Bush, Republicans losing support of retired veterans

Knight Ridder ^ | 07-28-03

[Brian S]

Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON - President Bush and his Republican Party are facing a political backlash from an unlikely group - retired veterans.

Normally Republican, many retired veterans are mad that Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress are blocking remedies to two problems with health and pension benefits. They say they feel particularly betrayed by Bush, who appealed to them in his 2000 campaign, and who vowed on the eve of his inauguration that "promises made to our veterans will be promises kept."

"He pats us on the back with his speeches and stabs us in the back with his actions," said Charles A. Carter of Shawnee, Okla., a retired Navy senior chief petty officer. "I will vote non-Republican in a heart beat if it continues as is."

"I feel betrayed," said Raymond C. Oden Jr., a retired Air Force Chief Master Sergeant now living in Abilene, Texas.

Many veterans say they will not vote for Bush or any Republican in 2004 and are considering voting for a Democrat for the first time. Others say they will sit out the election, angry with Bush and Republicans but unwilling to support Democrats, whom they say are no better at keeping promises to veterans. Some say they will still support Bush and his party despite their ire.

While there are no recent polls to measure veterans' political leanings, any significant erosion of support for Bush and Republicans could hurt in a close election. It could be particularly troublesome in states such as Florida that are politically divided and crowded with military retirees.

Registered Republican James Cook, who retired to Fort Walton Beach, Fla., after 24 years in the Air Force, said he is abandoning a party that he said abandoned him. "Bush is a liar," he said. "The Republicans in Congress, with very few exceptions, are gutless party lapdogs who listen to what puts money in their own pockets or what will get them re-elected."

Veterans have two gripes.

One is a longstanding complaint that some disabled vets, in effect, have to pay their own disability benefits out of their retirement pay through a law they call the Disabled Veterans Tax.

Since 1891, anyone retiring after a full military career has had their retirement pay reduced dollar for dollar for any Veterans Administration checks they get for a permanent service-related disability. However, a veteran who served a two-or-four-year tour does not have a similar reduction in Social Security or private pension.

A majority of members of Congress, from both parties, wants to change the law. A House proposal by Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga., has 345 co-sponsors.

But it would cost as much as $5 billion a year to expand payments to 670,000 disabled veterans, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld earlier this month told lawmakers that the president would veto any bill including the change.

The proposal is stuck in committee. A recent effort to bring it to the full House of Representatives failed, in part because only one Republican signed the petition.

"The cost is exorbitant. And we are dealing with a limited budget," said Harald Stavenas, a spokesman for the House Armed Services Committee.

The second complaint is over medical care. After decades of promising free medical care for life to anyone who served for 20 years, the government in the 1990s abandoned the promise in favor of a new system called Tricare. The Tricare system provides medical care, but requires veterans to pay a deductible and does not cover dental, hearing or vision care.

A group of military retirees challenged the government in a class-action lawsuit, won a first round, then were seriously disappointed when Bush allowed the government to appeal. Government won the next legal round.

"I voted for the president because of the promises," said Floyd Sears, a retired Air Force master sergeant in Biloxi, Miss. "But as far as I can tell, he has done nothing. In fact, his actions have been detrimental to the veterans and retired veterans. I'm very disappointed about the broken promise on medical care."

Stavenas said House and Senate negotiators were working this week on proposals to address the veterans' two specific complaints. He added that Congress has increased spending for veterans' benefits, including a 5 percent increase next year for the Veterans Health Administration.

Christine Iverson, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said: "The Bush administration and the Republican Congress have taken and will continue to take steps to enhance benefits for our veterans."

Not all military retirees will vote against Republicans, of course. Some, like retired Air Force Lt. Col. Gene DiBartolo of Tampa, will vote for Bush again gladly.

Though he believes his fellow veterans have a just complaint, he said the government simply cannot "do everything."

As for Bush, he said, "he has restored honor and dignity to this nation ...

