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mail-order pharmacy system for main- tenance medications are two initiatives that directly aff ect benefi ciaries. By using the home-delivery program

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and paying more for prescriptions, TRI- CARE For Life benefi ciaries have contrib- uted to 80 percent of the cost savings the Defense Health Agency has claimed this past year.

Coincidentally, DoD’s request comes as

Congress once again wrestles with raising TRICARE copayments. The request only serves to embolden those in Congress who want to shift costs onto servicemembers and military retirees and their families. Earlier this year, DoD proposed tripling pharmacy copayments in its FY 2016 bud- get request. House lawmakers rejected the proposal, but the Senate continues to push for the fee increases. “DoD is long overdue for a serious look at its internal structure and needs to get its budget in control before asking ben- efi ciaries to bail it out,” says Capt. Kathy Beasley, USN (Ret), a MOAA deputy di- rector of Government Relations.

Medicare N

Premium Glitch Medicare rates could spike for some beneficiaries this fall.

early one-third of Medicare beneficiaries could see a 50-percent rise in Medicare

Part B premiums next year. The legal provision in place to protect beneficia- ries from premium increases higher than COLAs inadvertently excludes certain categories.

The Consumer Price Index for Urban

Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI- W), which is used to calculate the COLA

36 MILITARY OFFICER OCTOBER 2015

for Social Security, veteran and survivor benefi ts, and military and federal retired pay, currently remains at negative 0.2 percent for the fi rst three quarters of the fi scal year. The average CPI-W for the current quarter (July through September) will determine whether there will be a 2016 COLA increase. If there isn’t a COLA increase, the “hold harmless” provision takes eff ect. This pro- vision prohibits premium increases higher than the COLA. According to the Centers for Medicare

and Medicaid Services, “Approximately 70 percent of benefi ciaries are expected not to see a premium increase in 2016.” However, because of a glitch in the

law, 30 percent of benefi ciaries are not protected by the hold harmless provision and would see a steep increase in Part B premiums. This group includes those who enter the Medicare system next year, those who pay their Medicare pre- miums directly instead of having them deducted through Social Security, and those who are making at least $85,000 for an individual or $170,000 for a married couple. Federal retirees who retired under the older Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) are a large portion of those who might be aff ected. Under CSRS, there is no Social Security benefi t and Medicare premiums are paid directly. Although many federal retirees now are under the newer Federal Employees Retirement System, most federal workers who began civil service prior to Jan. 1, 1987, fall under CSRS.

A similar scenario took place in 2010 and 2011, which was the last time the COLA did not increase. During that time, there was some congressional movement to protect the individuals who were not covered by the hold harmless provision,