund (NAF) “health plans are such great plans that they already meet the minimum requirements for individual health insurance coverage in the recently enacted health care bill, and no Tricare or NAF health plan beneficiary will be required to purchase additional coverage beyond what they already have.”
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