"It would take a lot more than this issue to dissuade me from my support of this man."

[Retired_Disabled_Military]

Personally they sound like the Wage Board Union people of the Government -- gimme, gimme, gimme!"

Personally, you sound like someone that wants to profit from the American Way at the expense of those veterans that put their lives in harm's way to allow you to have freedom's you take for granted.

[Retired_Disabled_Military]

Tricare only works if you live in an area where doctor's are willing to accept it. Rather like Medicare. If there is a large elderly population, you can find Medicare doctors. If there is a large military population, you can find Tricare doctors. I can't find doctors willing to take Tricare, and I live near Dallas. Now military bases close-by.

[Retired_Disabled_Military]

"Presumably, every American who has enlisted in the armed forces since 1891 with a career track in mind knew this going in. So, the merits aside, how does Bush get the blame for this?"

1 (career types "knew this"). I spent 30 years around Navy bases. There were always retired members and their dependents going to the base hospitals. (Nobody knew anything about any 1891 law...)
Result: Retiree collects his retirement, and gets his family medical care.
1995 rolls around and Clinton tells retirees to "go somewhere else" for the first time in history.
Result: Retiree has to go to the VA for care and pay for insurance for his dependents - Lower monthly income from insurance premiums and VA starts deducting more from his retirement pay if they give him disability pay since he just started going to the VA. (Vets discover 1891 law created by disgruntled senators from the fomer rebel states).

2 (why is Bush to blame). Because his administration has appealled a win for veteran retiree benefits at the Appeals Court level and got that win reversed, and despite more senator's and representitive's supporting (co-sponsoring) a bill to change this 1891 law, than supported his war on Iraq (which he called "a clear message from America"), he threatens a veto if any such amendment or change in the law is sent in any form to his desk.

[anglian]

Found this on a forum;
When the soldiers do get back from Iraq, here (thanks to career Democrat Dave Sirota for compiling this) is what they will find the Bush Administration is proposing to do for them:

MASSIVE CUTS TO MILITARY FAMILY HOUSING
MASSIVE CUTS TO SCHOOLS FOR MILITARY KIDS
REDUCING PAY TO SOLDIERS IN HARMS WAY
IGNORING TAX RELIEF FOR SOLDIERS
RAISING PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES FOR VETERANS
OPPOSING LEGISLATION TO MAKE SURE RESERVISTS HAVE HEALTH CARE
UNDERFUNDING VETERANS MEDICAL CARE
CUTTING VETERANS OFF MEDICAL CARE
Click on the link for details and sources:
http://www.andrewtobias.com/newcolumns/030722.html

[anglian]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=669&ncid=669&e=2&u=/030724/180/4s4qs.html

Contact: Joe March or Lee Harris, both of The American Legion


WASHINGTON, July 24 /U.S. Newswire/ -- America's 25 million veterans once again find themselves the target of lawmakers in final maneuvering over the House Budget Resolution for the fiscal year 2004 appropriation.


Lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee slashed $1.8 billion for veterans' medical care in fiscal year 2004. "This is blatantly wrong," Ronald F. Conley, national commander of The American Legion, said.


The bill (unnumbered) is currently on the floor of the House of Representatives for debate and a vote.


The Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, Rep. Christopher H. Smith, was dismayed at the proposed slash in appropriations. "The funding for veterans medical care currently contained in the VA-HUD appropriations bill is the same total submitted by the Administration but rejected by the House and Senate on April 11, 2003, with adoption of the budget resolution, which increased veterans health care funding by $1.8 billion," Smith said.


"Chris Smith and the members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee have it right. The House of Representatives must either move to add $1.8 billion back to the VA-HUD FY04 appropriation bill or House members must vote to defeat the bill and send it back to committee," Conley said.


Conley is calling on all members of The American Legion and families of veterans to contact their representative's office in Washington to express support for restoring the $1.8 billion or defeating the bill.

