[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 63 (Friday, May 19, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E792-E793]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




FLOYD D. SPENCE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2001

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                               speech of

                            HON. ALLEN BOYD

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 18, 2000

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4205) to 
     authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2001 for military 
     activities of the Department of Defense and for military 
     construction, to prescribe military personnel strengths for 
     fiscal year 2001, and for other purposes:

  Mr. BOYD. Mr. Chairman, military retirees were promised a ``lifetime 
of free medical care'' in exchange for serving honorably in the U.S. 
Armed Forces for a minimum of 20 years. Although used by the services 
for decades as an effective recruitment and retention tool, this 
promise has no basis in law. Regrettably, our nation's failure to honor 
the ``promise of health care'' is a contributing factor to the critical 
retention and recruiting problems our armed services currently face.
  In 1956, after the Korean War, only 11 percent of the eligible 
military medical beneficiaries were either retirees, their dependents, 
or survivors of former service men and women. At that time, existing 
military medical facilities were capable of serving these individuals. 
However, today, 52 percent of military medical beneficiaries are 
retirees and their family members. This growth in the military retiree 
population, along with recent base closures, has severely limited the 
ability of our government to provide them with direct care.
  The Federal Government has fallen short of its commitment to the men 
and women who have served our Nation in the armed services Demographic 
changes over the last several decades have led to an explosion in the 
number of military retirees, dramatically increasing the cost of 
providing health care to these individuals. While our Government could 
not have anticipated the factors which produced this problem, we must 
take action to ensure our military retirees receive the adequate care 
they deserve.
  The Taylor amendment would expand and make permanent an existing 
Department of Defense (DoD) TRICARE Senior Prime demonstration program, 
more commonly known as Medical Subvention. Under Medicare Subvention, 
the costs of providing health care to Medicare-eligible military 
retirees who receive treatment at military medical facilities are 
reimbursed to the DoD by the Health Care Financing Administration.
  As many of my colleagues know, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 
created a Medicare

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Subvention demonstration project under which six military treatment 
sites were organized as Medicare+Choice plans and have enrolled and 
treated military retirees and their dependents 65 and over. This 
Demonstration will end December 31, 2000.
  The Demonstration Project has been a success. There are long waiting 
lists to enroll at several of the sites. The number of retirees 
enrolling when they turn 65 is much higher than DoD expected. GAO 
reported that some retirees joined Tricare Prime at age 64 to be 
eligible to age-in to Tricare Senior Prime. The disenrollment rate is 
much lower than those of almost all Medicare managed care plans.
  Enrollees in Tricare Senior Prime are guaranteed continuity of care 
at military health facilities. The current ``Space Available'' care 
cannot ensure that a retiree can see his cardiologist or other 
physician when he needs an appointment. The health needs of the over 65 
population cannot wait for ``space available.'' Medicare Subvention is 
needed to replace the Space Available policy as soon as possible.
  Our men and women in uniform have earned and deserve quality health 
care for themselves and their families. Congress must take immediate 
action to live up to the medical care commitment the government made to 
our service men and women and their families. Though the Taylor 
Amendment does not take care of the entire military retiree population, 
it is a good first step to addressing this duty we have to take care of 
our nation's career service men and women. I urge your strong support 
of this important amendment.

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