EVERETT — Spec. 4 Eric Mueller’s Washington National Guard unit will be shipped off to Iraq or Afghanistan soon to participate in occupation and rebuilding efforts.

In the interim, the Arlington man is less certain how to provide health care for his wife and three children.

He’s just one of thousands of guard or reserve troops throughout the nation whose civilian lives are being disrupted in the face of duty, and who may not have the wherewithal to provide proper health care for themselves or their families.

That was one of the big concerns raised Wednesday by officers and enlisted personnel in a round-table discussion here hosted by U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.

Cantwell is co-sponsor of a Senate bill amendment approved last week that could fix the problem. The amendment would extend the government’s Tricare military health insurance coverage to reserve and guard members who don’t have other health insurance.

The amendment was attached to the administration’s $87 billion funding request for reconstruction and continued troop occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Cantwell said she met with a number of Washington National Guard troops during an Iraqi trip in August, spurring her interest in making sure they are compensated for their sacrifices. She said part-time soldiers, sailors and airmen make an enormous sacrifice, and "the least we owe them is affordable health care."

Under the proposed change, reserve families will be eligible to apply for benefits even when they aren’t called up to full-time duty. Now they are eligible only if a spouse is on active duty.

They would receive the same benefits and be responsible for paying the same premiums, co-payments and deductibles as active-duty personnel.

Cantwell said many reservists and their families now lose Tricare as soon as they come off active duty.

Muller, 32, joined the 898th Engineering Battalion in Snohomish about six months ago. He is currently unemployed and can’t afford to pay for surgery his wife needs. In addition, without prescription medication benefits, he pays full price for medicine his 12-year-old son must have.

"If we had Tricare as an insurance plan just being a part-time soldier, that would benefit us greatly," he said. "If this bill goes through, that would be great. It would be a ton lifted off my shoulders."

Even National Guard and reserve troops who come off active duty may not be able to immediately get back on an employer’s health plan, Cantwell said, and the bill would fill that gap. She also heard complaints about health providers discontinuing acceptance of Tricare because the insurance pays a decreasing amount of standard charges.

Cantwell’s staff said the amendment would cost the American taxpayers about $455 million a year, but those costs could be offset in other ways.

Settling the health care issue will be an incentive for recruitment and for part-time soldiers to stay in the reserves or National Guard, said Lt. Col. Duane Coffey of the 898t Engineering Battalion.

Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.