Senate Committee blocks Tricare hikes
The Stars & Stripes reports that the Senate Armed Services Committee has agreed with the House committee that this administration shouldn’t raise Tricare fees on veterans and stopped the plan in it’s tracks. However, they didn’t change legislation that will undoubtedly result in higher copays for prescription drugs not dispensed from the Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs)
Both committees refused to accept the Department of Defense’s plan to raise out-of-pocket costs on military retirees by raising their enrollment fees for Tricare Prime, the managed care benefit; by establishing a first-ever enrollment fee for Tricare Standard, the fee-for-service insurance plan option, or Tricare Extra, the preferred provider network option; and by establishing a first-ever enrollment fee for elderly under Tricare for Life, the prized insurance supplement to Medicare.
These proposals are dead, at least until after the November elections when lawmakers hope finally to muster the political courage to address the nation’s debt crisis.
However, DoD may try to recapture what they’ll lose by not hiking Tricare fees by forcing retirees into mail order script services. I’ve had one experience with the prescription service. They sent me and my wife drugs that we didn’t need, wouldn’t let me send the drugs back and continue to bill me for them. The only way to prevent them from ever doing that again is to not pay their bill, so I let their 2 $12 bills rot. I don’t know who signed me up for the service and no one will own up to it, so it will be easy enough for them to force us into their script service if they think they can. Forewarned is forearmed. I still get my prescriptions at the MTF – helping the government keep it’s promise to me.
Category: Veteran Health Care
These proposals are dead, at least until after the November elections when lawmakers hope finally to muster the political courage to address the nation’s debt crisis.
The implication is that they’re cowards for NOT raising tricare fees? What if they did it because it was the right thing to do?
“. . . the Senate Armed Services Committee has AGREED with the House committee . . .”
This sounds IMPOSSIBLE on its face .
I sincerely regret, that my previous post may have seemed cynical; I hold a theory that Congress-Critters are the cynics, instead .
Jonn, before you go off on all prescription mail services, once I calibrated a supervisor I’ve never had a problem with mine.
I had a similar problem with the mail order service. I’ll never use another one unless of course we are forced to do so. I’m perfectly content going to CVS and getting my stuff, just like I’ll never go to a military treatment facility unless forced to. My civilian Doc smiles and talks and actually seems to want me to get better, unlike the Army who just hands me a bottle of Motrin and tells me not to run for 2 weeks. VA? Good place to die and a good place to mellow out if your feeling overly happy.
Give the MOP another chance. It had a rough go with the first vendor, but it’s the shiznit now. My wife has end-stage lung disease and takes a lot of meds. MOP always has them here a week or so before we run out.
Also, cost per Rx on MOP is about a 6th of what having the same script filled at a civilian pharmacy and about half of having it filled at an MTF.
Once you get the kinks worked out, you’ll be satisifed.