washingtonscene
COLA Watch
The bottom line is that they cared Scenario two: If a new fi x doesn’t fi nd
more about being able to claim, “I voted its way into law until after July 15, the
■ In June, the Bureau
of Labor Statistics
for a fi x,” than they did about actually cuts will go into effect, and retroactive
announced the CPI
making sure a fi x got enacted in time. payments eventually will be made. But
jumped a full percentage As this article went to press, Medicare that scenario increases the risk that some
point in May, bringing cu-
payments to doctors were scheduled to be number of doctors will get fed up with
mulative inflation to 4.5
cut 10.6 percent starting July 1. Also as of the hassles and decide not to accept any
percent for the first eight
months of the fiscal year.
July 1, speech-, physical, or occupational more Medicare or TRICARE patients.
With four months to go,
therapy patients for whom Medicare al- Whatever Congress does after July 4,
odds are the 2009 COLA
ready had paid at least $1,810 for therapy they could have done before July 1 and
will be the largest in a in 2008 were scheduled to have further prevented this mess.
long time.
Medicare payments for that care stopped. If the president, the House and the
TRICARE doesn’t have a therapy Senate, and Republicans and Democrats
payment cap like Medicare does, so had been willing to compromise — just a
TRICARE therapy patients should be little — health care access for our seniors
OK. For TRICARE For Life patients, and military benefi ciaries would not have
TRICARE will pick up payments when been put at risk in this irresponsible way.
Medicare stops — but only after the $150
TRICARE deductible has been satisfi ed.
TRICARE patients had a little more Rules Apply —
breathing room. Although TRICARE
doctor payments are tied to Medicare’s, Or Do They?
there’s usually about a month’s delay in
Selective application
updating TRICARE payment fi les when
Medicare makes a change.
hurts credibility.
This isn’t the fi rst time Congress has
failed to stop a Medicare payment cut. In
2006, Congress missed the deadline but
approved a fi x within a few weeks and A
ny parent or grandparent
knows all about the “do as I say,
not as I do” rule — and its pit-
made it retroactive. falls. Don’t expect any credibility from
That caused doctors and Medicare ad- kids if you establish rules for them that
ministrators lots of headaches in the in- you don’t live by yourself.
terim. But in the end, the lost payments So it is with Congress’ “mandatory
were made up. And TRICARE patients spending” rules, which apply only when
never were affected, because Congress congressional leaders want them to.
fi xed the rates before TRICARE got Want to fi x an inequity with military
around to implementing the cuts. retired pay, survivor benefi ts, or health
As of the last week in June, there were care for Medicare-eligibles? Sorry, but
two possible scenarios. those (along with Social Security, Medi-
Scenario one: After Congress went care, and many others) are “mandatory”
into recess, the president issued orders or “entitlement” spending programs, and
to Medicare to hold all claims until July upgrades to those programs face built-in
15. That would give Congress eight days legislative impediments.
to fi x the problem after coming back to More than a decade ago, congressional
work July 7. If a new fi x gets signed into leaders decided these programs were grow-
law by then, Medicare will process the ing too fast, and they had to act to keep
claims, and the doctors simply will get themselves from spending the treasury dry
paid a few days late. on programs that automatically are adjust-
34 MILITARY OFFICER AUGUST 2008
AAug_scene.indd
34ug_scene.indd 34 77/11/08 1:58:27 PM/11/08 1:58:27 PM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84