[Retired_Disabled_Military]

"I was fortunate enough to come home whole,

That about sums up the entire problem. I was unfortunate enough to become 100% disabled while at work. The Navy retired me in the middle of my third 6 year enlistment. I don't have 20 years in, but am retired. I won't get any additional money even if all the laws being considered were passed.

You can get extra money, for losing both legs in combat, as long as you have over 20 years in. if you have only 19 years, you get $750.00 a month and a thank you from a "grateful nation".

I don't really want any money, I'd like a couple of programs to bring me back into society so I can get on with my life.

Maybe I should have kept one bullet for myself. I'm certain the government would appreciate it, and all you hard working taxpayers, too.

The VA's own actuary tables show that a disabled 35 year old disabled veteran lives 10 fewer years that non-disabled veterans. What do you all consider ample compensation for a 25 year old that is 100% disabled? I'd be curious if any of you could put a dollar amount to it.

[SLB]

The partial birth abortion ban is in conference. It will pass and will be signed.

Partial birth bans are a cop out. The final ban - overturning of Roe v Wade is the only acceptable result and Bush will never go there.

[SLB]

Add cutting tuition assistance to your list. The Ft Knox newspaper seems to have articles about that on a weekly basis.

[jwalsh07]

Thanks for your service but I'm not buying it. I think a law that treats military retirees differently from civiliann federal retirees is a stupid law. However, when I enlisted I did it with my eyes closed and ended up in a crap unit doing crap.

No problem, my bad. I own it.

[VRWC_minion]

R-E-A-D what I wrote before you start these MoDo claims

So, I agree that some veterans are pissed at government in general and because of that Bush as its head. I agree that some of these angry veterans may have hoped that Bush would have changed the situation and are angry that he isn't. I disagree that the author has the ability to imply that the majority are angry and of that majority the majority have changed their support for Bush.

[VRWC_minion]

I also pointed out once or twice that even though Bush thought the 5 billion dollars cost was too high, he considered the 15 billion dollars to African dictators to be a bargain.

This is silly logic. This is like the wife saying I should be able to buy a ring for $1,000 that can be purchased elsewhere for $100 because we just spent 30,000 on an SUV.

If there are cheaper less expensive ways to provide health care to vets then what is wrong with vetoing the expensive plan ?

[VRWC_minion]

What is TRICARE?

An Introduction to TRICARE

In response to the challenge of maintaining medical combat readiness while providing the best health care for all eligible personnel, the Department of Defense introduced TRICARE. TRICARE is a regionally managed health care program for active duty and retired members of the uniformed services, their families, and survivors. TRICARE brings together the health care resources of the Army, Navy and Air Force and supplements them with networks of civilian health care professionals to provide better access and high quality service while maintaining the capability to support military operations. TRICARE is being implemented throughout the U.S., Europe, Latin America and the Pacific as a way to:

To view more information on this and other brochures, please visit our TRICARE Smart Store.

• Improve overall access to health care for beneficiaries;
• Provide faster, more convenient access to civilian health care;
• Create a more efficient way to receive health care;
• Offer enhanced services, including preventive care;
• Provide choices for health care; and
• Control escalating costs.

Who is Eligible for TRICARE?

• Active duty members and their families;
• Retirees and their families; and
• Survivors of all uniformed services who are not eligible for Medicare.

If you have other primary health care insurance, TRICARE Prime may not be your best option. Health Benefits Advisors are available at your local TRICARE Service Center (TSC) or Military Treatment Facility to help you decide which option is best for you.

TRICARE offers eligible beneficiaries three choices for their health care:

• TRICARE Prime — where Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs) are the principal source of health care.
• TRICARE Extra — a preferred provider option that saves money; and
• TRICARE Standard — a fee-for-service option (the old CHAMPUS program);

The main challenge for most eligible beneficiaries is deciding which TRICARE option, Prime, Extra or Standard, is best for them. Active Duty personnel are enrolled in TRICARE Prime and pay no fees. Active duty family members pay no enrollment fees, but they must choose a TRICARE option and apply for enrollment in TRICARE Prime. There are no enrollment fees for active duty families in TRICARE Prime.

