The Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) bill (H.R. 4940) is similar to bills passed by unanimous or near-unanimous House vote in the 105th & 106th sessions of Congress. Armed Services Committee Chairman Bob Stump (R-AZ) sponsored the bill.

     H.R. 4940 would codify existing Army regulations for determining eligibility for burial at ANC. The bill would also authorize burial of National Guard and Reserve service members who qualify for retirement but die prior to receipt of retired pay at age 60; and to Guard and Reserve service members who die in the performance of military duty on inactive duty or active duty training orders. There is no companion bill in the Senate.

     Finally, the HVAC received testimony on a new bill that would allow veterans' Medicare Part 'B' premiums to be turned over to the VA to help offset the cost of their care. H.R. 4939 sponsored by Chairman Christopher Smith (R-NJ) would not authorize Medicare to reimburse the cost of non-service connected care of Medicare-eligible veterans, a concept known as VA Medicare Subvention. A change to Medicare rules requires the endorsement of the House Ways and Means Committee, and that seems doubtful at this point.

House Approves Medicare Bill: On June 28, the House of Representatives voted 221-to-208 to approve the Medicare Modernization and Prescription Drug Act of 2002 (H.R.4954), which would make several major changes in the Medicare program.

     One of the most significant would allow Medicare beneficiaries the option of purchasing "Part C" prescription drug coverage. This voluntary Medicare prescription plan would:

• Require a $250 annual deductible;
• Have an estimated premium of $33 per month;
• Exempt low-income seniors from premiums and deductibles; and
• Establish cost-share tiers as indicated below.

Enrolled beneficiaries would have a 20% cost-share for drug costs up to $1,000 per year after the deductible is met, and a 50% cost-share for the next $1,000.

Beneficiaries would bear all drug costs between $2,001 to $3,699 per year, but would pay nothing for any additional expenses over $3,700 per year.

Because participation would be optional, it would not affect the TRICARE Senior Pharmacy program -- a substantially better benefit that requires no premium payment. Military beneficiaries would have no need to participate in the Medicare drug coverage.

Senate Passes Defense Bill: The full Senate voted to approve its version of the FY2003 Defense Authorization Bill. The Senate bill proposes eliminating the VA disability offset to military retired pay for all disabled retirees with at least 20 years of service and raising manpower ceilings for all services. Unfortunately, it did not include the amendments we had sought to improve the Survivor Benefit Plan.

     Following a week of debate, the Senate voted 92-to-2 to approve its version of the FY2003 Defense Authorization Bill (S. 2514).

• Elimination of any TRICARE For Life preauthorization requirement for inpatient mental health treatment when Medicare is the primary payer.
• Acceptance of any willing Medicare provider as a TRICARE provider (eliminates some of the paperwork requirements that discourage doctors from participating in TRICARE).

     Amendments added to the bill over the last week include provisions to:

• Authorize full concurrent receipt of uniformed services retired pay and VA disability compensation for all disabled retirees with 20 or more years of service, effective October 1, or the first day of the month after enactment, whichever is later.
• Prohibit TRICARE from denying treatment to beneficiaries previously seen by the VA for the condition concerned, if the VA can't provide the needed care within TRICARE Prime timeliness standards.

     Unfortunately, two additional amendments we had hoped to secure proved unsuccessful. Sen. Strom Thurmond's (R-SC) proposal to raise the Survivor Benefit Plan age-62 annuity and Sen. Bill Nelson's (D-FL) initiative to eliminate the SBP annuity reduction for recipients of VA survivor benefits were never brought to the floor.

     With the defense bill having already passed both Houses, our renewed SBP effort must look to the new Congress after the coming election. But you can still let your legislators know that continued inaction isn't an acceptable option. Visit http://capwiz.com/troa/home/ and click on "Cosponsor SBP Bills" to send a suggested message to your senators and representative.