VFW WI Legislative Updates

Posted at 1:54 PM on Friday, March 21, 2008 by Legislative

Reducing Copays Saves Everyone Money

A panel of Congressional, defense, health and beneficiary experts convened this week to discuss ways to encourage better use of preventive medical care. Such care has been proven to save money for health plans and improve quality of life for beneficiaries in the long run.

As I See It: Dreaming Of Unfunded Military Personnel Requirements

MOAA's Director of Government Relations would like to see service leaders push Congress on unfunded personnel needs as hard as they do on unfunded weapons needs.

Reducing Copays Saves Everyone Money

On March 19, DoD hosted a panel to discuss ways to reduce the overall cost of providing military medical benefits by removing financial and other barriers for preventive care of chronic conditions and by promoting healthy lifestyles. MOAA Deputy Director for Government Relations CDR John Class (USN-Ret) sat on the panel along with Congressional, defense, and health industry experts.

All panelists agreed that eliminating unnecessary obstacles for preventive care, such as copays, can reduce long-term health care expenditures. TRICARE Standard still requires copayments for preventive measures like cancer screenings and immunizations, but studies have shown that even modest copays can significantly reduce beneficiaries' use of these services. Reduced use of preventive care raises longer-term costs when preventable diseases turn into serious illnesses.

Panelists also discussed "pay for performance" options that would require providers to report data on the outcomes of their care. Those who use appropriate preventive techniques and thus improved outcomes would receive bonuses or higher reimbursements.

A House staff representative on the panel said short-term costs pose one unfortunate potential barrier to progress. He said that Congress is very interested in pursuing incentives to encourage preventive care, but needs more information from DoD about potential costs of such measures.

He observed with some irony that DoD proposals to increase health fees for beneficiaries could work against this goal. House and Senate leaders are concerned that, while fee increases and higher pharmacy copays may produce short-term savings, they could actually increase long-term health costs by deterring patients' use of medications and needed care.

CDR Class urged inclusion of all categories of beneficiaries - active duty, Guard/Reserve, retirees, survivors and family members -- in any preventive care pilot programs. He also recommended full implementation (rather than pilot projects) wherever possible for initiatives that are already well-documented as highly effective.

As I See It: Dreaming Of Unfunded Military Personnel Requirements

By Col. Steve Strobridge (USAF-Ret), Director, MOAA Government Relations

It's more than gratifying that Air Force leaders are now letting the Administration and Congress know that the Air Force needs more manpower than is called for in the FY2009 budget.

The only question is, "What took so long?"

Every year, Congress solicits from the services a list of unfunded requirements that the Administration couldn't or wouldn't let them squeeze into the official defense budget submission.

Normally, those lists are packed with weapons and equipment needs. Only rarely do the lists include much on "people issues."

In past years, service leaders have been quick to support personnel cuts, health care fee increases, cutbacks in MWR support facilities, and more in order to free up money for operations or equipment needs.

Until the last couple of years, Army leaders insisted that they didn't need a larger force, even while acknowledging the arduous overseas rotation requirements of a "long war" in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Air Force made conscious decisions to cut tens of thousands of people - not because the people weren't needed, but simply to free up money to pay for new weapons, which haven't materialized. Now, the chickens are coming home to roost, and Air Force leaders are acknowledging what was known all along -- that they cut too many people.

It would be nice if this were a harbinger of things to come, and all service leaders would start putting personnel needs on a par with weapons needs.

For the past three years, service leaders have been toeing the Administration line, urging Congress to cut career military health benefits by $1,000-$2,000 a year so they could get more money to put into weapons. Why not, while making up unfunded requirements lists, ask Congress to put enough money into the defense budget to fund both weapons and health care needs?

We can dream, can't we?