Congressman Castro Pushes Amendments to Relieve Service Members from Medical Debt

Congressman Castro Pushes Amendments to Relieve Service Members from Medical Debt

WASHINGTON, D.C. - This week, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced three amendments to the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that provide additional financial relief to civilians who receive emergency medical care at Brooke Army Medical Center and other Department of Defense (DoD) hospitals across the United States.

"If left unaddressed, medical debt can cripple families for decades," said Congressman Castro. "Brooke Army Medical Center has saved the life of thousands of San Antonians. While we are proud to be home to the Army's premier training hospital, my constituents should not be left to pay egregious medical debt and subsidize their training. Taken together, my amendments will increase billing transparency and provide more people with financial relief."

The amendments that Congressman Castro announced include:

• Amendment 838: Provides the Director of the Defense Health Agency (DHA) the authority to forego billing civilians for medical care provided at Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs).

• Amendment 842: Pushes DoD to provide transparency by requiring the agency to publicly disclose annual statistics on civilian care at MTFs including: the total civilian medical debt held at each MTF, the number of civilians treated, the number of patients receiving debt waivers or reductions, and the average size of reduced bills.

• Amendment 848: Prevents patients from receiving unexpected tax bills after canceled medical debt by ensuring that the debt waiver under DoD authority is not treated as income.

In addition to amendments that would support U.S. civilians, Congressman Castro also submitted an amendment that would require DoD to restore the name "Fort Cavazos" in Killeen, Texas.

• Amendment 861: Require DoD to restore the name "Fort Cavazos" in place of "Fort Hood", pushing back against the Trump administration's efforts to bring back Confederate leader's names to several Army bases across the country.

Background:

BAMC is one of two Level I Trauma Centers in San Antonio. Every year, the facility treats thousands of civilians. However, prior to a 2020 Castro amendment to the FY 2021 NDAA, BAMC and other MTFs were not authorized to waive medical debt for indigent or uninsured patients. As a result, many civilians faced five-, six- and seven-figure medical bills after treatment at BAMC. Additionally - despite treating thousands of civilians each year - BAMC's payment systems have not been optimized to work with civilian insurance payees, causing payment delays that have needlessly pushed some medical bills into arrears.

Read Amendment 838 here.

Read Amendment 842 here.

Read Amendment 848 here.

Read Amendment 861 here.