[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 146 (Tuesday, November 14, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2103]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   TRIBUTE TO COMMANDER VIRGINIA TORSCH, UNITED STATES NAVAL RESERVE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES P. MORAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 14, 2000

  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
exceptional leader in recognition of her remarkable service to her 
country, both on active duty and in the reserves, and as a staunch 
advocate of improved health care benefits for members of the uniformed 
services community. CDR Virginia Torsch's truly distinguished record 
merits special recognition on the occasion of her departure from The 
Retired Officers Association (TROA) to a position in the private 
sector.
  CDR Virginia Torsch received her Bachelor of Science degree in 
Zoology from the University of Maryland in 1978, and completed her 
Master's of Health Science in International Health at Johns Hopkins 
School of Public Health and Hygiene, Baltimore, Maryland in 1982.
  A year later, in 1983, CDR Torsch became a commissioned officer in 
the U.S. Navy's Medical Service Corps. She was sent to the Naval 
Hospital, Pensacola, Florida where she served eleven months as the 
Assistant Comptroller. She then transferred to the Armed Forces Medical 
Intelligence Center, Fort Detrick, Maryland as a medical intelligence 
research specialist, writing medical studies on countries in Southeast 
Asia. Three years later in 1987, CDR Torsch transferred to the Pentagon 
where she served on the Navy Surgeon General's staff as the Assistant 
for Fleet Support in the Medical Operations and Planning Division. 
During this tour, CDR Torsch also completed the Naval War College's 
seminar program, graduating with distinction in 1989. In November 1990, 
CDR Torsch affiliated with the Navy Reserves where she is currently 
attached to the National Naval Medical Command Bethesda 106 unit.
  In December, 1990, after leaving active duty, CDR Torsch joined the 
Strategy 2000 staff at the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA). While 
there, she assisted with the development and publication of ``Strategy 
2000: The VA Responsibility in Tomorrow's National Health Care 
System'', which analyzed the potential impact of national health care 
reform on the VA medical care system. CDR Torsch also tracked and 
analyzed health care reform legislation and initiatives, both at the 
national and state levels.
  In October, 1992, CDR Torsch joined the staff at The Retired 
Officer's Association as the Assistant Director of Government 
Relations, Health Affairs, where for the last eight years she has 
worked tirelessly to advance legislation guaranteeing lifetime health 
care for uniformed services beneficiaries. Because of her strong health 
care background, CDR Torsch was made TROA's principal representative to 
The Military Coalition's Health Care Committee. To illustrate the 
significance of this assignment, it is helpful to note that The 
Military Coalition (TMC) is a
  Shortly after beginning her liaison with TMC, CDR Torsch was elected 
to the position of the Co-chairman of the TMC Health care Committee 
because of her ability to articulate forcefully the urgency of 
providing lifetime health care to members of the greatest generation 
and their successors and in recognition of her practical insights on 
the best legislative strategy to achieve that goal. CDR was a major 
contributor to the Coalition's Health Alternative Reform Taskforce 
(CHART) study, which identified several innovative ways to provide 
lifetime health care to military beneficiaries who were locked out of 
military treatment facilities when they attained Medicare eligibility. 
That landmark study became the blueprint for several laws that were 
enacted in the last five years.
  In 1997, Congress enacted a three-year demonstration of a concept 
called Medicare subvention, through which the Health Care Financing 
Administration would reimburse the Department of Defense (DOD) for care 
provided to Medicare-eligible members of the uniformed services 
community in Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs). That program, now 
called TRICARE Senior Prime, was included in the Balanced Budget Act of 
1997 and is currently in operation at 10 MTFs.
  Over the years, CDR Torsch and other members of The Military 
Coalition have worked very closely with my staff in developing an 
option to allow Medicare-eligible service beneficiaries to enroll in 
the Federal Employees Health benefits Program (FEHBP), the same program 
that is available to virtually all Federal civilian employees, 
Congressional staff members and Members of Congress. In 1998, an 
amendment to the FY 1999 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), 
which I sponsored along with my distinguished colleagues, William Mac 
Thornberry and J.C. Watts, provided authority for DOD to conduct a 
three-year demonstration to determine the financial and other impacts 
of allowing Medicare-eligible service beneficiaries to enroll in FEHBP. 
The test of FEHBP-65, as it is called, is also underway at 10 locations 
around the country. I am convinced the results of this demonstration 
will prove conclusively that FEHBP is a cost-effective and viable 
option that should be made available to all retirees.
  The FY 1999 NDAA also provided authority to conduct two other 
demonstrations for Medicare-eligible retirees which CDR Torsch and the 
coalition collaborated on with the Armed Services Committees: TRICARE 
as second-payer to Medicare; and the enrollment in DOD's mail order and 
retail pharmacy programs.
  CDR Torsch's unwavering efforts to provide a meaningful health care 
benefit to Medicare-eligible members of the uniformed services 
community culminated this year when Congress established in the FY 2001 
National Defense Authorization Act a lifetime entitlement to TRICARE 
for service retirees, their family members and survivors. Effective on 
October 1, 2001, the TRICARE-for-Life option will not require 
participants in this program to pay enrollment fees or deductibles. CDR 
Torsch and the Military Coalition also advocated successfully to have 
Congress offer a TRICARE prescription drug benefit in the final FY 2001 
NDAA. As evidence of her commitment and effectiveness in advocating on 
behalf of military retirees, Congress also adopted a key recommendation 
offered by CDR Torsch in her testimony earlier this year that 
beneficiaries should not be required to pay enrollment fees or premiums 
to participate because doing so would deny this benefit to those who 
need it most.
  Taken together, these initiatives comprise the most significant 
improvements in military health care ever undertaken. Thanks in large 
measure to the dedication by CDR Torsch, TROA and other advocates of 
military retirees, Congress has demonstrated its commitment to 
providing lifetime health care to our nation's military personnel and 
their families. I commend their involvement in this area and believe 
these efforts should prove invaluable in reversing declining retention 
and readiness trends in all services.
  Mr. Speaker, CDR Torsch has been a leader in every sense of the 
word--a leader in TROA, the Military Coalition and the entire retired 
community. Her health care contributions have made an indelible mark on 
the lives of millions of retirees that will benefit them for years to 
come. I urge you to join me in wishing her continued success in her new 
endeavors and in her continued service to this nation.

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