Late last week, DoD announced the award of a five-year, $487 million contract to Wisconsin Physician Service Insurance Corporation (WPS) to process claims, assist customers and provide administrative support for the 1.5 million beneficiaries dually eligible for Medicare and TRICARE. The contract will be implemented in region 11 (Northwest) beginning April 1, 2004, and will gradually expand to other regions in the months following.

Over the next month DoD will award a number of other TRICARE contracts, including under-65 health care (separated into North, South, and West regions), customer service, and a national retail pharmacy contract. These changes, scheduled to occur in mid-2004, will significantly alter the management of military health care.

Issue 2: VA Legislative Update

Last Spring, the House and Senate Joint Budget Resolution set a $3.2 billion increase in VA health care above the amount requested by the administration. The budget resolution represents an agreement to allocate certain funding levels to each of the thirteen federal departments during the appropriations process that follows.

But in a surprise move, House appropriators and the full House cut $1.8 billion from the agreed increase of $3.2 billion despite a bipartisan effort to stick to the budget resolution led by Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Lane Evans (D-IL), and Rob Simmons (R-CT). The Senate won't take up the spending bill until September at the earliest. With the nation at war and hundreds of injured troops eventually being transferred to VA rehabilitation centers, it's imperative that the Senate honor the full $3.2 billion increase for VA health care services.

On the plus side, House appropriators killed an administration proposal to establish a $250 annual enrollment fee for veterans enrolled in Priority Group 8 (those with no service-connected disabilities and incomes above a zipcode-based means-test). The proposal also would have raised prescription copays for these veterans from $7 to $15. VA suspended new enrollments in Priority Group 8 earlier this year, but currently enrolled veterans in that category would have faced the new payments.

Issue 3: Please Urge Your Legislators Support for:

* Concurrent receipt of VA disability compensation and military retired pay. Rep. Jim Marshall's (D-GA) discharge petition, coupled with the Senate's full concurrent receipt provision, is putting a lot of pressure on legislators to back up their co-sponsorship of concurrent receipt legislation (H.R.303).

* A provision in the Senate version of the Defense Authorization bill to prevent future erosion of active duty pay.

* Commitment to enact meaningful improvements to the Survivor Benefit Plan.

8 August 2003

Issue 1: Defense Bill Conferees.

House and Senate Defense Authorization conferees will determine the fate of key MOAA and Military Coalition legislative goals, including concurrent receipt. The list is below.

Below is a listing of the conferees on the FY 2004 National Defense Authorization Act, who have primary responsibility for resolving the House and Senate versions of the bill.

We hope that all MOAA members will contact their legislators during the August recess, and especially if your senator or representative is on that list.

If you haven't done so already, please contact your legislators and urge adoption of full concurrent receipt, active duty pay comparability, and a number of other benefits improvements for service members, retirees, and their families. Visit MOAA's Web site http://capwiz.com/moaa/home/ or use our toll-free Capitol Hill hotline (877-762-8762).

House -- Republicans Jim Ryun, Kansas

Senate -- Republicans Pat Roberts, Kansas

15 August 2003

Issue 1: DoD Prepares to Eliminate Nonavailability Statements

DoD has published the long awaited interim final rule (IFR) titled "Elimination of Non-availability Statement and Referral Authorization Requirements and Elimination of Specialized Treatment Services Program" implementing sections of the FY 2001 and FY 2002 National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAA).

MOAA has long lobbied for the elimination of the non-availability statement (NAS), which requires TRICARE Standard beneficiaries residing within 40 miles of a military treatment facility (MTF) to use the MTF as the first option for care when undergoing inpatient procedures or document that the MTF is unable to provide the care.

Specifically, the proposed rule eliminates the requirement for:

* Standard beneficiaries living within a 40-mile radius of an MTF to obtain an NAS (December 28, 2003);

* Standard beneficiaries who live outside the 200-mile radius of a specialized treatment services (STS) facility to get an NAS (June 1, 2003);