Current Projects

TRICARE Autism Care Demonstration (ACD) Reform & Legislative Oversight

Status: Active | Major Legislative Milestone Achieved (June 2026)

The Military Family Advocacy Group (MFAG) is leading a targeted, data-driven initiative to reform systemic healthcare access gaps facing military dependents diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Driven by our comprehensive policy research and cost-analysis models, this project focuses on restoring clinical integrity to the TRICARE network and protecting military families from arbitrary coverage limitations.

Core Objectives of Section 746

Our ongoing work focuses on defending and auditing this critical statutory provision, which holds the Defense Health Agency (DHA) directly accountable to Congress for the following mandates:

NASEM Study Enforcement: Forcing a transparent timeline and execution plan to implement the recommendations of the landmark September 2025 National Academies (NASEM) study, including the transition of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) into a permanent, basic TRICARE medical benefit.
Ending Setting Restrictions: Requiring the DHA to justify the systemic denial of one-on-one Behavior Technician support in natural settings, specifically targeting the lifting of the "School Exclusion Rule" for dependents with documented life-safety risks (such as pica, elopement, and self-injurious behavior).
Clinical Definition Realignment: Auditing the DHA's practice of classifying core neurological sensory deficits (under DSM-5 Criterion B.4) as non-medical "activities of daily living" or "educational tasks" to deny coverage.
T-5 Contract Transition Audit: Demanding full transparency regarding provider network attrition, claims processing backlogs, and regional "care deserts" that have disrupted continuity of care since the contract transition went live.
Exposing Taxpayer Cost-Shifting: Quantifying the hidden public financial exposure created when TRICARE service shortfalls force military families to dual-enroll dependents in state-funded Medicaid, CHIP, or state disability waiver pathways.
Securing a Seat at the Table: Mandating the creation of the NASEM-recommended Independent Advisory Council, ensuring that grassroots military family advocacy organizations and independent clinical experts are structurally written into federal oversight.

Recent Milestone: Direct Impact on the FY2027 NDAA

Following high-level briefings and a rigorous advocacy campaign coordinated by MFAG with key congressional offices, our core policy recommendations have been successfully integrated directly into the foundational baseline text of the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) under Military Personnel (MLP) Subcommittee Mark, Section 746.

Moving a policy priority from an outside recommendation to baseline statutory text represents a massive structural victory, ensuring our objectives have maximum legislative weight as the defense bill moves toward final passage.

Legislative Advocacy: The Military Health Care Accountability and Parity Act of 2026

Statutory Market Parity: Drafted comprehensive model legislation amending Title 10, U.S.C. § 1079 to eliminate TRICARE’s legacy "grandfathered" exemptions under ACA Section 1251.
Enforceable Consumer Protections: Mandates that the Defense Health Agency (DHA) comply with federal health market reform standards, including Non-Quantitative Treatment Limitation (NQTL) parity, external independent appeals, and essential health benefit protections.
Protecting Physician Authority: Statutorily prohibits arbitrary, non-clinical setting exclusions (e.g., public schools, community settings, and telehealth) and aligns coverage with established clinical consensus (such as NASEM and DSM-5 diagnostic criteria).
Normalizing Long-Term Care: Automatically sunsets perpetual "demonstration" status for programs operating over five consecutive years, permanently integrating them into TRICARE Basic.

Empirical Research: National Military Family Healthcare Experience Survey

Quantifying Force Retention Risks: Continuous nationwide data collection measuring the direct correlation between TRICARE administrative friction and early military separation across critical career fields (including tactical pilots, EOD technicians, nuclear engineers, and special operations personnel).
Administrative Denial Analysis: Documenting systemic reliance on non-clinical manual restrictions, internal appeal failures, and the lack of independent external reviews.
Fiscal Cost-Shifting Metrics: Quantifying the economic impact of denied care, including out-of-pocket family medical debt and the improper shift of federal healthcare burdens onto state Medicaid waiver systems.

Next Steps & Strategy
MFAG is currently executing a coordinated, bicameral defense strategy alongside the personal offices of Congresswoman Nancy Mace (SC-01) and Senator Tim Scott (SC). We are actively conducting technical reviews of the legislative text to close any potential administrative loopholes and are priming our network of credentialed providers and Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) to defend Section 746 through upcoming committee markups, floor debates, and the end-of-year Conference Committee negotiations.

Provider Network Transparency & Multi-State Ghost Network Audits

Field Verification Audits: Conducting exhaustive, real-world directory audits across key military states (Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and New Jersey) to document contractor directory inaccuracies.
Exposing Phantom Networks: Documenting duplicate entries, invalid contact details, non-applicable clinics, departed clinicians, and widespread provider refusal of TRICARE contracts.
NDAA Section 705 Implementation: Providing primary empirical evidence to Congressional committees and defense coalitions to mandate DHA Inspector General audits, establish enforceable contract accuracy benchmarks, and protect families from being relocated into care deserts.

Public Policy Briefings & Coalition Engagement

Congressional Committee Engagement: Delivering executive white papers, legislative language, and data briefings directly to Senate and House Armed Services Committee staff.
Defense Media & Thought Leadership: Publishing investigative analyses, op-eds, and policy commentary across defense media outlets to keep military healthcare accountability at the forefront of national defense priorities.
Stakeholder Coalition Building: Partnering with military service organizations, legal detachments, and advocacy groups to ensure healthcare parity provisions survive annual NDAA conference negotiations.