Other provisions of the 2008 defense bill reject a Defense Department proposal to increase in Tricare fees for retirees and their dependents, and place a limit on the cost of prescription drugs dispensed through Tricare’s retail pharmacy program. Other health care-related provisions call for the Defense Department to:
* Submit a plan to establish a nursing school;
* Offer bonuses of up to $20,000 for participants in the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship and Assistance Program;
* Increase the maximum incentive special pays and multi-year retention bonuses to $75,000 from $50,000 for medical officers, to $10,000 from $4,000 for dental officers with fewer than three years’ service and to $12,000 from $6,000 for dental officers with more than three but fewer than 10 years’ service.