[VRWC_minion]

TRICARE Handbook TRICARE Service Centers Frequently Asked Questions What does TRICARE Cost? Supplemental Insurance Enrollment Information Claims Information

Provider Directory Toll-free Numbers and Regional Web Sites DEERS Address Change Dental Programs Pharmacy Options Point of Service

In this option, most health care will come from a military treatment facility (MTF), augmented by the TRICARE contractor’s Preferred Provider Network (PPN). All active duty service members will be enrolled in TRICARE Prime and will continue to receive most of their care from military medical personnel. For active duty families, there is no enrollment fee for TRICARE Prime, but they must complete an enrollment form.

Your Primary Care Manager (or team of providers) will see you first for your health care needs. The Primary Care Manager:

• Provides and/or coordinates your care;
• Maintains your health records;
• Refers you to specialists, if necessary. (To be covered, specialty care must be arranged and approved by your Primary Care Manager.)

Care is usually provided in a military treatment facility, but civilian clinics may be used in some cases.

 

Point of Service (POS) Option

Option under TRICARE Prime that allows enrollees the freedom to seek and receive non-emergent health care services from any TRICARE authorized civilian provider, in or out of the network, without requesting a referral from their Primary Care Manager (PCM) or the Health Care Finder (HCF). When Prime enrollees choose to use the POS option, all requirements applicable to TRICARE Standard apply except the requirement for a Nonavailability Statement (NAS). Point-of-Service claims are subject to outpatient deductibles ($300 individual and $600 family), 50% cost-shares for outpatient and inpatient claims, and excess charges up 15% over the allowed amount. The 50% cost-share continues to be applied even after the Enrollment Year catastrophic cap has been met.

Who is Eligible for TRICARE Prime?

All active duty personnel are enrolled in TRICARE Prime. There is no enrollment fee, but you do have to register yourself. The following people may also enroll:

• Family members and survivors of active duty personnel and
• Retirees and their family members and survivors under age 65.

Reserve Component and family members, of Reserve/National Guard members called to active duty for 30 days or more, may enroll in TRICARE Prime or may be eligible for TRICARE Prime Remote. But enrollment forms must be completed, and military medical facilities and/or TRICARE Prime network providers must be used.

Advantages

• No enrollment fee for active duty and families;
• Small fee per visit to civilian providers, and no fee for active duty members;
• No balance billing;
• Guaranteed appointments (access standards);
• Primary care manager supervises and coordinates care;
• Away-from-home emergency coverage;
• Point-of-Service option (see Glossary); and
• Reduced catastrophic cap for retirees ($7,500 now decreased to $3,000).

Disadvantages

• Enrollment fee for retirees and their families;
• Provider choice limited;
• Specialty care by referral only; and
• Not universally available.

[VRWC_minion]

TRICARE Handbook

Under this option, you will choose a doctor, hospital, or other medical provider listed in the TRICARE Provider Directory. If you need assistance, call the Health Care Finder (HCF) at your nearest TRICARE Service Center.

Who is Eligible for TRICARE Extra?

Anyone who is CHAMPUS eligible may use TRICARE Extra. (Active duty personnel are not CHAMPUS eligible and are enrolled in TRICARE Prime).

Advantages

• Co-payment 5 percent less than TRICARE Standard;
• No balance billing;
• No enrollment fee;
• No deductible when using retail pharmacy network;
• No forms to file; and
• You may use also TRICARE Standard.

Disadvantages

• No Primary Care Manager;
• Provider choice is limited;
• Patient pays:
  • Deductible,
  • Co-payment.
• Nonavailability statement may be required for civilian inpatient care for areas surrounding MTFs; and
• Not universally available.

