washingtonscene
However, Walgreens pharmacies will re- turn to the TRICARE network Dec. 1. You might recall Walgreens left the TRI- CARE network in 2011 after Walgreens de- clined to accept TRICARE payment levels. After experiencing decreased revenue, Wal- greens had a change of heart and has agreed to accept TRICARE payments. Now CVS is balking over the same issue, and TRICARE maintains that pharmacies that don’t agree to the TRICARE payment can’t be in the TRICARE network. The return of Walgreens means the TRICARE network still will include 57,000 retail pharmacies, and 98 percent of TRI- CARE beneficiaries will have a network pharmacy within 5 miles of their home. Beneficiaries using CVS will be noti- fied about how they can transfer their prescriptions to a nearby network phar- macy. Those who use certain specialty drugs will receive additional assistance.
Pentagon to Congress:
I
sequestration caps set by the Budget Control Act of 2011 will return in FY 2018, forcing the Army to draw down end strength even further, reduce funding for readiness, and increase the risk of send- ing under-trained and poorly equipped soldiers into harm’s way.” Committee Chair Sen. John McCain
(R-Ariz.) commiserated, saying, “Dys- function in Washington has very real consequences. … Are we serving [service- members] with a similar degree of cour- age? The answer, I say with profound sadness, is: ‘We are not.’ ” “Repealing sequestration [and] returning
to stable budgets … are essential” to address long-term challenges, said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein. Testifying at a later hearing, Defense
Secretary Ashton Carter said heading into another year with a continuing resolution is a “deplorable state of affairs.” MOAA agrees. Congress must remove
Do Your Job Dysfunction on Capitol Hill undermines readiness.
n a late September hearing before the Senate Armed Services Com- mittee, the service chiefs, the secretary
of defense, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Congress’ eighth straight failure to pass a timely defense appropria- tions bill is undermining readiness. All agreed short-term continuing resolu- tions and budget deals capping spending at the previous year’s levels waste money and block essential planning. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Mil- ley said the outlook is even worse for next year. “Absent additional legislation,
38 MILITARY OFFICER DECEMBER 2016
the threat of sequestration and return to passing defense appropriations bills before the start of the new fiscal year. The current dysfunctional cycle first caps budgets below military requirements and then compels wasting a large share of the reduced funding. That’s nuts at any time, let alone while the country is at war.
MOAA Engages Minority Leader
on SBP/DIC Prioritize finding funding to phase out “widows tax.”
and Director of Veterans Health Care Cmdr. René Campos, USN (Ret), par-
O
n Sept. 21, MOAA Vice Presi- dent of Government Relations Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF (Ret),
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