Military Officer - January 2008 - (Page 31) washingtonscene Holiday Suspense The FY 2008 Defense Authorization Bill is hung up in preholiday wrangling, delaying decisions on a pay raise, health care, concurrent receipt, SBP, and dozens of other fixes. L E G I S L AT I V E N E W S T H AT A F F E C T S Y O U A fter six weeks of intense negotiation among congressional leaders to resolve the differences between the House- and Senate-passed versions of the FY 2008 Defense Authorization Bill, the word in early November 2007 was that nearly all of the issues had been resolved and the final bill would be finished before Thanksgiving. But few things go smoothly in Congress as the legislative year winds down, and final action ended up being punted into December, leaving the military community hanging on resolution of dozens of issues, including: Military pay raise: Will the Senate agree to the House proposal to “plus up” military raises by one-half percentage point a year for the next five years? Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP): Will the House agree with Senate provisions to implement 30-year, paid-up SBP coverage and end deduction of VA survivor benefits from SBP? Concurrent receipt: Will the House agree with Senate proposals to provide full concurrent receipt for “unemployables” and combat-related special compensation for qualifying servicemembers medically retired before attaining 20 years of service? Guard/Reserve drill travel reimbursement: Will drilling reservists who have as of Oct. 1, 2007, or will they have to wait until October 2008? Guard/Reserve retirement age: Will the House agree to the Senate-passed plan to reduce the retirement age by three months for each cumulative 90 days spent on active duty since Oct. 7, 2001? TRICARE fees: Will the House agree to Senate-passed language acknowledging military members already pay the equivalent of large, in-kind premiums of service and sacrifice for their lifetime health care? As this column went to press, MOAA was expecting the answers for Christmas. Things to Watch for in 2008 Reports from: ■ The Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care ■ The president’s Commission on the National Guard and Reserves ■ 10th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation ■ Potential appointment of new entitlements commission to review Social Security, Medicare, and more Shingles Snafu TRICARE, Part B differ on vaccine coverage. T to travel to drill locations outside their commuting areas be authorized reimbursement for some of those expenses he good news is the new shingles vaccine is a TRICARE-covered benefit, as of Oct. 19. The bad news is Medicare covers the vaccine under Part D drug coverage, which most military beneficiaries don’t have and don’t need, rather than under Part B, which covers doctor payments. For TRICARE For Life (TFL) beneficiaries, that means TRICARE provides first-payer coverage for the vaccine. It also means TFL beneficiaries who get the vaccine are subject to the same $150 deductible and 25-percent copayment that apply to TRICARE beneficiaries under age 65. JANUARY 2008 MILITARY OFFICER 31
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