[VRWC_minion]

TRICARE Handbook

TRICARE Standard is the new name for traditional CHAMPUS. Under this plan, you can see the authorized provider of your choice. (People who are happy with coverage from a current civilian provider often opt for this plan.) But having this flexibility means that care generally costs more.

Treatment may also be available at a military treatment facility, if space allows and after TRICARE Prime patients have been served. Furthermore, TRICARE Standard may be the only coverage available in some areas.

Who is Eligible for TRICARE Standard?

Anyone who is CHAMPUS eligible may use TRICARE Standard. (Active duty personnel are not CHAMPUS eligible and are automatically enrolled in TRICARE Prime).

Reserve Component family members are eligible for TRICARE Standard, if the Reserve Component member is ordered to active duty under 10 U.S.C. or 32 U.S.C. for more than 30 consecutive days or if the orders are for an indefinite period of time. (The RC member is entitled to the TRICARE Prime benefit as soon as he/she is activated.)

Advantages

• Broadest choice of providers;
• Widely available;
• No enrollment fee; and
• You may also use TRICARE Extra.

Disadvantages

• No Primary Care Manager;
• Patient pays:
  • Deductible,
  • Copayment,
  • Balance if bill exceeds allowable charge and provider is non-participating (up to 15% additional).
• Nonavailability statement may be required for civilian inpatient care for areas surrounding MTFs; and 
• Beneficiaries may have to do their own paperwork and file their own claims.

[VRWC_minion]

How TRICARE Changes When a Military Sponsor
Retires or Dies

     When a military member retires from active service and begins drawing retired pay, one chapter in the member’s life is ended and another begins. If the member has a family, their individual lives change as well, including their TRICARE cost shares.

     When an active duty sponsor dies, surviving family members remain eligible for TRICARE benefits at the active duty dependent rates for a three-year period.  At the end of the three-year period, TRICARE eligibility continues, but at the retiree dependent rates. 

	Active Duty Service Member and Dependents	Retired Service Member and Dependents
Enrollment in TRICARE Prime	Active duty service members must be enrolled in TRICARE Prime. Dependents can choose which TRICARE option they prefer—TRICARE Prime, Extra or Standard	Retired service members and their dependents can choose which TRICARE option they prefer—TRICARE Prime, Extra or Standard based on the availability in their area.
TRICARE Prime	No enrollment fees for active duty service members or their family members No co-payments for any health care visit to a network or referred provider	Enrollment fees apply—$230 for individuals, $460 for families Co-payments ($12) required for outpatient visits to network providers Inpatient care—$11 per day, $25 minimum Inpatient mental health—$40 per day
TRICARE Extra	Inpatient care—$12.72** per day or $25, whichever is more Outpatient care—15% of the negotiated cost	Inpatient care—$250 per day or 25% of hospitals billed charges, whatever is less, plus 20% of allowable charge for separately billed professional services. Outpatient care—20% of the negotiated cost
TRICARE Standard*	Inpatient care—$12.72** per day or $25, whichever is more Outpatient care—20% of allowable charges Annual outpatient deductible—$50 for individuals, $100 for families (E-1 - E-4), $150 for individuals, $300 for families (E-5 and above) Civilian inpatient mental health—$20 per day	Inpatient care—$417** per day or 25% of hospital’s billed charges, whichever is less, plus 25% of allowable charge for separately billed professional charges Outpatient care—25% of allowable charges Annual outpatient deductible—$150 for individuals, $300 for families Civilian inpatient mental health—lesser of $159* per day or 25% of allowable fees plus 25% of allowable charge for separately billed professional fees.
Catastrophic Cap*	$1,000 annually	$3,000 annually
Eligible for Medicare (age, disability or end-stage renal disease (ESRD))	Active duty family members are not required to enroll in Medicare Part B to remain eligible for TRICARE.	Retired service members and their dependents MUST enroll in Medicare Part B to remain eligible for TRICARE.

