House Leaders Expect DoD TRICARE Fee Hikes

Leaders of the House Armed Services Committee say they expect the Pentagon will once again propose big TRICARE fee hikes for military retirees.
Their March 15 letter to the Chairman of the House Budget Committee was very specific on the latter point, and asked for extra budget authority to reject the expected increases. “The committee believes that the [end of April] budget request will again assume over $1 billion in savings within the Defense health budget, based on recommendations from a previous Defense Department Task Force,” said the letter signed by Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO) and Ranking Minority Member John McHugh (R-NY). “The committee will need additional [budget headroom] to prohibit the fee increases that we expect will be proposed by the Department of Defense.”

If you agree with MOAA that that’s the last thing the Defense Department should do, you still have time to weigh in with the President and the Secretary of Defense, but you need to act quickly. E-mail President Obama: Use MOAA’s special alert.

E-mail Secretary of Defense Gates: The Secretary has no public e-mail address, so you have to go to the DoD Web site, click on the “Ask a Question/Make a Comment” tab at the top, fill out the required information, and include this recommended comment: For Secretary Gates: As you prepare the FY2010 budget, please don't resume past failed efforts to impose unfair TRICARE fee increases on retired military families. Career military people were told that their decades of arduous service and sacrifice constituted a steep, pre-paid premium that earned lifetime health coverage. Large proposed TRICARE fee hikes have been upsetting because they devalue those decades of sacrifice -- in wartime, no less. Please seize this opportunity to suspend these divisive efforts and work with military associations to develop positive incentives and 'win-win' solutions for all concerned.