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MILITARY OFFICER

MAY 2015 $4.75 THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF MOAA | NEVER STOP SERVINGTM WWW.MOAA.ORG

CHANGE WITH CARE, NOT STATUS QUO In testimony, MOAA warns against rash military health care reform 31

STRIKE RISK Lightning and its effects pose a danger to members of the military 58

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Special operations forces address a spectrum of threats around the globe 52

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MCRMC should visit a few local VA hospitals to see what skin in the game really means.

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—Cmdr. P.D. Fitzpatrick, USN (Ret)

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Reform Refrain I read with interest [“The Same Old Re- form Song,” Washington Scene, May 2015]. It is sad and really an unkind joke that our leaders in the Pentagon think more like politicians than like military offi cers. No other federal agency experiences the up and downs of personnel like the military. Do we ever see [the Department of Health and Human Services, the Envi- ronmental Protection Agency, or the IRS] or any other agency take drastic cuts like the military? No. We send our troops out to do battle, dump them when they get home, and mess with their retirement. As a Life member of MOAA and the

[Veterans of Foreign Wars], I appreciate the eff orts these organizations do to pro- tect the people who serve and who have served. It would be nice if the four-stars in the Pentagon took up the same concern. Those “leaders” should ask Congress to take a cut in their benefi ts equivalent to what is suggested for us before they mess with military retirement. However, I know the answer: They won’t. — Col. Richard G. Donoghue, USAR (Ret) Bradenton (Fla.) Chapter, Life Member via email

In … “The Same Old Reform Song,” it would be interesting to know the ratio of civilians to former [servicemembers] that make up the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission (MCRMC).

The commission’s idea on servicemem- bers’ new retirement plan to have “skin in the game” is a noteworthy phrase. The MCRMC should visit a few local VA hos- pitals to see what skin in the game really means. Perhaps they would reconsider their phrase or retirement plan. — Cmdr. P.D. Fitzpatrick, USN (Ret) Life Member via email

16 MILITARY OFFICER JULY 2015

In the Washington Scene section of Military Offi cer, a recurring theme is protecting our future medical coverage under TRICARE. This month, [MOAA President Vice

Adm. Norbert R. Ryan Jr., USN (Ret)] is quoted as testifying to Congress that the status quo is “simply unacceptable.” I have been enrolled in the USFHP

(Uniformed Services Family Health Plan), the TRICARE Prime alternative off ered in some markets, for 10-plus years. If I can believe the marketing ma- terial distributed by USFHP and Pacifi c Medical Centers ([PacMed], the USFHP contractor for the Seattle area) over the years, USFHP is a very effi cient use of our TRICARE dollars. Further, we (my late wife, my current

wife, and I) have found the medical care provided by PacMed to be top-notch. Also, the absence of the requirement for TRICARE approval of referrals from our primary care provider is refreshing after having dealt with other civilian and mili- tary insurance programs in the past. My question is, why do MOAA and other similar organizations not promote USFHP and/or a similar, expanded pro- gram as a viable alternative to the status quo for the future? It seems to me that an HMO-type program with predictable costs — exactly what USFHP is — may well be the answer to the continuing funding battle. Three years ago, Congress severely

restricted future access to USFHP by Medicare-eligible dependents of retirees, which will serve to reduce the client base for USFHP and likely threaten its viability. That kind of unpredictability is exactly what we do not need when trying to make our retirement plans! I just don’t under- stand why such a move was made, other than the fact that there are relatively few of us to object.