*The catastrophic cap is the annual upper limit.  It applies only to the allowable charges for covered service.  The catastrophic cap applies to the enrollment year for TRICARE Prime enrollees and to the calendar year for TRICARE Extra and Standard user.
**Rates are current for FY 2003; rates change every fiscal year.

Use of Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs):
     Retirees and their families who do not enroll in TRICARE Prime may continue to use MTFs as capacity exists—if a particular facility can accommodate them.* A priority system has been established for access to health care in an MTF. Briefly, the priorities are as follows:

• Active-duty service members
• Active-duty family members who are enrolled in TRICARE Prime
• Retirees, their family members and survivors enrolled in TRICARE Prime
• Family members of active-duty service members who are NOT enrolled in TRICARE Prime (for the purpose of determining access priority, survivors of military sponsors who died on active duty who are NOT enrolled in TRICARE Prime are in this priority group)
• All other eligible persons, including retirees and their families who are NOT enrolled in TRICARE Prime

       TRICARE Plus* is a MTF primary care enrollment program offered at selected local MTFs. All beneficiaries eligible for care in MTFs (except those enrolled in TRICARE Prime, a civilian HMO, or Medicare HMO) may seek enrollment for primary care at an MTF where enrollment capacity exists.

  Becoming Medicare-eligible:
       Medicare eligibility usually begins on the first day of the month in which the beneficiary turns 65.* If the 65th birthday falls on the first day of the month, Medicare Part A eligibility begins on the first day of the preceding month. If the Medicare-eligible beneficiary purchases Medicare Part B, he or she will remain eligible for TRICARE through a program known as TRICARE For Life (TFL)*. With TFL, beneficiaries retain their eligibility for TRICARE Extra and Standard, but not Prime. TRICARE acts as a second payer to Medicare for services covered by both Medicare and TRICARE. When a retired sponsor reaches age 65 and becomes eligible for TFL, his or her spouse maintains regular TRICARE eligibility until he or she (spouse) becomes 65 years old.

       Persons under age 65 who become entitled to Medicare Part A because of a disability or ESRD*, and who are enrolled in Medicare Part B, maintain their eligibility for TRICARE Prime, Extra or Standard. When they reach age 65, they will no longer be eligible for TRICARE Prime; they remain eligible for TRICARE Extra and Standard and become eligible for TFL. By law, TRICARE pays after Medicare for these eligible persons. Beneficiaries who become eligible for Medicare due to a disability or ESRD should report that eligibility to the nearest military personnel office, on or after the date of eligibility.

       For more information, beneficiaries may contact a local health benefits adviser, beneficiary counseling and assistance coordinator or TRICARE service center or they may visit the TRICARE Web site at www.tricare.osd.mil/.

  *See also: TRICARE: The Basics Fact Sheet
                  Choosing TRICARE Standard Fact Sheet
                  TRICARE For Life Fact Sheet
                  TRICARE Plus Fact Sheet
                  TRICARE and Medicare for Dual-Eligible Beneficairies Under Age 65 Fact Sheet

[VRWC_minion]

Benefit Gains Have Turned TRICARE Reformers Toward Smoother Service
February 8, 2001

Military leaders and defense health officials locked arms two years ago to rescue a mismanaged and chronically under-funded military health care system, which was hurting morale and perhaps readiness.

The alliance between the Joint Chiefs and TRICARE officials has resulted in successes. For example, it was at least partially responsible for Congress approving last fall the biggest increase in military medical benefits in more than 30 years. The partnership had a bigger role in a recent sharp drop in complaints, from both patients and health care providers, over access to care and claim processing delays.

That alliance, senior defense officials said, is turning its attention now to a $1.4 billion health budget shortfall for the current year, and to reorganizing TRICARE networks and support contracts to reduce hassles for patients and improve efficiency.

Defense officials credit Army Gen. Henry ``Hugh'' Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, for keeping high-level attention on health care. He shifted the focus there in 1999 after helping to secure impressive military pay and retirement gains from the administration and Congress.

