Congress (Sort Of) Fixes TRICARE Reimbursement Cut
Congress gave itself another few weeks to address the 21 percent reduction in
reimbursement doctors will receive for seeing Medicare and TRICARE patients.
On Thursday, both chambers pushed the date for the start of the cut to June 1.
It was to take effect April 1, but claims were put on hold for 10 business days,
a period which ended Thursday, to see if Congress would act.
TRICARE users are caught up in an effort to limit the growth of Medicare
payments to physicians. The complicated formula to do that also is tied to
TRICARE reimbursements.
Physicians say they will reduce the number of Medicare and TRICARE patients they
see if the cut goes into effect.
NGAUS supports a permanent reversal of the reimbursement cut and urges Congress
to take such action.
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Senate Bill Extends TRICARE to Older Children
The Senate is now considering a bill that would provide a parent’s TRICARE
coverage to children under the age of 26. The TRICARE Dependent Coverage
Extension Act, or S. 3201, was introduced by Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., and has
more than 20 co-sponsors.
It is similar to H.R. 4923 introduced last month in the House.
The purpose of both bills is to bring TRICARE coverage in line with the health
care reform bill that passed Congress and was signed by the president. It allows
private health insurance to provide coverage for dependent children up to age
26.
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Graham to NGAUS: Retirement is ‘Top Priority’
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told NGAUS leadership last week that early
retirement credit is his “top priority” and wants to work with the association
to find a legislative solution.
Retired Maj. Gen. Gus Hargett, NGAUS president, was joined in the senator’s
office by Richard Green, NGAUS legislative director, and Pete Duffy, NGAUS
deputy legislative director. They left encouraged by the lawmaker’s words.
The issue, of course, is to give retirement credit to Guardsmen for time served
on active duty back to 9/11. The current law credits only active-duty service
since January 2008, when the law was enacted.
Bills addressing the issue are moving through both chambers with the biggest
hurdle being mandatory spending limits. But Graham’s support is crucial. He
holds a key leadership position as ranking member on the Senate Armed Services
personnel subcommittee.
The former judge advocate general for both the Guard and Reserve was one of the
primary sponsors of a successful effort to get affordable TRICARE for the
reserve components. And last year he helped lead the effort to authorize TRICARE
for our gray area retirees.
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NGAUS Backs Increase in Nondual Status Technicians
Retired Maj. Gen Gus Hargett, NGAUS president, wrote letters last week to the
chairmen and ranking members of the armed services committees in both the House
and the Senate urging support for an increase in nondual status technicians in
the Army National Guard.
A request in the president’s budget for fiscal year 2011 would increase the cap
on these technicians from 1,600 to 2,520.
Hargett said expanding the number of nondual status technicians is a “pressing
need” in the Guard. These personnel “staff key readiness support positions and
provide the essential continuity of operations” because they cannot be deployed.
The House Appropriations Committee subcommittee on defense heard leaders in the
Army Guard make the same argument Wednesday.
“These technicians are the ones who do not deploy because they are not soldiers.
They are part of the civilian work force,” said Maj. Gen. Raymond W. Carpenter,
acting director of the Army Guard. “They provide the critical support … while
the soldiers are deployed.”
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Air Force Proposes Alternative to C-130 Transfer
The Air Force now proposes making the transfer of C-130 aircraft from Air
National Guard units to Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., a temporary loan
instead of a permanent switch.
The new proposal was reported last week in the National Journal after leaders in
Congress wrote letters to Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley and Defense
Secretary Robert M. Gates criticizing the planned permanent transfer of aircraft
from several states to an active-component training unit.
The original plan was discovered only when the president’s budget for fiscal
year 2011 was released. Guard leadership had not been consulted.
The Air Force now proposes taking eight aircraft from seven state Air Guard
units and 10 from the Air Force Reserve to create a temporary associate squadron
under the Arkansas Air National Guard’s 189th Airlift Wing to handle some of the
training.
The loan period was not specified, but would continue until the active-component
Air Force is able to secure more J-model C-130s.
Lt. Gen. Harry Wyatt, the Air Guard director, briefed affected adjutants general
on the new proposal, according to the National Journal report. One concern from
them was the possible requirement that the Guard supply personnel to manage the
loaned aircraft.
NGAUS officials cautioned that the Air Force has made no public comment on the
new proposal, which is subject to the defense secretary’s approval.
As a result, the original C-130 plane transfer in the president’s budget remains
the Air Force’s official plan.
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THIS WEEK IN GUARD HISTORY
April 19, 1861: Baltimore — Soon after the 6th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
leaves the President’s Street Station to board a south-bound train to
Washington, D.C., at the Camden Yards Station, they are attacked by a mob of
about 5,000 southern sympathizers.
The Pratt Street Riot, as it would become known, leaves 21 soldiers and
civilians dead and more 100 injured. This violence is the first bloodshed of the
Civil War. While Fort Sumter had been fired on the previous week, no one was
killed in the exchange of cannon fire.
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ASSOCIATION HISTORY
In March 1994, Maj. Gen. John L. Matthews, NGAUS president, and retired Maj.
Gen. Robert F. Ennslin Jr., NGAUS executive director, met with the new secretary
of defense, William Perry, at his Pentagon office to introduce themselves and
open discussion on the Total Force and the National Guard.
Earlier in the day, the NGAUS leaders made an office call on Gen. John
Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Shalikashvili said that he
admired the Guard’s commitment to patriotism and to the nation, evident by their
ability as citizen-soldiers to follow two career paths simultaneously.
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BY THE WAY
Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., has posted a video on YouTube about the successful effort
to protect TRICARE within the recent health care reform package. Find it at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLyS5sonEIc.
The Army National Guard and Army Reserve are investigating as possible suicides
the deaths in March of eight soldiers not on active duty.
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CALENDAR
The following events are happening at NGAUS headquarters in Washington, D.C.:
May 5 – Michigan Adjutant General Visit
May 10 – Illinois State Association Visit
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WRITE TO CONGRESS
Help NGAUS meet its goal of 200,000 emails to Congress this year!
Total for 2010: 33,304
Top 5 States:
1. Georgia – 5,882
2. Tennessee – 3,168
3. Texas – 1,884
4. Ohio – 1,813
5. Mississippi – 1,786
