Military group split on Tricare fee hikes!

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Mar 16, 2011 9:51:58 EDT

Sharp differences were revealed Wednesday among the views of military associations about Pentagon plans to raise health care fees for working-age retirees.

The proposal, part of the 2012 defense budget request, would raise annual enrollment fees in Tricare Prime fees by $30 for indivduals and $60 for families “is fair,” said Kathleen Moakler of the National Military Family Association at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee’s military personnel panel.

Steve Strobridge of the Military Officers Association of America said his group “has not taken the position that Tricare fees should never rise. If retired pay doubles or triples due to cost-of-living adjustments over a lifetime, we believe it would be unrealistic to expect fees would not rise by even a dollar.”

But one group not sold on the proposal is the National Association for Uniformed Services.

“Our members ask to hold the line,” said Rick Jones of NAUS, who is concerned that the Defense Department intends to push for large fee hikes in future years.

“It is a nose under the tent, a Trojan horse,” Jones said.

Defense officials have not provided specifics on the size of future fee increases, but the current proposal calls for increases to match any rise in average medical expenses. That unknown formula for future increases is a concern for military associations.

Deirdre Parke Holleman of The Retired Enlisted Association said the 2012 fee hike is “certainly not as appalling” as previous Pentagon plans that would have doubled or tripled fees. But she said her organization “is completely opposed” to linking future fee hikes to the medical inflation rate.