Anyone else following this? Gates made a speech yesterday about DOD budget cuts and mentioned the possibility of raising premiums for retirees "of working age." Which I hope will be us in a few years
Has there been talk of increasing premiums in the past? Is this something that comes up periodically only to be shelved? Or is this new and something to pay attention to?
relevant excerpt from his speech:
"Finally, for some time I have spoken about the department’s unaffordable health costs – and in particular the benefits provided to working age retirees under the TRICARE program. Many of these beneficiaries are employed full-time while receiving their full pensions and often forgo their employer’s health plan to remain with TRICARE.
This should not come as a surprise, given that the current TRICARE enrollment fee was set in 1995 at $460 per year for the basic family plan and has not been raised since. During this time, insurance premiums paid by private sector and other government workers have risen dramatically. For example, the fees for a comparable health insurance program for federal workers costs roughly $5,000 per year.
Accordingly, with the Fiscal Year 2012 budget we will propose reforms in the area of military health care to better manage medical cost growth and better align the department with the rest of the country. These will include initiatives to become more efficient as well as modest increases to TRICARE fees for working age retirees with fees indexed to adjust for medical inflation. Potential savings from these initiatives could amount to nearly $7 billion over the next five years."
Has there been talk of increasing premiums in the past? Is this something that comes up periodically only to be shelved? Or is this new and something to pay attention to?
relevant excerpt from his speech:
"Finally, for some time I have spoken about the department’s unaffordable health costs – and in particular the benefits provided to working age retirees under the TRICARE program. Many of these beneficiaries are employed full-time while receiving their full pensions and often forgo their employer’s health plan to remain with TRICARE.
This should not come as a surprise, given that the current TRICARE enrollment fee was set in 1995 at $460 per year for the basic family plan and has not been raised since. During this time, insurance premiums paid by private sector and other government workers have risen dramatically. For example, the fees for a comparable health insurance program for federal workers costs roughly $5,000 per year.
Accordingly, with the Fiscal Year 2012 budget we will propose reforms in the area of military health care to better manage medical cost growth and better align the department with the rest of the country. These will include initiatives to become more efficient as well as modest increases to TRICARE fees for working age retirees with fees indexed to adjust for medical inflation. Potential savings from these initiatives could amount to nearly $7 billion over the next five years."