The Defense Department has rescinded its notification to Tricare contractors to begin a plan to double and triple Tricare fees starting Oct. 1 for military retirees under age 65. DoD took the action in the face of vehement opposition from veterans’ associations and a growing intensity of bipartisan opposition from Congress. The Republican chairman and the ranking Democrat of the Senate Armed Services personnel subcommittee promised the veterans’ groups they would seek an independent audit of the military health care system before deciding whether to support the fee hikes. Meanwhile, in the House, Reps. Chet Edwards, D-Texas, and Walter Jones, R-N.C., sponsored the Military Retirees’ Health Care Protection Act, designed to move the purse power from DoD to Congress. The bill had 78 cosponsors as of press time. Defense officials did not indicate they were abandoning the plan.