Military Officer - February 2006 - (Page 42) washingtonscene Pretax Health Payments: Why Not? Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) government should set the standard as a model employer. Providing this benefit to military and federal retirees is a reasonable step in recognition of their careers of service to their country, which may ultimately lead to providing this benefit to all retirees. MOAA pushes equal treatment for military. Media Myopia Reserve health care critics just don’t get it. F Rep. Tom Davis R-Va. or more than a year, MOAA has pushed for legislation that would allow pretax payment of health care premiums by active duty, reserve, and retired military members. Rising health care costs affect all federal employees, civilian or uniformed, active or retired, and this proposal is essential to ensure all are provided the same benefit. The two key bills in the 109th Congress on the issue are H.R. 994, sponsored by Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), and S. 484, sponsored by Sen. John Warner (R-Va.). Both bills would amend the law to allow retired federal civilian and military beneficiaries to pay health insurance premiums on a pretax basis and to allow a deduction for TRICARE supplemental premiums. Currently, active federal workers and private-sector employees can pay their health insurance premiums with pretax dollars, but military members and retirees can’t. In November, MOAA testified in support of the bill before the House Ways and Means subcommittee hearing. MOAA pointed out that many military beneficiaries pay premiums for TRICARE supplements, the active duty dental plan or TRICARE Retiree Dental Plan (TRDP), long-term care insurance, or TRICARE Prime enrollment fees, but they can’t do so on a pretax basis. Private sector and federal workers already enjoy tax exemptions for such expenses. Some legislators are concerned that the proposed pretax treatment of health care premiums would extend benefits to military and federal civilian retirees, but not to other retirees. MOAA thinks the federal I n a Dec. 6 article entitled “The Benefits Explosion,” Wall Street Journal columnist Brendan Miniter got MOAA’s dander up claiming that the country can’t afford reserve health coverage and that the government already has given Guard and Reserve troops all they deserve. MOAA President Vice Adm. Norb Ryan Jr., USN-Ret., fired off a response citing another Journal column (“They Are All So Wrong,” by Mark Halperin, Sept. 9) that showed the current defense budget, at the height of the war on terrorism, represents “only 3.2 percent of the gross domestic product, as opposed to the average of 5.7 percent of GNP in the peacetime years between 1940 and 2000.” Ryan pointed out that servicemembers and families are “paying premiums of sacrifice that far exceed what any civilian will ever pay” and that the government provides health coverage for part-time civilian employees. “We need to keep our priorities straight here,” Ryan said. “No Americans deserve health coverage more, and no country was ever more able to afford that coverage than the United States of America.” MO — Contributors are Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF-Ret., director; Col. Mike Hayden, USAFRet.; Col. Lee Lange, USMC-Ret.; Col. Bob Norton, USA-Ret.; Col. Jim Young, USAF-Ret.; Cmdr. René Campos, USN-Ret.; Cmdr. John Class, USNRet.; Cynthia Thompson; and Cass Vreeland, MOAA’s Government Relations Department. 42 MILITARY OFFICER FEBRUARY 2006
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