[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 44 (Friday, April 7, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3388-S3390]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Kerry, Mr. 
        Menendez, Mrs. Lincoln, and Mr. DeWine):
  S. 2617. A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to limit 
increases in the costs to retired members of the Armed Forces of health 
care services under the TRICARE program, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Armed Services.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Military 
Retirees' Health Care Protection Act along with my colleagues, Senators 
Hagel, Kerry, Menendez, Lincoln, and DeWine.
  This important legislation will keep the Pentagon from dramatically 
raising health care fees on military retirees.
  Our bill will limit increases to TRICARE military health insurance 
premiums, deductibles, and co-payments for those in the National Guard 
and Reserves who are enrolled in TRICARE. Under this legislation, 
increases in health care fees cannot exceed the rate of growth in 
uniformed services beneficiaries' military compensation, thereby 
protecting beneficiaries from an undue financial burden.
  In February, officials at the Department of Defense (DOD) announced 
plans to double fees on senior enlisted retirees and triple them for 
officer retirees. If enacted this would mean increases of up to $1,000 
annually for some military retirees. While the Department of Defense 
has since temporarily halted plans to raise fees, it still has 
authority to implement steep increases in the future and may do so. We 
must pass legislation now that limits the amount of any health care 
increase and protects beneficiaries from extreme health care fee 
increases in the future.
  Senator Hagel and I want to demonstrate our commitment to our troops 
and future veterans by assuring them that just as they protected us, we 
will take care of them when their service ends. Just as our men and 
women in uniform vow never to leave a soldier behind in battle, so 
should we commit never to leave a veteran behind when he or she needs 
health care.
  For three years, Congress has rejected a $250 Veterans Administration 
health fee increase for non-disabled veterans--doubling and tripling 
fees for career military is equally inappropriate.
  I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support our troops 
by supporting this important bill.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 2617

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Military Retirees Health 
     Care Protection Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Career members of the Armed Forces and their families 
     endure unique and extraordinary demands, and make 
     extraordinary sacrifices, over the course of 20-year to 30-
     year careers in protecting freedom for all Americans.
       (2) The nature and extent of these demands and sacrifices 
     are never so evident as in wartime, not only during the 
     current Global War on Terrorism, but also during the wars of 
     the last 60 years when current retired members of the Armed 
     Forces were on continuous call to go in harm's way when and 
     as needed.
       (3) The demands and sacrifices are such that few Americans 
     are willing to bear or accept them for a multi-decade career.
       (4) A primary benefit of enduring the extraordinary 
     sacrifices inherent in a military career is a range of 
     extraordinary retirement benefits that a grateful Nation 
     provides for those who choose to subordinate much of their 
     personal life to the national interest for so many years.
       (5) One effect of such curtailment is that retired members 
     of the Armed Forces are turning for health care services to 
     the Department of Defense, and its TRICARE program, for the 
     health care benefits in retirement that they earned by their 
     service in the Armed Forces.
       (6) In some cases, civilian employers establish financial 
     incentives for employees who are also eligible for 
     participation in the TRICARE program to receive health care 
     benefits under that program rather than under the health care 
     benefits programs of such employers.
       (7) While the Department of Defense has made some efforts 
     to contain increases in the cost of the TRICARE program, a 
     large part of those efforts has been devoted to shifting a 
     larger share of the costs of benefits under that program to 
     retired members of the Armed Forces.
       (8) The cumulative increase in enrollment fees, 
     deductibles, and copayments being proposed by the Department 
     of Defense for

