Notice2026-06913
Extension of the TRICARE Childbirth and Breastfeeding Support Demonstration
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 10, 2026
Issuing agencies
Defense Department
Abstract
The Department will extend the Childbirth and Breastfeeding Support Demonstration (CBSD) by five years. The Department is also soliciting comments on the CBSD and its potential integration into the TRICARE Basic benefit. The comment period will end 30 days after the publication of this notice. The Department will receive and consider comments but will not issue responses to comments.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 69 (Friday, April 10, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 69 (Friday, April 10, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Page 18444]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-06913]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Office of the Secretary
Extension of the TRICARE Childbirth and Breastfeeding Support
Demonstration
AGENCY: Department of Defense.
ACTION: Notice of demonstration extension.
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SUMMARY: The Department will extend the Childbirth and Breastfeeding
Support Demonstration (CBSD) by five years. The Department is also
soliciting comments on the CBSD and its potential integration into the
TRICARE Basic benefit. The comment period will end 30 days after the
publication of this notice. The Department will receive and consider
comments but will not issue responses to comments.
DATES: The CBSD extension will run from January 1, 2027, to December
31, 2031. The comment period will end on May 11, 2026.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number and
title, by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
<bullet> Mail: Department of Defense, Privacy, Civil Liberties, and
Transparency Directorate, Office of the Director of Administration &
Management, Regulatory Division, 4800 Mark Center Drive, Mailbox #24,
Suite 05F16, Alexandria, VA 22350-1700.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and docket number for this Federal Register document. The general
policy for comments and other submissions from members of the public is
to make these submissions available for public viewing on the internet
at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a> as they are received without change,
including any personal identifiers or contact information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erica Ferron, 303-676-3626,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4520372c26246b266b232037372a2b6b262c33052d202429312d6b282c29"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8eebfce7edefa0eda0e8ebfcfce1e0a0ede7f8cee6ebefe2fae6a0e3e7e2">[email protected]</span></a>. Questions regarding specific claims or
cases should be addressed to the appropriate TRICARE Managed Care
Support Contractor in whose jurisdiction a claim has been or would be
filed.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 746 of the William M. (Mac)
Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021
directed the Secretary to establish a five-year demonstration project
under TRICARE to evaluate the cost, quality of care, and impact on
maternal and fetal outcomes of covering the services of doulas and
lactation consultants or counselors not otherwise TRICARE authorized,
and to determine whether it would be appropriate to add permanent
coverage to the TRICARE benefit. This demonstration was implemented as
the CBSD, with details announced in a Federal Register notice (FRN)
published by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, now
referred to as the Assistant Secretary of War for Health Affairs
(ASW(HA)), on October 29, 2021 (86 Federal Register (FR) 60006). The
FRN prescribed the qualifications for the three extra medical maternal
health providers (certified labor doulas, certified lactation
consultants, and certified lactation counselors), the number and type
of services to be reimbursed, and the reimbursement rates for the
services. The initial FRN indicated that the CBSD would begin on
January 1, 2022, in the United States, and last for five years,
consistent with Section 746 of the NDAA for FY 2021. The CBSD was
modified for implementation overseas by an FRN published August 2, 2023
(88 FR 50850), with overseas coverage commencing on January 1, 2025.
The ASW(HA), consistent with 10 U.S.C. 1092, is extending the CBSD
that was originally mandated by Section 746 of the NDAA for FY 2021 by
an additional five years in order to ensure sufficient time for the
Defense Health Agency to complete the program evaluation required by
Section 746, as well as to engage in any rulemaking that may be
necessary if it is deemed appropriate to make some or all of the CBSD
permanent under the TRICARE program. The extension of the CBSD is
estimated to cost approximately $19.6M over five years.
The Department is requesting comments regarding the public's
support of and concerns about the services and providers under the
CBSD. The Department will not respond to these comments but may
consider them in making changes to the CBSD or the TRICARE Basic
benefit. Comments regarding specific beneficiary claims or comments
requesting a response or intervention regarding a specific case should
be addressed to the appropriate TRICARE Managed Care Support
Contractor. The Department receives feedback from most beneficiaries
via the CBSD's Maternity Survey and so in particular requests comments
from providers and other impacted members of the public.
Dated: April 7, 2026.
Aaron T. Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2026-06913 Filed 4-9-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6001-FR-P
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