Increases in Tricare Costs: Background and Options for Congress
Abstract
The Obama Administration's Fiscal Year 2010 budget submission does not include any proposals to increase fees or copayments for Tricare beneficiaries. Previously, the FY2007, FY2008, and FY2009 budget submissions had proposed increases in Tricare enrollment fees, deductibles, and pharmacy co-payments for retired beneficiaries not yet eligible for Medicare. These actions were justified by DOD as necessary to constrain the growth of health care spending as an increasing proportion of the overall defense budget in the next decade. Congress passed legislation each year to prohibit the proposed fee increases. Defense health care spending remains a significant issue for the DOD. A DOD report published in January, 2009, stated that DOD "will continue to ask for congressional authority to change fees and copays in an effort to maintain both a generous health care benefit and a fair and reasonable cost-sharing arrangement between beneficiaries and DoD." However, DOD's strategy for FY2010 seems to highlight the cancellation or delay of weapons systems and other large cuts in military spending. These cuts, it may be argued, can be attributed to the growing percentage of the DOD budget devoted to medical care, an estimated 8.7%in FY2009. This cost growth, may in turn, be attributed in part to Tricare fee levels, which have not changed since the Tricare system was implemented in 1995.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 14, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA501362
Entities
People
- Don J. Jansen
Organizations
- Library of Congress