Shelton soon had plenty of company, not only four-star colleagues but military associations, which led the charge for health care reform for years, and a groundswell of individual retirees, angry over broken health care promises.

When Shelton's public and private advocacy for health benefit reform failed to win the support he wanted from the Clinton White House, particularly for disenfranchised elderly retirees, spouses and survivors, Congress took up the cause. Military leaders and TRICARE officials still sound surprised by the richness of benefit gains passed in 2000.

For active duty families, they include an end to co-payments, of $6 and $12 per doctor visit when enrolled in TRICARE Prime, the managed care program. This change will take effect April 28 but, in some regions, co-payments will continue to be collected for additional months. These patients later will be reimbursed for paying the co-pays.

On Oct. 1, TRICARE Prime remote benefits will be extended to the families of 80,000 service members assigned 50 miles or more from the nearest military base. Only service members themselves in remote areas have the fuller health benefit now.

About 1.4 million elderly beneficiaries will become eligible April 1 for the same of pharmacy drug options as younger retirees. On Oct. 1, when TRICARE for Life begins, military beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Part B, will be able to use TRICARE as a second payer to Medicare. Many elderly will be able, in time, to drop medigap insurance plans.

Given the richness of the new benefits, defense officials sound satisfied that health promises to older retirees are being kept. ``Go out and look at benefits around the world and, I'll tell you what…this is a first-class benefit,'' said a senior official.

For almost two years, Defense health officials and representatives of the Joint Staff have worked together on easing irritants under TRICARE for patients and providers through better business practices. Officials announced, at the annual TRICARE conference last month, that the number of TRICARE claims delayed more than 60 days fell sharply, from more than 30,000 in December 1999 to less than 1000 a year later. The number of claims over that are more than 120 days old fell from 1493 in December 1999 to 18 a year later.

The Defense Department this year is required to conduct its second Quadrennial Defense Review, an intense effort to review strategy, determine proper force structure, and argue that enough dollars be earmarked in future budgets. One Defense official said Shelton sparked a kind of ``mini-QDR,'' but for military medicine two years ago. And it continues.

Besides adopting better business practices, Defense officials are moving to fully fund health care budgets, which were chronically under-funded during the Clinton years. The Defense Medical Oversight Committee has the lead.

DMOC was formed in the wake of complaints from the Joint Chiefs about TRICARE. Rudy de Leon, then under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, believed military leaders needed to understand the true costs of health care while pressing for change. As a result, the service vice chiefs and under secretaries of each service are full participants in DMOC, with one of the vice chiefs serving as co-chair on a rotating basis.

DMOC currently is studying the structure of TRICARE and its regions, weighing organizational alternatives including whether a single contractors should handle all claims processing or all pharmacy networks across regions, so that users see more of a consistency of service and benefits no matter where assigned.

Another big concern is closing a $1.4 billion gap in the medical budget for this fiscal year. DMOC, said one senior official, ``has brought the medical funding issue to life like it's never been before.'' So when debating budgets, the service vice chiefs ``have already got the medical piece locked and cocked in their minds.''

For the DMOC, the Army vice chief is heading up a study on TRICARE organization, the Marine Corps is studying procurement strategy for the system, and the Air Force vice is looking at the strategic business plan.

``Are the contracts set up right within a region. Should we have one contract? Should we have 100,'' asked a Defense official. ``If they were in civilian health care delivery, how would they structure this system…We tried to structure it militarily, in the past. That may be totally wrong.''

``About the end of March,'' he added, ``the DMOC is supposed to have some plan for the road ahead.''

Comments and suggestions are welcomed. Write to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, Va. 20120-1111, or send e-mail to: milupdate@aol.com

---

[VRWC_minion]

PRESS RELEASE

January 28, 2002

Congressman Shows Announces "Tricare Town Meetings"
Military Retirees can question officials about military health care

(Washington) - Congressman Ronnie Shows (MS-04) announced today that he will participate in three "Tricare Town Meetings" on February 18th and 19th in Ellisville, Jackson and Summit, MS. These meetings are open to the public, and free of charge. They will allow people with questions or complaints about military health care to get answers from Defense Department Agency officials who are in charge of military health care.

