BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SJR 8|
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CONSENT
Bill No: SJR 8
Author: Senate Veterans Affairs Committee
Amended: 7/7/11
Vote: 21
SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/14/11
AYES: Correa, Cannella, Berryhill, Negrete McLeod, Rubio,
Runner, Lieu
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon
SUBJECT : TRICARE cost increases
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution urges the United States Congress
to make itself the sole authority on determining future
TRICARE cost increases and to base those increases on
United States Department of Labor statistics.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires the military to provide
health care to veterans while on leave. Older veterans
will remember the old CHAMPUS (Civilian Health and Medical
Program of the Uniformed Services) program. TRICARE (a
private insurance company) replaced CHAMPUS (a military
program run for military personnel).
Background
As rounds of the Base Closure and Realignment Commission
(BRAC) closed military facilities around the country,
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health care that retired veterans had earned as part of
their retirement package was made inaccessible.
In 2001, Tricare was then expanded to cover retirees by the
establishment of the "TRICARE for Life" program, which is
wrap-around coverage for those entitled to Medicare Part A
coverage.
TRICARE has now expanded to include over a half dozen
programs.
Comments
According to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, BRAC
has resulted in broken promises to retired veterans.
Retirees were to have access to medical facilities on
military bases. However, if there is no base, the retiree,
on most occasions, cannot access medical facilities, which
mostly left with the closed base.
The commitment made to retirees was clear and
comprehensive. For a lifetime of putting one's life on the
line, a retiree would receive full lifetime coverage.
In short, an insurance company has come in many years after
the fact to cover the cost of a population that is at the
point in life of using many services without having
collected premiums in the earlier, healthy years. This
scenario has led many to question the practices of the
TRICARE organization. As a result, veterans want the
decision making power to lie solely with the Congress.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
RM:mw 7/7/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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