Health Care Happenings

Here We Go…Yet Again!

A New York Times Article reads, “Pentagon Told to Save Billions For Use in War.”

Sound familiar? Like a rerun to a bad movie?

Let’s see. The country, not to mention our military, veterans and their families are still reeling from the fallout of national health care reform.

And, we’ve just come off Memorial Day weekend where our defense leaders thanked our military and veterans for their service and sacrifices, many giving the ultimate sacrifice in order to protect our country and our freedoms.

Now this—the top civilian leader in the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has ordered his military and civilian staff to find $7 billion dollars in spending cuts and efficiencies in the 2012 budget, and for those cuts to grow to $37 billion annually by the year 2016 to pay for war-fighting operations.

Cuts will target 3 areas, the first is no surprise—management and personnel, overhead, logistics and base operation and support accounts.

The second, war-fighting accounts and the third, is the Secretary’s staff and agencies.

Seems there’s not a week goes by we don’t hear the Pentagon saying, ‘that health care costs are eating the Defense Department alive,” as is article cited in the article.

When I hear statements like this one or about the need to cut budgets I can’t help wonder:

-  What’s the plan or strategy in all of this decision-making?
-  Is anyone taking a longer-view—who’s really looking at the consequences of, or more importantly, the unintended consequences of these short-term, reactionary policy and budget decisions?
-  And, at the end of the day, will budget cuts really result in the Pentagon running more effectively and efficiently?

Rest assured though, the military community and beneficiaries will be impacted by these budget cuts. We’ll see benefits and services reduced, replaced, deleted, and/or, we’ll be forced to absorb the costs of inefficient or ineffective government programs and decision-making policies.

Can see the writing on the wall, increased TRICARE premiums and fees?

… All for the sake of saving money! …

So what’s a person to do?

Some might say, well that’s life—the government giveth, and the government taketh away!

We at MOAA don’t plan to let our leaders and elected officials off the hook.

Each of us individually is one person—collectively, we are a POWERFUL CHANGE-AGENT.

Please share this information with others to MAKE SURE MILITARY PEOPLE AND THEIR FAMILIES CONTINUE TO BE A “TOP PRIORITY!”

Pentagon briefing on the subject is available on the Pentagon Channel.