These forums have been initiated by the Tricare Management Activity (TMA) office of the Department of Defense. Congressman Shows and officials from the Defense Department, the TMA and Humana will participate in these question-and-answer sessions.

On Monday, February 18, there will be "Tricare Town Meetings" at Jones County Junior College in Ellisville from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m., and at the Jackson Medical Mall Auditorium from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. On Tuesday, February 19, an additional meeting will be held in the Fine Arts Auditorium at Southwest Mississippi Community College in Summit from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m.

"All military retirees should get the health care they were promised, but Tricare just isn't working for many retirees, especially those who live in rural areas like Mississippi," said Congressman Shows. "One of my top priorities is making sure that military retirees receive the high standard of health care they were promised when they entered the service.

"In March 1999 I attended a Military Retiree Summit in Laurel organized by Laurel resident, Jim Whittington, and Floyd Sears of Ocean Springs. After hearing about this problem from over 400 military retirees at that meeting, I introduced a bill to fix the military retiree health care mess, " said Congressman Shows.

"My bill - The Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act - led to the implementation of Tricare-for-Life. From now on, Tricare will act as a second payer for military retirees who qualify for Medicare, and those retirees now qualify for the generous Tricare pharmacy benefit."

"Unfortunately," said Congressman Shows, "I have heard from many military retirees who do not yet qualify for Medicare, and they are still having problems with Tricare. Some have difficulty getting medical appointments at military bases. Many who don't live near bases have trouble finding a doctor that will accept Tricare. Others have had difficulty with their claim filing, processing, or reimbursements.

"Needless to say, this is wrong," continued Congressman Shows. "To fix this problem I have introduced a bill that would allow any military retiree to elect coverage by the Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP), the same plan offered to federal retirees and Members of Congress. If Tricare isn't serving them, they need more choices, such as FEHBP.

"I am happy to take part in these 'Tricare Town Meetings.' I want military retirees to go to the top with their concerns, and tell the folks from Tricare. If they can fix the system, then everybody wins. That is what I want," said Congressman Shows. "And this what Jim Whittington and Floyd Sears want, too. I am pleased that we will be at these meetings to make sure that the folks from Tricare answer each of the retiree's questions."


Ronnie Shows represents the 4th Congressional District of Mississippi in the United States Congress. He may be contacted by writing to: 1408 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515, or by calling his Jackson Office at 601-352-1355 or Washington Office at 202-225-5865. Congressman Shows can also be contacted on the World Wide Web at:
http://www.house.gov/shows

[Nick Danger]

Hi, folks. Don't want to get involved in whatever is going on in here, I just came by to congratulate you all on keeping Bush, Republicans losing support of retired veterans the most prominent headline on the Latest Posts page. Surely every visitor to FR yesterday saw that headline 50 or sixty times.

Since it looks like today will be another fine day for the headline Bush, Republicans losing support of retired veterans, I thought I'd at least come by and wave.

For those interested, I'll be starting a thread later this week entitled Bush, Republicans starve children and old people. I'm hoping to get that one on the Latest Posts page every two minutes for several days as well. All you Bush supporters out there will want to come by and keep the thread bumped.

[Leatherneck_MT]

Let me enumerate where I'm not happy so that you can understand my position better.

Veterans issues
Gun Rights issues
Immigration issues
Family preservation issues
Privacy Issues

I'd say that's a pretty wide range of issues that Bush has failed in as far as the litmus test goes to determine in my mind whether he is a conservative president or not.

Any one of those items could be used to (for me) justify not voting for the man again. All of them together means I cannot in good conscience pull the lever for him or the party that supports him ever again.

I can't vote for Dems and this election I won't vote for Republicans. This is one voter who will stay home. So will my wife.