TFL on Chopping Block – Update
May 13 2009
Update #2: This one keeps on rolling, with more stories regarding the future of TFL, so I’m pinning it to the top of the page for a while. I’ve also copied my comment (that was vetted by our legislative experts) for ease of viewing.
A quick update on a previous Bilge story regarding Tricare For Life funding. The original article can be found here.
As stated in MOAA’s Legislative Update from May 8th:
Full funding for the TRICARE program. The good news is that this is the first time in four years that the budget hasn’t included formal proposals for big hikes in TRICARE fees for retirees under 65. The bad news is that Pentagon leaders still want to raise TRICARE fees. A key difference is that this year, they’re going to ask Congress to do that rather than cutting the budget on the assumption that it will happen.
This is good news for TFL and TRICARE as a whole. Congress is very unlikely to raise fees, especially when it is not in the budget already proposed to them. Since we are still receiving the original email that was going around, the word has not gotten out completely just yet.
June 1 Addition
Just to clarify CBO does not draft legislation nor have they proposed legislation. CBO does publish a list of options or ways to reduce or increase the budget in certain areas. Included in those recommendations were changes to TFL.
Please know that MOAA is doing everything we can to improve TRICARE For Life, we hope that the only changes you do see in the future are positive ones. We wholeheartedly agree that any increases in health care premiums/copays/deductibles would be diluting the retirement benefit and could have an adverse affect on recruiting and retention.
