Time to write your Congressman Again!

[lownslow]

I don't ever forward e-mails or post political messages but this is real and affects alot of us here on the board. I'm sorry the post is sort of long but in a nutshell our new President and his Congress want to raise the cost of Tricare for retirees.

It seems there is a movement on from the new administration to screw some of us for serving our country. How quickly they forget that many of us when we joined the military were promised free medical care for us and our dependants for the rest of our life. Even Tricare is a breach of that promise, but now they want to mess with Tricare and Tricare for life, the military supplement to Medicare. Pass this to all retirees.

TRICARE (REF ACTIVE DUTY 7 & RETIREES) (UNCLASSIFIED) The Assault Begins

To All, this is for real. The heavy assault has begun on Veterans'/Retirees' benefits to pay for other programs. The word on the street is that these indeed are a high priority of the Obama administration. The one most of interest to Retired Military is in Article 189. If approved by Congress the first assault wave would hit the beaches in 2011 and would hit hard. It would initiate cost sharing to require retirees to pay the first $525 of medical cost and 50% of the next $4,725 for a first year cost of $2,888 per person. It would be indexed to increase with inflation. A reason given for this action (for PR effect) is "overuse" by Retirees.

This will be a major increase for anyone using TRICARE related services, not just TRICARE for Life (TFL). There is a link below to the OMB report.

Search for TRICARE and read 95, 96 and 97. They are out to increase cost for active duty, retirees not eligible for TFL and those using TFL.

Please review and write your Congressional representatives. Also, please pass this to any retiree's you know. I love how cavalier the bean counters are when they state "minimum out of pocket expenses" and then they further state of the savings 22% would come from a reduced demandfor medical services, which said another way is that 78% of the savings would come from retirees!!! We need MOAA, VFW and AL all over this and soonest!!

If you know of anyone who is Retired Military, please forward this on to them.

I don't know how many of you partake of the Tri Care for Life program but here is a very interesting note on the subject. Seems as though our President has placed a priority on cutting it out of the budget as a means to provide funding for those things he promised during the campaign. In any case, on page 189 of the Congressional Budget Office report, (see the note below on how to get to that spot), there is a strong recommendation to eventually eliminate the program as it is too expensive? I would ask that you contact your elected officials and register your strong opposition to the elimination of this program.

Just another move to slight those of us who dedicated much of our adult lives to the defense of our country? Thanks for listening.

Heads-up from BGEN Bob Clements, USAF Ret (P38 Bob) The following has been added to the Congressional Budget Office Web Site http://www.cbo.gov/

a. Budget, Options, Volume 1: Health Care

(http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=9925

For those who have never opened one of these web sites from OMB:

1. double click on the above URL

2. click on PDF

3. click on the binoculars

4. do a search for TFL

[Blackjack Jerry]

If you think the current administration cares one bit about anything other than their own agenda, you are sadly mistaken my friend....

My one hope is that they mess it up enough that the American people will say "Enough" after one four-year term.

Jerry

[bischoffm]

I know for a fact that during the Bush tenior they (Pentagon and Bush!!) tried to raise Tricare rates numerous times and congress would not let it happen. Including the Democratic congress! So do get facts straight before trying to blame and panic everyone. I don't think vets should have to pay ANYTHING for benefits especially medical.

[Guest]

Passions run high when discussing these matters. Let's be sure to remember who we are upset at and not take it out on each other. :)

[lownslow]

My point to posting this was not to spark up a political bonfire. The words in the meat of the e-mail are not mine. It was simply to alert folks here that they need to pay attention to what is going on regarding thier benefits and to contact their representative if they don't like what they see. Our benefits have been eroded enough. Too many people sit back and complain about what the governement (both parties) is doing but don't participate in the process. The only voice you have is your vote and your communication with your elected representative. With lack of direction from thier constituents they are going to go on thier own beliefs and desires. Some probably don't even know what is in the bill they vote on.

I know the process works because my Congressman, Chet Edwards, has already introduced a bill in the house to try and prevent the cost of Tricare skyrocketing. (H.R. 816)

[GaryRobinson]

Bischoffm is right in stating that the Pentagon tried to raise Tricare rates numerous times during the Bush Administraton and congress would not let it happen. However, there is a new push to raise the fees and just like LowandSlow said now is not the time to let your guard down. The best way to stop this right now to to write your congressman and senators and try to put a stop to any attempt to increase the fees.

[SonnyJ]

FYI from an Email I received. However, it does not relieve us to not write our congressmen and women and let our voice be heard so these "suggestions" do not have an opportunity to gain strength.

