NMFA’s 2025 Advocacy Roadmap: Your Stories Matter
Military families are the backbone of our national defense. But for many families in our community, issues like food insecurity, housing challenges or gaps in health care coverage remain a harsh reality.
Looking ahead, NMFA remains dedicated to addressing the critical legislative priorities that impact military families like yours.
We’ll continue to work tirelessly to collaborate with Congress on the following key issues, and urge them to implement policies that provide meaningful solutions and support for military families, such as:
- Expanding the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to Include Military Spouses. Military spouses experience unemployment rates nearly three times higher than the national average, largely due to frequent relocations and career interruptions. The WOTC is a federal tax credit given to employers that invest in American job seekers who continuously face employment barriers. Expanding the WOTC to include military spouses would provide businesses with incentives to hire from this talented yet underserved workforce, helping to reduce employment disparities and support military families.
- Expanding TRICARE Coverage for Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), Including IVF. TRICARE’s current limitations leave many families bearing significant out-of-pocket costs for fertility care. With federal civilian employees gaining coverage for these services in 2025, military families deserve equal access to grow their families.
- Recognizing Pregnancy as a “Qualifying Life Event” (QLE) under TRICARE. Pregnancy is not currently recognized as a QLE under TRICARE, restricting plan changes outside Open Season. Allowing pregnancy as a QLE would enable families to choose plans that better meet maternity care needs, improving access to prenatal care and alleviating financial challenges.
- Extending TRICARE Coverage for Young Adult Dependents to Age 26. TRICARE coverage for young adult dependents currently ends at age 21, or 23 for full-time students, leaving military families to bear additional healthcare costs. By aligning TRICARE with civilian employer plans, which cover dependents up to age 26 at no extra cost, military families can achieve continuity of care for their young adults without the added financial burden of a $337-$727 monthly premium.
- Improving Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) Calculations. Every 4 years, the President orders a review of military compensation. The 14th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation (QRMC) was recently released, and the report states “BAH provides 17%-60% more than the civilian average cost of housing and utilities for most pay grades”. However, that is not what we’re hearing from military families like yours. We plan to urge Congress to ensure that BAH rates reflect accurate local housing costs so that military families have access to safe, high-quality housing.
Your Stories Fuel Change
The collective voices of military families are the driving force behind NMFA’s advocacy. Every story shared helps Congress, policymakers and our own military community to understand the real-world impact of these issues.
Your experiences matter. By sharing your stories with us, you become part of the movement that helps create meaningful solutions to the issues impacting your own military life and the lives of other military families.
Have you faced challenges with housing, health care, or employment? Are gaps in TRICARE coverage affecting your military family? Does your BAH fall short of local housing costs?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are not alone. Your voice matters. Your story matters. We invite you to continue sharing your stories with us as we embark on another year of advocacy. Because Together, We’re Stronger®.
