TASK FORCE: MILITARY BENEFITS “UNFAIR TO TAXPAYERS”

The DoD Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care released its final report on December 20, and the results were pretty much as expected.

The report said the relatively low health fees paid by military retirees vs. the growing cost of military health benefits are “out of step with overall trends in the U.S. health care system” and “unfair to the U.S. taxpayer.”

The task force, co-chaired by Gen. John D.W. Corley, USAF, Commander of Air Combat Command, and economist Dr. Gail Wilensky, recommended retiree fee increases that were patterned generally after those recommended by the Department of Defense for the past two years.

Under the task force’s plan, fees would be stratified in three tiers, based on the amount of the member’s military retired pay. Most retired officers with families covered under TRICARE Prime would pay an annual enrollment fee of $780 for 2008, with the fee rising steeply to $1,800 a year by 2011.

Those in TRICARE Standard would end up paying about $1,100 a year in enrollment fees and deductibles.

Medicare-eligibles would have to pay an annual enrollment fee of $120 per year by 2011. Any beneficiary who didn’t pay the enrollment fee also wouldn’t be allowed to use military pharmacies.

As for pharmacy coverage, the task force recommended raising copayments for retail pharmacy use from the current $3 (generic), $9 (brand-name formulary), and $22 (non-formulary) to $15, $25, and $45, respectively - significantly greater increases than previously proposed by the Pentagon.

MOAA’s first-blush reaction to the proposals is that (a) they impose means-tested premiums that don’t apply to other federal health benefits and (b) they focus almost exclusively on DoD costs and very little on what level of benefit career military people earn by virtue of their decades of service and sacrifice. In other words, focusing only on cash fees ignores that military people pay far larger premiums than any civilian - but pay them up front and in-kind. When asked that question directly, one of the commissioners answered, “That’s for Congress to decide.”

MOAA believes that should have been a key topic in any even-handed report. That’s why we’ve pushed hard for the last two years in support of H.R. 579 and S. 604, the bipartisan Military Health Care Protection Act introduced by Rep. Chet Edwards (D-TX) and Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) in the House and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) in the Senate, which would specify that point in law and put appropriate limits on military health care fee increases. Click on the bill numbers in this paragraph to check whether your legislators have cosponsored these bills and send them a MOAA-suggested message tailored to their status.

Source: MOAA Legislative Update

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