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Can I expect my TRICARE enrollment fee, premiums, deductibles, or copayments to go up because of this legislation? No, there’s nothing in the legislation that would change any TRICARE fees.


That said, DoD has attempted to dramatically increase TRICARE fees for the past few years. We expect that to continue. MOAA will continue to fight disproportionate fee increases.


I understand the Affordable Care Act cuts Medicare funding by $500 billion. Will that cut payments to doctors and threaten TFL? It’s true health care reform reduces Medicare spending by about that much, but most of those changes are relatively less painful ones that probably won’t affect TRICARE or TFL beneficiaries much.


They include $118 billion from eliminating the extra subsidy to the Medicare Advantage HMO program (which was sold to Congress as a cost-saver but actually costs 14-percent more per person than Standard Medicare), cutting about $150 billion from non-rural hospitals, and cutting back abuses in medical equipment. Most of us would probably push to consider all of these if it were our own money paying for them (which it actually is).


Are you saying the funding cut won’t affect Medicare beneficiaries at all? No. But the implications are probably more long-term than short-term.


The real issue under national health care reform is the money from these Medicare savings will be used to fund expansion of health insurance coverage to those who don’t have it now instead of being used to pay for needed fixes to Medicare.


When baby boomers start swamping Medicare and Social Security in the next few years, Congress will be forced to look at more painful ways to fund that need.


Sequestration didn’t touch Medicare and Social Security, but it’s only a matter of time until reforms are considered.


 


 


 


Password Overkill?
The new DFAS policy is complex.


The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) announced earlier this summer it would implement a new password security system for its myPay online pay program.


The new password must:
■ be 15 to 30 characters in length;
■ contain at least two uppercase letters;
■ contain at least two lowercase letters;
■ contain at least two numbers;
■ contain at least two of the following special characters: # @ $ ^ ! * + = _ %;
■ change at least four characters from the previous password; and
■ be changed every 60 days.


Many MOAA members have said this new password process is far too complicated and the 60-day window is too short.


In response, MOAA President Vice Adm. Norbert R. Ryan Jr., USN (Ret), wrote to Theresa McKay, director of DFAS, and asked DFAS to consider reviewing its new requirements to ensure myPay remains both secure and userfriendly. The new requirements threaten to disenfranchise beneficiaries from using this important financial resource.
MO


— Contributors are Col. Mike Hayden, USAF (Ret), director; Col. Mike Barron, USA (Ret); Col. Bob Norton, USA (Ret); Capt. Kathy Beasley, USN (Ret); Col. Phil Odom, USAF (Ret); Col. Catherine Mozden Lewis, ARNG (Ret); Karen Golden; Matt Murphy; and Jamie Naughton, MOAA’s Government Relations Department. To subscribe to MOAA’s Legislative Update, visit www.moaa.org/email.


42 MILITARY OFFICER NOVEMBER 2013

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