MRGRG-MS - Misguided Military Health Care Fee Increase Proposals

Since 02-12-06

From: MRGRG-MS@yahoogroups.com [mailto:MRGRG-MS@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of Floyd Sears
Sent: Sunday, February 12, 2006 1:30 AM
To: !CAG/MRGRG e-mail network
Cc: jbonjo@aol.com
Subject: [MRGRG-MS] [Fwd: MISGUIDED MILITARY HEALTH CARE FEE INCREASE PROPOSALS]

A pass-along from COL (Ret) James Bond Johnson.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:     MISGUIDED MILITARY HEALTH CARE FEE INCREASE PROPOSALS
Date:     Sun, 12 Feb 2006 01:35:41 EST
From:     JBONJO@aol.com
To:     Millender.McDonald@mail.house

Rep. Millender-McDonald:

As one of your constituents I would like to offer the following report:

The basis of argument of the DOD to attempt to justify increase in TRICARE and prescription fees for military retirees is entirely bogus and must be exposed as such! If the DOD powers truly were concerned about economizing on military health care costs they would begin by eliminating the nonsensical dual processing and separate reimbursement of each and every TRICARE for Life claim. This dual processing practice needlessly wastes untold millions of dollars and serves only to provide pork for a handful of largely flag rank military retirees who have glommed onto lucrative TRICARE claims processing contracts with no personal risk whatsoever!

The Medicare program is run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which also operates Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California) and the State Children's Insurance Program (SCHIP).  The huge and needless waste of TFL becomes very apparent when it is realized that while CMS has a co-sponsor funding arrangement with the 50 states in the Medicaid and Children's Fund and processes claims and issues one check for billings under those programs it does NOT have such an arrangement with the DOD. It seems very strange that a federal agency can work efficiently in partnership with all the states but NOT with another federal agency!

The utter lack of any logic to this policy is further heightened when it is realized that there is virtually NO discretion in any processing and payment functions in DOD handling the TRICARE portion of the TFL claims so there would not be any diminishing of DOD administrative power if CMS engaged in single processing.

Health care professionals often have expressed puzzlement as to why TWO checks are received for EACH health care service provided. The ONLY explanation leads to a conclusion of PORK -- and thus the huge waste!

I would appreciate receiving your response.

COL (Ret) James Bond Johnson    

3830 Chestnut Avenue

Long Beach, CA 90807

(562) 426-3622

jbonjo@aol.com

Release No. 2-04-06
Feb. 10, 2006

DoD proposes Tricare hikes for younger military retirees

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

The Defense Department is proposing that working-age military retirees and their families pay higher premiums to help address rising health care costs that have doubled over the past few years, senior DoD officials said in Washington, D.C., Wednesday. 

The proposed changes would apply only to eligible military retirees under age 65 and their families, officials said. There would be no change for active duty military or their families, or military retirees age 65 or older and their families.

When the Tricare health care program for active duty and retired military members and their families was established in 1995, retirees then were contributing about 27 percent of the cost of their benefit, Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said during an interview with Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service reporters at the Pentagon.

However, military health care costs doubled from $19 billion in 2001 to just over $37 billion in the 2006 defense budget, Winkenwerder said. And today's average military retiree contribution for health care coverage has dropped to about 10 to 12 percent, he said.

"Their contribution did not change, while the value of the benefit continued to rise," Winkenwerder said. If approved by Congress and signed off by the president, the proposed Tricare rate hikes for retirees under age 65 would be phased in over fiscal 2007 and 2008. That should bring up younger retirees' share of Tricare costs closer to the 1995 level, he said.

By comparison, Winkenwerder said, civilians under private plans generally pay between 35 and 40 percent of their health care costs.

The current Tricare Prime annual enrollment fee for retirees is $230 for individuals and $460 for families for both enlisted and commissioned military retirees, according to DoD documents. The proposed changes would increase Tricare Prime enrollment fees for junior enlisted retirees at pay grades E-6 and below to $325 per individual and $650 for families by October 2008.

Enlisted retirees at pay grades E-7 and above would pay $475 for individuals and $950 for families by October 2008 under the proposed changes. And retired officers of all ranks would pay $700 per individual and $1,400 per family.

After that, the share of health care costs paid by military retiree would be indexed to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program that covers federal workers and retirees.

If nothing is done now, then DoD could be paying $64 billion for military health care in 2015, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Wednesday during his testimony before the House Armed Services Committee.

Finding ways to manage increased military health care costs "is something we just have to face up to, because it's an enormous amount of money," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, at the same House hearing with Pace, said to committee members.