Military Officer - January 2007 - (Page 34)

washingtonscene 2007 Goals Health care, Survivor Beneﬁt Plan, and concurrent receipt ﬁxes top MOAA’s legislative agenda. C MOAA’s Top 10 Goals for 2007 ■ Defend against shifting costs to beneficiaries ■ TRICARE upgrades ■ Repeal SBP/DIC offset ■ Full concurrent receipt ■ Accelerate 30-year ongress provided several important beneﬁts protections for the military community in 2006, including prohibition of health fee increases in FY 2007 and substantially improved health coverage for Guard and Reserve servicemembers and their families. But many of MOAA’s top legislative issues were left unresolved. As the 110th Congress convenes this month, MOAA will renew its efforts to ensure fair treatment for all members of the uniformed services community. MOAA’s full legislative agenda is longer than there is room to list here, but this column provides a summary of selected MOAA legislative goals for 2007. Health care issues Health program funding Seek full funding for defense health programs while working with Congress and DoD to ensure both military readiness and beneﬁciary needs are met. This includes supporting realistic budget assumptions and working to ensure Congress fully funds unanticipated contingencies or other requirements that otherwise would overtax existing programs and budgets. paid-up SBP ■ Military/private-sector pay comparability ■ Guard/Reserve health/ retirement upgrades ■ Military manpower relief ■ Improve military family support ■ Update GI Bill Continue to defend and improve TRICARE benefits MOAA will work to sustain and improve beneﬁt consistency for all beneﬁciary groups, with the following objectives: ■ Oppose undue health care cost-shifting from the government to military beneﬁciaries. MOAA anticipates defense leaders once again will propose signiﬁcant cost increases (higher enrollment fees, deduct34 MILITARY OFFICER JANUARY 2007 ibles, copayments, etcetera) for retired beneﬁciaries, in an effort to follow civilian health care trends. MOAA strongly believes that military beneﬁciaries’ health fees should not grow faster than the percentage increase in their compensation. Military retirement and health beneﬁts are an essential offset for the extraordinary conditions of military service, and America has a higher obligation to those who have served decades in uniform than corporate employers demonstrate for their retired employees. Military servicemembers contribute far more for their health beneﬁts than any civilian ever has or will — through “up front” and in-kind premiums of arduous service and sacriﬁce that few Americans are willing to accept for even a few years, let alone 20 to 30 years. ■ Reverse projected cuts in Medicare and TRICARE payments to providers. Medicare and TRICARE (whose payment levels are tied to Medicare’s by law) already pay one-quarter to one-third less than most commercial insurance, and further payment reductions will only deter more providers from accepting military beneﬁciaries. ■ Increase access to civilian providers by reducing administrative deterrents to participation and ensuring implementation of statutory requirements for DoD to identify areas with TRICARE Standard access problems. Also, take action to attract more providers to participate in Standard, and assist beneﬁciaries who need help ﬁnding a TRICARE-participating provider. ■ Eliminate preauthorization and referral hassles and other administrative inconveniences for TRICARE beneﬁciaries and providers.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Military Officer - January 2007

Military Officer - January 2007 Contents From the Editor From the Chairman Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Cover Story: Osprey Rising? Battlefields of the Great War I Resolve ... New Mission Pages of History Information Exchange Advertising Index MOAA Scholarship Donors MOAA Member Services MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Member Books Encore

Military Officer - January 2007

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