Sonny

February 19, 2009

Mr. Mark Buxton

1250 Farmington Ave Apt C23

West Hartford, CT 06107

Dear Mr. Buxton:

Thank you for contacting me regarding rumored cuts in benefit programs for military retirees, including TRICARE for Life. Currently, a wealth of false and misleading information is being distributed on this matter; and I welcome the opportunity to explain the source of the confusion.

I am aware of several chain emails, online discussion boards, blogs, and even articles in well-intentioned veterans' publications that imply that President Obama and Congress plan on eliminating TRICARE for Life. The insinuations put forth by these sources are false.

The source of these stories is a report issued by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), entitled Budget Options Volume 1: Heath Care, released in December 2008. Before jumping to conclusions about the report itself, however, it is important to know exactly what the

CBO is. CBO is a nonpartisan federal agency, tasked with providing Congress with cost estimates for the many legislative proposals considered each year. It also periodically offers Congress suggestions for adjusting federal spending. CBO is an information gathering body for Members of Congress.

Its recommendations about the budget are completely nonbinding; and its officers do not draft actual policy, legislation, or law.

The Budget Options report in question offers a total of 115 options for reducing (or, in some cases, increasing) federal spending on health care, only three of which relate to TRICARE. These options are merely suggestions, not policy statements or actual legislation.

Reports such as this one are routine, and very few options or recommendations made by CBO are typically acted upon. President Obama has not indicated support for the three recommendations in this report related to TRICARE, nor has any Member of Congress, to the best of my knowledge. Any suggestion that the Administration is affiliated with this report ignores the fact that it was drafted by the CBO - which, again, is an advisory body

of the legislative branch, not the executive branch.

You may also be interested to know that both the Reserve Officers Association (ROA) and the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) have issued statements condemning the aforementioned rumors that are being perpetuated through these chain emails.

I hope that you have found this letter informative, and I encourage you to share this information with members of your community who are concerned about issues relating to military retirees. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, please be assured of my continued commitment to protecting the various interests of all those who have fought tirelessly to protect our cherished freedoms.

Thank you again for sharing your views and concerns with me. I hope you will continue to visit my website at http://lieberman.senate.gov <http://lieberman.senate.gov/> for updated news about my work on behalf of Connecticut and the nation.

Please contact me if you have any additional questions or comments about our work in Congress.

Sincerely,

Joseph I. Lieberman

UNITED STATES SENATOR

[Skip Davenport]

Now I can stop looking for the email from Joseph I. Lieberman UNITED STATES SENATOR I received months ago from my sister.

[SonnyJ]

Gotta love those canned responses! Here is the one I got from Saxby Chambliss:

Dear Mr. Johnston:

Thank you for contacting me regarding proposed TRICARE Prime fees. It is good to hear from you.

On January 9, 2009, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a study discussing the possible implementation of fees for dependents of active duty members enrolled in TRICARE Prime citing their support for the fees. Even though the CBO report supports the fees, to date there has been no legislation presented before the Senate that would impose such fees.

I can think of no higher priority than caring for our nation's military personnel and their families. I have always been deeply committed to promoting the wellbeing of the servicemen and women who fight to preserve our freedom and way of life, and you can be sure that I will make certain their concerns are given the highest priority in the 111th Congress.

If you would like to receive timely email alerts regarding the latest congressional actions and my weekly e-newsletter, please sign up via my web site at: www.chambliss.senate.gov . Please let me know whenever I may be of assistance.

Edited March 5, 2009 by SonnyJ
forgot a word...

[lownslow]

What Joe Leiberman said about the CBO is absolutely true. What he didn't say though is that the CBO doesnt spend their time studying cost changes unless CONGRESS, proposes a change. So, granted it isn't a bill ready to be voted on but just the fact that those figures are in the CBO report mean that someone in Washington has recommended the cuts.

[GaryRobinson]

The article below is from the Air Force Times web site. The URL is at the bottom if you want to check it out. The push behind raising the TRICARE rates has always been DOD. DOD has been behind the push from the beginnning. It is not really Congress or the CBO pushing for the increases, it is DOD.

Gary

Retirees under 65 should pay more for Tricare, QRMC says

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer

The idea that military retirees under age 65 should pay more for their Tricare benefits has become a familiar Pentagon refrain, voiced in a 2006 report on military compensation and by the 2007 Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care.

The Pentagon has tried for three years running to convince Congress to boost those rates, without success.

Critics say the hardships and sacrifices that go hand in hand with a career in the military represent a form of in-kind premium payments, and argue that any increases should be proportional to increases in retired pay.

