washingtonscene
care authorization, and referral processes are upgraded to meet beneficiary needs. Reinstate TRICARE benefits for re- married survivors when their second marriage ends. The Veterans Benefits Act of 2002 restored similar VA benefits for survivors of veterans who died of service-connected causes. Military survi- vors deserve the same consideration. Upgrade programs and ensure im- proved DoD policy and implementation for families with special-needs children.
Bar disproportionate TRICARE fee hikes
MOAA insists a unique military health care plan is an essential offset to the arduous conditions inherent in a military career. Any fee-adjustment formula must recognize military beneficiaries prepay very large pre- miums for their lifetime coverage through decades of service and sacrifice, and the country must have a higher obligation to them than corporate employers demon- strate for their active and retired employees. To that end, any percentage increase in military beneficiaries’ health care fees in any year should not exceed the percentage increase in their military compensation. MOAA adamantly will resist proposals
to make military health care programs more like those offered by civilian employers that would add thousands of dollars a year to military beneficiaries’ costs.
Oppose health care means-testing
MOAA will oppose proposals to base military health care fees on grade, retired pay, or income. Virtually no civilian or federal employee health care plans entail such a concept, which directly violates the principle that health care coverage is a service-earned benefit provided equally to all full-time employees and equally to all who qualify for retired pay.
40 MILITARY OFFICER JANUARY 2017
Safeguard wounded warriors and families/caregivers
Providing care and support for wounded warriors and their families and caregivers remains a high priority. MOAA will continue to press to improve DoD and VA health and benefit systems to provide seamless integra- tion of care and services to this population. The 15 years of war and conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan have resulted in a signifi- cant number of seriously wounded, ill, and injured servicemembers — almost 53,000 wounded in action, hundreds of thousands with service-connected conditions, and increasing numbers of individuals with un- specified or long-term/latent illnesses such as catastrophic or late-stage diseases and cancers or environmental exposures. A RAND Corp. study found military
caregivers consistently experience worse health outcomes, greater strains in family relationships, and more workplace prob- lems than non-caregivers, with post-9/11 caregivers experiencing the worst in these areas. Of the nation’s 5.5 million caregivers, 1.1 million, or 19.6 percent, care for post-9/11 veterans. Nearly 40 percent of these care- givers are under the age of 30 and caring for a younger individual with mental health or substance abuse concerns. They are likely to use mental health resources and services more frequently. These caregivers provide an estimated $3 billion a year in services. Improvements to respite care, employ- ment accommodations, financial services, and access to health care and benefits are a priority for caregivers of all eras. To ensure equity in support services and benefits, MOAA believes full-time pre-9/11 caregiv- ers of severely disabled veterans must be included in the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010. DoD and the VA continue to make
progress toward increasing the number of behavioral health care providers, but timely access to qualified, appropriate mental
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