Military Health Care: The Issue of "Promised" Benefits

Abstract

Many military health care beneficiaries, particularly military retirees, their dependents, and those representing their interests, state that they were promised "free health care for life at military facilities" as part of their "contractual agreement" when they entered the armed forces. Efforts to locate authoritative documentation of such promises have not been successful. Congressional report language and recent court decisions have rejected retiree claims seeking 'free care at military facilities' as a right or entitlement. These have held that the current medical benefit structure made up of military health care facilities, Tricare and Medicare provide lifetime health care to military members, retirees and their respective dependents. Nevertheless, claims continue to be made, particularly by those seeking additional benefits from the Department of Defense, or attempting to prevent an actual or perceived reduction in benefits.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 12, 2003
Accession Number
ADA480417

Entities

People

  • David F. Burrelli

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Active Duty
  • Congress
  • Department Of Defense
  • Governments
  • Health Care
  • Health Care Facilities
  • Health Services
  • Law
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Facilities
  • Military Hospitals
  • Military Medicine
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Personnel
  • National Security
  • United States
  • United States District Courts

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Medical or Health Care Field.
  • Systems Analysis and Design