[[Page S3389]]

     health care benefits under the TRICARE program far exceeds 
     the 31 percent increase in military retired pay since such 
     fees, deductibles, and copayments were first required on the 
     part of retired members of the Armed Forces 10 years ago.
       (9) Proposals of the Department of Defense for increases in 
     the enrollment fees, deductibles, and copayments of retired 
     members of the Armed Forces who are participants in the 
     TRICARE program fail to recognize adequately that such 
     members paid the equivalent of enormous in-kind premiums for 
     health care in retirement through their extended sacrifices 
     by service in the Armed Forces.
       (10) Some of the Nation's health care providers refuse to 
     accept participants in the TRICARE program as patients 
     because that program pays them significantly less than 
     commercial insurance programs, and imposes unique 
     administrative requirements, for health care services.
       (11) The Department of Defense has chosen to count the 
     accrual deposit to the Department of Defense Military Retiree 
     Health Care Fund against the budget of the Department of 
     Defense, contrary to the requirements of section 1116 of 
     title 10, United States Code, as amended section 725 of 
     Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for 
     Fiscal Year 2005 (Public Law 108-375; 118 Stat. 1991).
       (12) Senior officials of the Department of Defense leaders 
     have reported to Congress that counting such deposits against 
     the budget of the Department of Defense is impinging on other 
     readiness needs of the Armed Forces, including weapons 
     programs, an inappropriate situation which section 1116 of 
     title 10, United States Code, was intended expressly to 
     prevent.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the Department of Defense and the Nation have a 
     committed obligation to provide health care benefits to 
     retired members of the Armed Forces that exceeds the 
     obligation of corporate employers to provide health care 
     benefits to their employees;
       (2) the Department of Defense has many additional options 
     to constrain the growth of health care spending in ways that 
     do not disadvantage retired members of the Armed Forces who 
     participate or seek to participate in the TRICARE program and 
     should pursue any and all such options rather than seeking 
     large increases for enrollment fees, deductibles, and 
     copayments for such retirees, and their families or 
     survivors, who do participate in that program;
       (3) any percentage increase in fees, deductibles, and 
     copayments that may be considered under the TRICARE program 
     for retired members of the Armed Forces and their families or 
     survivors should not in any case exceed the percentage 
     increase in military retired pay; and
       (4) any percentage increase in fees, deductibles, and 
     copayments under the TRICARE program that may be considered 
     for members of the Armed Forces who are currently serving on 
     active duty or in the Selected Reserve, and for the families 
     of such members, should not exceed the percentage increase in 
     basic pay or compensation for such members.

     SEC. 3. LIMITATIONS ON CERTAIN INCREASES IN HEALTH CARE COSTS 
                   FOR MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES.

