Coalition: Forget Higher Tricare Fees

Five leaders of The Military Coalition (TMC) of more than 30 associations told the Task Force on the Future of Military Healthcare March 7 that proposed huge increases in Tricare fees for retirees under age 65 are absolutely unwarranted. They exemplified their complaint in a brochure from the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) that says military retirees’ premiums have been “paid in full through decades of arduous service and sacrifice.” TMC members pointed out that the Defense Department has yet to act on almost two dozen alternative cost-saving moves that MOAA has proposed. Retired Air Force Col. Steve Strobridge, TMC co-chair and MOAA representative, reminded the task force of the financial impact upon the under-65 retirees from active-duty pay caps imposed on them in the 1980s and ‘90s. Those who retired in 1995, for example, lost 12.6 percent of their retired pay due to Tricare fees.