Military Officer - June 2008 - (Page 40)

washingtonscene Senate Hears TMC Agenda employer’s family health insurance coverage during periods of active duty. Strobridge also emphasized the need for ﬂexible spending accounts to let active duty and Guard and Reserve families exempt out-of-pocket medical and child care payments from federal, state, and payroll taxes. He urged the committee to ﬁnd ways to end deduction of VA payments from military retired pay and survivor beneﬁts in cases of service-caused disability or death. Finally, Strobridge urged the committee to adopt Sens. Frank Lautenberg’s (D-N.J.) and Chuck Hagel’s (R-Neb.) bipartisan S. 604, which would specify in law that military health and retirement beneﬁts are the primary offset to the arduous conditions of a service career, recognize that military people pay very large in-kind premiums for their health care through extended service and sacriﬁce, and specify that the percentage fee increase in any year should not exceed the percentage increase in military compensation. Witnesses address health and compensation issues. O n April 16, Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF-Ret., and several other Military Coalition representatives were invited to testify before the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee on legislative priorities for FY 2009. Chair Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) indicated the subcommittee’s sensitivity to the stresses imposed on servicemembers and families and the need to ensure fair treatment for those who have completed careers. He said the subcommittee is not sympathetic to the large TRICARE fee increases proposed by the administration. Ranking Minority Member Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) agreed, though he said some increases would have to be addressed and fees would not be held steady forever. He also emphasized the need to improve the Montgomery GI Bill. Graham asserted, “The bottom line here is that we just have to spend more on defense.” Strobridge’s testimony focused on health care issues, highlighting that DoD-proposed retail pharmacy increases would charge military beneﬁciaries $15 for medications any civilian can get at Wal-Mart for $4. He also urged the subcommittee to ensure more DoD and VA cooperation to help wounded warriors and their families, including three years of active duty-level TRICARE coverage and beneﬁts for medical retirees, expanded care for PTSD and traumatic brain injury, and improved coordination and cross-feed among the many DoD and VA test projects in this area. For guardmembers and reservists, he proposed having the government subsidize continuation of the civilian DoD Clarifies TRICARE Law Dos and don’ts outlined for employer incentives. O n March 28, DoD published a proposed regulation regarding what employers can and can’t do for employees who choose to use TRICARE rather than employer-sponsored health plans. This regulation would clarify a law change that took effect in January. The new law bars employers from offering TRICARE-speciﬁc incentives for employees to drop employer health coverage and use TRICARE instead. The law was intended to stop employers from seeking to shift their health care costs to DoD. [CONTINUES ON PAGE 42] 40 MILITARY OFFICER JUNE 2008

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Military Officer - June 2008

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