Military Officer - April 2008 - (Page 40) washingtonscene Budget Proposals From the VA I $2.3 billion more for MOAA worked with Edwards and Boyda in support of this effort and will urge quick adoption in the Senate, as well. health care I 64 new outpatient clin- ics in 2008 I 51 new outpatient clin- ics in 2009 I $38 million less for VA Budget Pros and Cons Bigger budget, same old fee proposals. medical research I 15 percent less for mental health research I New $250-$750 enrollment fee would apply for some veterans. N ew VA Secretary James Peake, a former Army surgeon general, presented his $94 billion blueprint for FY 2009 VA funding at a House Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing Feb. 7. The VA seeks $41.2 billion for health care, $2.3 billion more than this year’s amount. Peake said the budget would provide care to nearly 5.8 million veterans, including more than 330,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. The budget includes $3.9 million to improve access to mental health care services; $1.5 billion for prosthetic equipment and sensory aids; and $762 billion to improve long term care services for aging veterans. Peake said this would “virtually eliminate” excessive medical appointment delays by the end of 2008 (versus 250,000 delays in April 2006 and 69,000 as of January 2008). He said this would be accomplished in part by fielding 64 new outpatient clinics this year and 51 in 2009, for a total of 846 nationwide. The VA also plans to hire more claims workers and upgrade information technology to streamline paper-based claims procedures. If this works — and other plans have foundered in recent years — the VA hopes to reduce processing time to 145 days and improve accuracy of decisions to more than 90 percent by the end of 2009. While generally well-received by lawmakers and stakeholders, some proposed items drew criticism, including a $38-million reduction for medical research. A respected research group told the committee the cuts would hurt research on brain injuries and environmental exposures of wounded warriors and substance abuse and impose a 15-percent cut in mental health research. These cuts are unacceptable during a time of war and especially in light of current needs for wounded warrior care and rehabilitation. The administration also trundled out its perennially rejected proposal to start charging enrollment fees of $250 to $750 annually for health care and hike pharmacy fees from $8 to $15 for certain nondisabled veterans. Expecting Congress to reject the fees again, the budget does not project getting any revenues from the fees. Peake inherited this bad idea, and MOAA doesn’t fault him for being required to put it in the budget request. Budget Hits Medicare Projected savings based on bad assumptions. T he administration’s FY 2009 budget would deal heavy blows to Medicare and many older beneficiaries. Physician reimbursement cuts of almost 10 percent originally planned for January 2008 will go into effect in July 2008 unless Congress acts to reverse them, and the budget envisions further cuts in January 2009. Such cuts also would affect TRICARE, because TRICARE doctor payments are tied to Medicare’s. These cuts would cause more doctors to refuse to see TRICARE and Medicare patients. The new budget also would repeal annual inflation adjustments to the income levels used to means-test Part B premiums. If enacted, that would push more and more people each year into paying significantly higher Part B premiums. This year, the 40 MILITARY OFFICER APRIL 2008
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