2006 Victories
–Blocked TRICARE fee increases and pharmacy co-pay increases for FY 2007 and prevented fee increases for VA health care
–Reversed 5.1% cut in 2007 Medicare and TRICARE payment rates to doctors
–Raised minimum age-62 SBP annuity to 45% of covered retired pay (as of 1 April 2006)
–Required study of removing Social Security numbers from military ID cards
–Protected commissary funding
–Established permanent military ID cards for retirees’ permanently disabled dependents

2007 Priorities
–Preserve full-inflation cost-of-living adjustments to military and veterans’ annuities
–Protect against healthcare benefits cuts
–Accelerate the implementation of 30-year paid-up SBP coverage (currently scheduled for 10/1/08)
–Eliminate the VA survivor benefit / Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) deduction from SBP annuities
–Expand permanent ID card eligibility for older dependents and survivors
–Authorize full concurrent receipt of military retired pay and VA disability compensation, and expand benefit to medical retirees with less than 20 years’ service

LtCol Bill Gavitt, USAF (Ret)
Member, Board of Directors
Military Officers Association of America