.NAUS: House committee redirecting Tricare funds
A major military association that has been fighting Tricare fee hikes is angry with a House committee, saying it is raiding unspent military medical funds to pay for pet projects for members of Congress in the 2012 budget.
The redirected money, which is being used to fund medical research projects, could have been used to cover the rising costs of military health care, said retired Marine Lt. Gen. Jack Klimp, president of the Springfield, Va.-based National Association for Uniformed Services.
The House Appropriations Committee took $330 million in unspent Tricare funds from the previous year to pay for 22 medical research programs requested by members of Congress, including most of the members of the committee.
For example, the committee funds research into several types of cancer, including pediatric brain tumors, and pancreatic, kidney, blood and colorectal cancers that are not directly related to the military. Money also is provided for research, not requested by the Defense Department, into treatment of spinal cord injuries, transplants, controlling hemorrhage, and traumatic brain injury — that, despite having a direct military link, could duplicate other research, according to the NAUS.
Discuss:
Redirecting Tricare funds
“After hearing the secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs say repeatedly, for more than a year, that the rising cost of Tricare was crippling our nation’s national security, we are outraged to discover that the House Appropriations Committee intends to transfer $330 million of ‘under-executed’ money,” said Klimp, whose association represents current and former service members and their families.
“If these congressionally directed medical research programs fell within the Pentagon’s traditional research of battlefield medicine and related military research, perhaps their use might be meritorious. However, it is not true,” Klimp said.
Using unobligated or unspent balances from previous years to pay for new programs is a typical way of paying for programs being added to the annual defense budget.
Klimp, though, said it is hard to square the Pentagon’s complaint about high medical costs if there was money leftover in Tricare accounts.
“Despite the fact that the Tricare program is spending less than appropriated, certain leaders in Congress have agreed with the Department of Defense to increase Tricare Prime fees 13 percent next year,” Klimp said, referring to language in both the House and Senate versions of the 2012 defense authorization bill.
The Tricare fee hikes, which will cost $5 a month more in Tricare Prime fees for a working-age retiree, reduce the Defense Department’s health care costs by about $200 million over five years, something that could have been avoided by just using the unspent funds, Klimp said.
Military Times
Taking it from both sides.
The redirected money, which is being used to fund medical research projects, could have been used to cover the rising costs of military health care, said retired Marine Lt. Gen. Jack Klimp, president of the Springfield, Va.-based National Association for Uniformed Services.
The House Appropriations Committee took $330 million in unspent Tricare funds from the previous year to pay for 22 medical research programs requested by members of Congress, including most of the members of the committee.
For example, the committee funds research into several types of cancer, including pediatric brain tumors, and pancreatic, kidney, blood and colorectal cancers that are not directly related to the military. Money also is provided for research, not requested by the Defense Department, into treatment of spinal cord injuries, transplants, controlling hemorrhage, and traumatic brain injury — that, despite having a direct military link, could duplicate other research, according to the NAUS.
Discuss:
Redirecting Tricare funds
“After hearing the secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs say repeatedly, for more than a year, that the rising cost of Tricare was crippling our nation’s national security, we are outraged to discover that the House Appropriations Committee intends to transfer $330 million of ‘under-executed’ money,” said Klimp, whose association represents current and former service members and their families.
“If these congressionally directed medical research programs fell within the Pentagon’s traditional research of battlefield medicine and related military research, perhaps their use might be meritorious. However, it is not true,” Klimp said.
Using unobligated or unspent balances from previous years to pay for new programs is a typical way of paying for programs being added to the annual defense budget.
Klimp, though, said it is hard to square the Pentagon’s complaint about high medical costs if there was money leftover in Tricare accounts.
“Despite the fact that the Tricare program is spending less than appropriated, certain leaders in Congress have agreed with the Department of Defense to increase Tricare Prime fees 13 percent next year,” Klimp said, referring to language in both the House and Senate versions of the 2012 defense authorization bill.
The Tricare fee hikes, which will cost $5 a month more in Tricare Prime fees for a working-age retiree, reduce the Defense Department’s health care costs by about $200 million over five years, something that could have been avoided by just using the unspent funds, Klimp said.
Military Times
Taking it from both sides.
posted by madtom at 9:41 PM
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