Now another study — the Pentagon’s 10th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation — has added its voice to the calls for a boost in payments.

The QRMC recommended that “working-age†retirees — those under age 65 — pay more for Tricare Prime, “reflecting their ability to do so,†the study said.

Such a move would make their premiums more equitable with those paid by older retirees, who must pay Medicare Part B premiums in order to qualify for Tricare for Life coverage.

“There needs to be some parity between our older and our younger retirees,†said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Denny Eakle, QRMC executive director. “It’s not fair to ask the oldest retirees, who make the least, to pay far more for a benefit that is just somewhat more generous.â€

The concerns of those urging a fee hike stem from the Pentagon’s rapidly growing health care costs, which stood at $19 billion in 2001 and are projected to reach $42.9 billion next year.

But because Tricare fees have not changed since that program’s inception in the mid-1990s, the share of the military’s overall health care costs that are borne by beneficiaries declined from 27 percent in 1995 to just 12 percent in 2006, the QRMC said — which has turned Tricare into one of the lowest-cost health insurance plans in the nation.

Annual premiums for Tricare Prime have never changed from $230 for single retirees and $460 for families. Tricare Standard and Tricare Extra have never charged annual premiums.

Meanwhile, retirees over 65 who want to enroll in Tricare for Life are required by law to carry Medicare Part B, which this year charges annual premiums that start at $1,157 and rise for beneficiaries with higher income.

The QRMC suggested four-year phased increases in premiums for Tricare Prime, Standard and Extra for under-65 retirees.

After the four-year phase-in, premiums for single retirees under age 65 would be set at 40 percent of Medicare Part B premiums. That means a single under-65 retiree on the lowest rung of Medicare Part B’s income scale — annual income of $82,000 or less — would pay annual premiums of $462.70 for Tricare Prime, double the current rate.

On the upper end of the scale, a single under-65 retiree with gross income of more than $205,000 would pay $1,485.10 per year — almost 6½ times the current premiums for Tricare Prime.

In all cases, Tricare Prime premiums for married couples would be double the rates for singles, regardless of family size. Couples on the first income step, earning $164,000 or less per year, would pay $925.40. At the top step, $410,000 or more, annual premiums would be $2,970.20.

Premiums for Tricare Standard and Extra would be set at 15 percent of the annual Medicare Part B premiums for single retirees under 65, with the family rate again set at twice that.

While younger retirees might object to having their Tricare premiums tied to Medicare when they are not yet enrolled in that program, Eakle said, defense officials see it as “a matter of proportionality to the older retiree, who have to pay it in order to have Tricare.â€

The largest coalition of veterans groups rejects Tricare premiums being based on Medicare rates.

“I don’t like tying premiums to the Part B plan,†said Steve Strobridge, director of government relations for the Military Officers Association of America, one of the 35 groups that make up the Military Coalition.

Medicare Part B costs are “based on care for the elderly and disabled,†he said. “That’s much different than the under-65 population.â€

He said the proportionality argument doesn’t wash, either.

“I guess it depends on your perspective,†said Strobridge, a retired Air Force colonel. “People under 65 are paying Medicare premiums for their future coverage.â€

His biggest objection, however, is that the QRMC’s proposal does not take into account the sacrifices of military life. “We’re getting no credit for paying premiums up front. Most of the premiums paid for Tricare are paid in-kind,†through the years of service given to the military by retirees, he said.

Any Tricare fee increases, he said, should be proportional to increases in retired pay. “If the cost-of-living allowance goes up 3 percent, the ceiling should be a 3 percent increase in fees,†Strobridge said.

http://www.airforcetimes.com/benefits/getting_out/military_tricarefees_retirees_081208w/

[lownslow]

I guess if you pay less of what you promised you can buy more F-22s.

[Dan Wilson]

All the pushes to raise fees have ALWAYS originated with our own service chiefs.

They don't care whats promised, they just want cash for bigger toys for the manly men and don't care what the bottom lines means to us.

Screw Tricare anyways, those bastards kicked me out last year!

Free health care for life? Shheesh, try NO health care - cheap bastards

When I got my disabled rating from Social Security I also got the chance to enroll in Part B (medicare) and I declined it since I was already paying 500 a year for tridontcare. Well six months later and a couple thousand of doctors bills show up at my house because trichump declines any payment reqeuest that was sent in on one of their autorization. Tricare's answer 'we are NOT responsible for letting you know of a status change!! Douchbags!

