The Officer - Fall 2016 - 13

of health care costs with current Tricare fees, and proposed House and proposed Senate fees. Please note that this chart does not cover the House and Senate methods to increase fees, deductibles, catastrophic caps and copayments. Additionally, the enrollment fees for active duty family members (ADFM) begin Jan. 1, 2018, only for families of service members who join the military from that date forward. There is no change in fees for ADFM whose service member joined before that date. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), DoD spent $52 billion in 2012 on health care for service members, retirees and their families. "The cost of providing that care has increased rapidly as a share of the defense budget over the past decade, outpacing growth in the economy, growth in per capita health care spending in the United States, and growth in funding for DoD's base budget (which finances the department's routine activities but has excluded funding for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan)," CBO reported. "Between 2000 and 2012, funding for military health care increased by 130 percent, over and above the effects of overall inflation in the economy. In 2000, funding for health care accounted for about 6 percent of DoD's base budget; by 2012, that share had reached nearly 10 percent. By 2028, health care would claim 11 percent of the cost of implementing DoD's plans, CBO estimates." Here are a few of the 105 proposals and recommendations being considered by the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. Senate Proposals Section 702 - Modifications of Cost-Sharing Requirements for the Tricare Pharmacy Benefits Program and Treatment of Certain Pharmaceutical Agents The proposal sets a schedule of annual copay increases through 2025. It roughly doubles copays over that period and raises the mail-order generic copay from zero to $11 in 2020. The secretary of defense has authority to adjust prescription copays after 2025. It does control increases for certain retirees and survivors whose spouses died on active duty by keeping prescription copays at the FY 2016 rate. Section 703 - Eligibility of Certain Beneficiaries Under the Tricare Program for Participation in the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program This change would allow the secretary of defense to enter into an agreement with the director of the Office of Personnel Management to offer eligible beneficiaries the dental and vision insurance currently available to federal employees under the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program. Section 707 - Pilot Program to Provide Health Insurance to Members of the Reserve Components of the Armed Forces The secretary of defense would be authorized to carry out a pilot program jointly with the director of the Office of Personnel Management. If conducted, it would be run at least five years and provide commercial health insurance coverage to eligible Reserve Component members who enroll for either individual, self plus one or self and family coverage. Unfortunately, the pilot excludes RC members and their families if they are already eligible to enroll in a health benefits plan under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. ROA explained to the House and Senate that continuity of care does not exist and causes hardships for the family members. To establish continuity of care, family members could remain covered under the pilot program even when the RC member changed status to serve on active duty for a period greater than 30 days. The pilot would cost more than Tricare Reserve Select because payment would be established for all cost-sharing amounts, plus an annual premium (equal to 28 percent of the total annual amount of the premium under the plan). During a period in which an RC member served on active duty for more than 30 days, the premium amount and cost share would be zero for eligible family members because DoD would provide 100 percent of the cost. Section 708 - Pilot Program on Treatment of Members of the Armed Forces for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Related to Military Sexual Trauma This proposal authorizes the secretary of defense to conduct a three-year pilot awarding competitive grants to community partners to provide intensive outpatient programs to treat THE OFFICER / FALL 2016 13

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Officer - Fall 2016