       (a) Pharmacy Benefits Program.--Section 1074g of title 10, 
     United Stated Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new subparagraph:
       ``(C) The amount of any cost sharing requirements under 
     this paragraph shall not be increased in any year by a 
     percentage that exceeds the percentage increase of the most 
     current previous adjustment to retired pay for members of the 
     armed forces under section 1401a(b)(2) of this title. To the 
     extent that such increase for any year is less than one 
     dollar, the accumulated increase may be carried over from 
     year to year, rounded to the nearest dollar.''.
       (b) Premiums for TRICARE Standard for Reserve Component 
     Members Who Commit to Service in the Selected Reserve After 
     Active Duty.--Section 1076d(d)(3) of such title is amended--
       (1) by striking ``The monthly amount'' and inserting ``(A) 
     Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the monthly amount''; 
     and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(B) In any year after 2006, the percentage increase in 
     the amount of the premium in effect for a month for TRICARE 
     Standard coverage under this section may not exceed a 
     percentage equal to the percentage of the most recent 
     increase in the rate of basic pay authorized for members of 
     the uniformed services for a year.''.
       (c) Copayments Under CHAMPUS.--Section 1086(b)(3) of such 
     title is amended in the first sentence by inserting before 
     the period at the end the following: ``, except that in no 
     event may such charges exceed $535 per day''.
       (d) Prohibition on Enrollment Fees Under CHAMPUS.--Section 
     1086(b) of such title is further amended by adding at the end 
     the following new paragraph:
       ``(5) A person covered by subsection (c) may not be charged 
     an enrollment fee for coverage under this section.''.
       (e) Premiums and Other Charges Under TRICARE.--Section 
     1097(e) of such title is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``The Secretary of 
     Defense''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(2) In any year after 2006, the percentage increase in 
     the amount of any premium, deductible, copayment or other 
     charge established by the Secretary of Defense under this 
     section may not exceed the percentage increase of the most 
     current previous adjustment of retired pay for members and 
     former members of the armed forces under section 1041a(b)(2) 
     of this title.''.
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I rise today to express my support for 
Senator LAUTENBERG's and Senator HAGEL's bill, the Military Retirees 
Health Care Protection Act, which I have co-sponsored. We must ensure 
that our military personnel and military retirees, as well as their 
families, have access to affordable, quality health insurance.
  Over the past 10 years, military health care benefits have been 
greatly expanded to include Medicare eligible retirees, Reservists, and 
their families. Additionally, new options for health care have been 
added for active duty families, including an elimination of co-pays if 
the families use military treatment facilities instead of civilian 
doctors. Since 1995, health insurance costs have increased in the 
civilian sector, but TRICARE rates have not increased. If fees aren't 
increased and other avenues for funding TRICARE aren't explored, 
defense health care costs, alone, may rise to as much as $64 billion by 
2015.
  As part of the fiscal year 2007 budget request, the Department of 
Defense proposed a significant increase to the enrollment and 
prescription drug prices for military retirees under age 65 and 
survivors. This increase would more than double enrollment fees. In 
almost every case, that's an unfathomable single-year increase for 
families who live on a very tight budget. This is particularly 
troublesome when the Department of Defense has many other options that 
it may pursue to limit the mounting costs of medicine.
  In addition, last year I worked to extend military health insurance 
to every dependent child of a deceased servicemember at no cost as if 
that parent were still alive and serving our Nation. The Department of 
Defense indicates that this important benefit could save dependents as 
much as $15,000 per year compared to the cost of private health 
insurance premiums. This cost-free extension of TRICARE Prime medical 
insurance to surviving minor children will alleviate one of the biggest 
worries on families today--and that's health care costs. However, if 
premiums and fees are increased drastically for the surviving spouse, 
worries about health care costs will still weigh heavily on these 
families. TRICARE Prime premium increases would undo the good we have 
accomplished on this front.
  The legislation we are introducing today would begin to address the 
need for premiums and other health care fees to keep pace with the rise 
in health care costs, while keeping in mind the effect such increases 
would have on the yearly budget for our military retirees, survivors, 
and their families.
  This proposal calls for a yearly increase in premiums that is 
equivalent to the cost of living increase that military retirees 
receive. For instance, if the cost of living increase is 2 percent, 
TRICARE Prime premiums will increase by 2 percent. Similarly, under 
this proposal, fees for TRICARE Reserve Select--which I have fought for 
with many of my colleagues--would increase by the same percent as the 
basic pay raise. I believe that these represent fair fee increases for 
the men, women, and families who have selflessly served our country.
  Unfortunately, I understand that these modest fee increases will not 
completely solve the rising costs of providing superior military health 
care. I encourage the Department of Defense to explore other options 
for reducing the overall cost to taxpayers of delivering this benefit. 
For instance, the DoD should negotiate with drug manufacturers for 
discounts in the TRICARE retail pharmacy network and encourage 
beneficiaries to use the mail-order pharmacy. There are many more 
options available to DoD to fund this health care system, which I 
strongly urge them to explore.
  I believe we owe a great debt of gratitude to those men, women, and 
families who served our country in the armed services in uniform and on 
the home front. It is essential that we

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honor our commitment and investigate all available options for funding 
our military health care system, rather than strap the bill on the 
backs of those who already have paid for their health insurance with 
their blood, sweat, and tears. I will continue to work with Senators 
Lautenberg and Hagel to ensure fair treatment of these men and women.
                                 ______