Let me warn some of you guys, if your below 65 and bet disabled you HAVE to make those Part B payments or they completly wash thier hands of you.

A slightly Bitter Dan

[Jake]

Dan, can you explain the difference between the VA disability rating and a social security disability rating?

[Dan Wilson]

Well they both pay a fixed amount but the VA pays MUCH (more than twice as much) more than does SS.

This year SS disability pays a little more than 1300 skins a month - to an extent taxable (thanks to kintoon) krackheads gotta get their smoke on I guess.

But if your 100% with the VA there is no reason you cant apply for SS Disability as well, they are not mutually exclusive, you can draw full VA disability and still draw SS disability.

SS doesnt have a sliding scale as the VA does, its “you is or you aintâ€! SS is an insurance policy that you paid into for many years so in a nutshell they OWE it to you if you meet the criteria.

However, this is another Govt agency and you have to play the jump through hoops game just like with the VA, with the VA you keep fighting for the rating your condition(s) really deserve and are entitled by the reg.

With SS you will file the packages and it will get denied (over 90%), you will resubmit for reconsideration and it will get denied (over 80%) then you have to file for a date with a judge for an appeal and has a good chance of getting approved (over 67 %). It pretty much like how the VA lowballs or denys your ratings, they figure 90% wont fight it and they save lots of money that way.

If you want to file for SS disability plan on getting a lawyer, or better yet an advocate, they know the paperwork and procedures and keeps your cash out of skumy lawyer hands!!

Oh and nobody will ever tell you that if you get the SS payment and decline the Part B that they are “by law†required to kick you out of Tricare (there’s that free heathcare for life they sold me).

If you need more info ask or feel free to email me, [email protected]

Dan

[Skip Davenport]

Budgetary rules forced a House subcommittee to take the unprecedented step of creating a new Tricare preventive health care program that does not apply to 1.5 million for Medicare-eligible retirees and their families in the Tricare for Life program.

Rep. Susan Davis, D-Calif., chairwoman of the House Armed Services military personnel panel, said the plan, approved Wednesday as part of the 2009 defense authorization bill, is aimed at cutting the military’s long-term health care costs by providing preventive care.

The personnel portion of the defense policy bill, approved by voice vote and with no debate, includes:

• A 3.9 percent military pay raise.

• Increases in Army and Marine Corps active-duty personnel and in Army National Guard and Army Reserve support personnel on full-time active duty.

• A tuition assistance program for military spouses.

• Permission for a Pentagon-proposed experiment under which active-duty members could take a break of up to three years in their military career.

The full armed services committee will take up the bill next week.

Davis said her subcommittee rejected a Pentagon request for a $1.2 billion increase in Tricare health and pharmacy fees but wants to look for other ways to hold down costs, which is why expanding preventive care is attractive.

“Preventive health care is important to the long-term health of our beneficiary population, and may reduce the amount of care required,†Davis said.

She called the initiative “preferable†to the Pentagon’s proposed increase in Tricare fees.

The preventive care plan would waive co-payments for certain treatments such as vaccinations, smoking cessation help, and breast and colorectal cancer screening. It would apply to Tricare Standard, Tricare Select and Tricare Reserve beneficiaries — but, because of budgetary procedures, not Tricare for Life.

Aides named two areas in which Tricare for Life beneficiaries would be treated differently than other Tricare users: shingle vaccinations and MRIs for mammograms.

Younger retirees would receive these services for free, but Tricare for Life users would have to pay, either directly or by buying supplemental Medicare insurance, aides said.

Rep. John McHugh of New York, the subcommittee’s ranking Republican, said this would be the first instance of differences in what is covered under Tricare, and also promised to work to try to find funding to offset that action.

There are two kinds of spending in the defense budget: discretionary, which applies to personnel, operating and acquisitions costs and construction programs; and mandatory, also known as direct spending, for programs such as retired pay, GI Bill benefits for reservists, and some health care expenses, including Tricare for Life.

Davis said only congressional leaders can resolve the funding problem because direct spending involves programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and federal civilian retired pay that fall outside the jurisdiction of the armed services committee.

Congressional leaders could agree to an offset by cutting other direct spending or could find another way to fund preventive care, subcommittee aides said.

Steve Strobridge, government relations director for the Military Officers Association of America, said he understands the dilemma facing the subcommittee and agrees that what they did “is certainly preferable to not doing anything.â€

“We have been very supportive of preventive care programs,†he said. “It only makes common sense that if you come up with programs like smoking cessation that it is going to save money in the long run.â€

Article: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/0...ecare_050708w/