Sorry about that, apparently WordPress decided NOT to put this up on time, and of course I’ve been in meetings all day… dammit…
Tom Philpott has been pretty much the ‘go to’ reporter for in-depth reporting on what is happening with military and budgeting for a long time…
This is from his latest article and mirrors the ‘rumors’ I’ve been hearing- e.g. they’re not going to ‘cancel’ Tricare, they’re going to ‘reformat’ it…
The triple-option TRICARE program of Prime, Extra and Standard would be merged into some sort of fee-for-service insurance option, like Standard, for beneficiaries under age 65.
While active duty members still would have access to free health care, dependents and working-age retirees would face higher costs to include a share of medical expenses and perhaps a new annual enrollment fee, set initially at $285 for individuals and $569 for families.
Patient costs would be lower if they can access military treatment facilities or use “preferred” providers who offer military discounts. New co-pays would be set for retiree visits to military treatment facilities. Co-pays also would be set for military families and retirees who use emergency rooms inappropriately for routine care.
Full article HERE at military.com.
