[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 147 (Tuesday, October 26, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2192]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    COMMITMENT TO MILITARY RETIREES

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SILVESTRE REYES

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 26, 1999

  Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I enter into the Congressional Record a 
request made by the Texas State Legislature asking that Members of 
Congress maintain its commitment to America's military retirees over 
the age of 65; to enact legislation that affords military retirees the 
ability to access health care either through military treatment 
facilities or through the military's network of health care providers, 
as well as legislation to require opening the Federal Employees Health 
Benefits Program to those uniformed services beneficiaries who are 
eligible for Medicare on the same basis and conditions that apply to 
retired federal civilian employees; and to enact any other appropriate 
legislation that would address these concerns.
  Military retirees who have served honorably for 20 or more years 
constitute a significant part of the aging population in the United 
States. These retirees were encouraged to make the United States Armed 
Forces a career, in part by the promise of lifetime health care for 
themselves and their families.
  Prior to age 65, these retirees are provided health services by the 
United States Department of Defense's TRICARE Prime program, but those 
retirees who reach the age of 65 lose a significant portion of the 
promised health care due to Medicare eligibility. Many of these 
retirees are also unable to access military treatment facilities for 
health care and life maintenance medications because they live in areas 
where there are no military treatment facilities or where these 
facilities have downsized so significantly that available space for 
care has become non-existent.
  The loss of access to health care services by the military has 
resulted in the government breaking its promise of lifetime health 
care. Without continued affordable health care, including 
pharmaceuticals, these retirees have limited access to quality health 
care and significantly less care than other retired federal civilians 
have under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
  It is necessary to enact legislation that would restore health care 
benefits equitable with those of other retired federal workers. Several 
proposals to meet this requirement are currently under consideration 
before the United States Congress and the federal Department of Defense 
and Department of Health and Human Services; of these proposals, the 
federal government has already begun to establish demonstration 
projects around the country to be conducted over the next three years, 
which would allow Medicare to reimburse the Department of Defense for 
the costs of providing military retirees and their dependent health 
care; this project would allow a limited number of Medicare eligible 
beneficiaries to enroll in the Department of Defense's TRICARE Prime 
Program and receive all of their health care under that program.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to reaffirm the necessity in enacting 
legislation for military retirees health coverage over the age of 65. 
These individuals are entitled to fair and equitable access of health 
care. The principle resources for this to be done would be through 
proper military treatment facilities supplemented with a choice in a 
network of health care providers. Opening the Federal Employees Health 
Benefits Program, which already applies to retired federal civilian 
employees, should be offered to uniformed services beneficiaries in 
order to ensure equitable benefits for all federal employees.

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