washingtonscene The House Armed Services Commit-
tee devised an alternative to moderate the Pentagon-proposed increases by adding a requirement for Medicare-eligibles to try the mail-order pharmacy program for any refills of maintenance medications for one year. Waivers would be allowed under certain hardship or other circumstances. After one year, beneficiaries could opt out of the mail-order program, if they wish. Because mail order costs the government less, those savings could be applied to re- duce Pentagon-proposed copayments. The House bill also includes a MOAA- supported provision acknowledging ca- reer servicemembers and their families prepay large premiums for their future health care through decades of service and sacrifice, over and above what they pay in cash fees. For future years, the House bill speci- fies the percentage increase in any phar- macy copayment could not exceed the percentage increase in military retired pay. The Senate plan has no such re- striction and would allow much larger increases recommended by the Pentagon for future years. The table below explains the differences between the House- and the administra-
Proposed TRICARE Pharmacy Copayment Increases
The table below explains the differences between the House-approved plan and the administration/Senate-proposed TRICARE pharmacy copayment increases for FY 2013.
Retail Current*
Administration/ Senate proposal
House proposal FY 2013* Mail Order Current FY 2013 $5/$12/$25 $5/$26/NA** $0/$9/$25 $0/$26/$51 $5/$17/$44 *Copayments shown are for generic/brand-name/non-formulary drugs. **Non-formulary drugs would not be available in retail outlets under the administration/Senate plan. $0/$13/$43
tion/Senate-proposed TRICARE pharmacy copayment increases for FY 2013. While MOAA is no fan of mandatory
mail-order refills, we agree with the House this is a “lesser-evil” option than accepting the significantly larger cur- rent and future copayment hikes that the Pentagon has proposed and the Senate bill would allow. Surveys indicate well over 90 percent of mail-order users are pleased with it. The House’s one-year opt-out provision and COLA cap combination would main- tain member choice in the longer run and protect all TRICARE pharmacy beneficia- ries from significantly larger out-of-pocket costs now and from far greater expenses in the future.
Key Defense Bill W
Provisions Proposals cover pay, retirement, and health care.
hile TRICARE fee provisions took top billing, the House and Senate defense bills includ-
ed a host of other personnel, compensa- tion, and benefit initiatives. Both bills would:
authorize a 1.7-percent military pay raise; reject the Pentagon proposal for two ad- ditional rounds of base-realignment-and- closure (BRAC) action; authorize transition benefits of 180 days of TRICARE Reserve Select health care coverage and TRICARE dental coverage for servicemembers involuntarily sepa- rated from the Selected Reserve; renew services’ bonus and special-pay authorities; and authorize $30 million in Impact Aid as- sistance for civilian schools serving sig- nificant numbers of military children.
32 MILITARY OFFICER JULY 2012
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