Congress must make urgent Tricare fix

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Dear Sgt. Shaft:

As Congress returns for its "lame duck" session, it still has one major agenda item that will pose major problems for the military community if Congress fails to act before the end of the year.

Under current law, Medicare payments to doctors will be cut 5.1 percent, starting in January -- even though Medicare already pays one-fourth to one-third less than most commercial insurance. That's bad news for Medicare eligibles because it means fewer doctors will be willing to see Medicare patients.

But it could be even more devastating to 9 million military beneficiaries because military Tricare payments are tied to Medicare's.

The Tricare Prime system actually asks doctors to take an additional discount. Doctor participation is an even greater problem for Tricare than for Medicare because low payment rates are compounded by Tricare-unique administrative requirements and lower patient volume.

The military community's No. 1 health care problem is finding doctors who will accept Tricare. That's particularly true for Guard and Reserve families, retirees and survivors who live in areas where there isn't a large military population.

When our service members are sent in harm's way, the last thing they should have to worry about is whether their families will be able to find a Tricare doctor, or whether their current doctor will stop seeing Tricare patients.

We must make sure Medicare and Tricare provider payments don't fall even further behind reasonable standards that are recognized everywhere but in current law. It's not just a matter of being fair to providers and seniors. It's a real national security issue as well.

There will be long-term negative consequences to retention and readiness if the military Tricare program can't provide access to quality care. We just can't let that happen.

Congress must fix this problem before January. We hope your readers will urge their legislators to get this important job done before Congress adjourns.