Military Officer - September 2006 - (Page 32) washingtonscene Health Options Need Fixing ■ Please visit http:// capwiz.com/moaa/home and click on the Fix Medicare/TRICARE Payment Formula link to urge your senators and representatives to support this important legislation. Some congressional leaders have expressed sympathy for this cause. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) said at a Health Subcommittee hearing in late July, “I think it’s possible to fix the system, and I think it’s possible to fix it in this Congress — which means in the next two months.” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) is also on record as supporting a legislative fix this year. The problem, as usual, is money. Replacing all those annual payment cuts with modest increases would cost $218 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. But fixing the payment formula is essential if we’re to maintain Medicare and TRICARE as viable health care systems for the long term. MOAA Backs VA Theft Bill Legislation would strengthen personal data controls. Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) O Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.) n July 18, MOAA Deputy Director of Government Relations Col. Bob Norton, USA-Ret., testified before the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee in support of the committee’s effort to strengthen the VA’s information security program. A firestorm of criticism over the potential identity theft of the records of millions of veterans; active duty, National Guard, and Reserve servicemembers; and survivors has spurred a bipartisan effort in the House to craft legislation to protect these groups’ sensitive personal information and shore up the VA leadership oversight. Committee Chairman Steve Buyer (RInd.) and Acting Ranking Member Bob Filner (D-Calif.) announced that the Vet- erans’ Affairs Committee, Government Reform Committee, and others are working together to fashion a bill to address the VA’s information security problems and authorize protective services for veterans in the event of any future theft of their records. The draft legislation would elevate the VA chief information officer (CIO) to the same status as the VA’s top officials in charge of health, benefits, and cemetery issues. It also would direct the VA to provide free credit reporting and fraud resolution services to veterans placed at risk by future data thefts or unauthorized disclosures. Testifying on behalf of MOAA, Norton made the following key points: ■ elevation of the CIO to an undersecretary position should focus top-level responsibility for information security and improve much-needed information collaboration with the Pentagon; ■ MOAA strongly supports providing protections to affected individuals at no cost to them; and ■ the government should begin to develop alternative personal identifiers other than the Social Security number to reduce the risk of future identity theft. COLA Watch Inflation slightly lags last year’s pace. A t the time this issue went to press, the Bureau of Labor Statistics had announced the June 2006 monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI). This number is used to calculate the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for military retired pay, VA disability compensation, survivor annuities, and Social Security. The CPI rose 0.2 percent in June — for a total of 3.1-percent growth for the fiscal 32 MILITARY OFFICER SEPTEMBER 2006 http://capwiz.com/moaa/home http://capwiz.com/moaa/home
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