washingtonscene

Retail (30-day)

Generic Brand

Non-formulary

Mail-Order (90-day)

Generic Brand

Non-formulary

Military Pharmacies

$0 $16

$46 $0

$0 $16 $46 $0 $0

$28 $54

$0

*Senate proposal included a multiyear plan to hike fees an additional 25 to 125 percent by FY 2020. **At press time, the FY 2016 Defense Authorization Act was awaiting presidential signature.

expand concurrent receipt for disabled retirees; and establish that career reservists with no active duty service are deemed veterans of the armed forces. “We are disappointed in the final de- fense bill and its adverse effect on military families,” says MOAA President Vice Adm. Norbert R. Ryan Jr., USN (Ret). “We must reverse this trend of eroding pay and ben- efits because we’re sending the wrong sig- nal to the troops at the wrong time.”

No Shutdown ... H

for Now Lawmakers agree on a temporary continuing resolution.

ouse and Senate leaders agreed Sept. 30 on a temporary continuing resolution (CR) to keep

the government running until Dec. 11 at FY 2015 funding levels.

32 MILITARY OFFICER NOVEMBER 2015

But the short-term CR is only the tip of the political iceberg looming ahead. To start with, no one knows if the post-

John Boehner House leadership will take an even harder line on budget issues. In the Senate, some Republicans still

have differences over the way forward. Some think there could be another short- or long-term CR after Dec. 11. But Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, says he won’t vote for any more CRs because that would hurt national defense. Behind the scenes, there is talk of a

“grand bargain” to raise budget caps and end sequestration, which has been a major sore spot for the entire government, espe- cially defense, since 2011. Sequestration pre- vents responsible planning and budgeting. But any grand bargain also will be highly controversial, and the roiling of House lead- ership only adds to the uncertainty. If that weren’t enough, Congress must

act on several more contentious bills be- fore the end of December, including:

$0 $20

$49 $0

2016 TRICARE Pharmacy Copayment Increases House

Current $8

$20 $47

Proposal $8

$20 $47

Proposal* $8

$28 $47

Senate

Final 2016 Law**

$10 $24 $47