Obama To U.S. Soldiers: 'Pay Up' For Your TRICARE

[Oddball]

I thought the military was part of the government, so therefore, healthcare for the military is ALREADY under a government system.

Yeah...And they can't even keep a lid on those costs.

Time to pony up more, pal.

 

[Mad Scientist]

Harbison also says Obama has suggested that since the military is volunteer, they should pay for their own health care.http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-opinion/ci_20954561/your-view-letters-editor-june-28

No.

Health Care is used a recruiting tool from the onset. "Retire after 20 years and get health care until you die" (or something like that).

See, offering something then taking it away (or reducing it) can be classified as either "bait and switch" or "fraud".

Which is it rdean?

You and I sign a contract. I complete my end of the deal but you then wanna' change the terms of the contract? I don't think so.

At least that's the way I see it.

 

[L.K.Eder]

WE ALREADY HAD A HILARIOUS THREAD ON THIS!

 

[daveman]

Oh, but the military works for him personally. They should be honored that he thought about them.

I am so glad I no longer wear the uniform under his command.

That's because you're a partisan loser.

It takes a special kind of hypocrite to be all about having teachers and other gov't workers having to pay more into their healthcare plans and then turn and say something like "I am so glad I no longer wear the uniform under his command" in response to a thread like this.

I'm sure it comforts your little mind to feel that way, but no. If you think you have a point, you'll have to find where I said I want teachers and other government workers to have to pay more into their healthcare plans.

Please note I am responsible ONLY for the things I say; not for anyone else's words.

 

[Big Fitz]

What? you didn't think the left wouldn't be emboldened by this victory?

 

[daveman]

What? you didn't think the left wouldn't be emboldened by this victory?

To the extent they talk shit and can't back it up?

Everything emboldens them to do that.

 

[L.K.Eder]

What? you didn't think the left wouldn't be emboldened by this victory?

timelines, they suck.

 

[CaféAuLait]

The program is aimed at military retirees, in order to wean them off of TRICARE and get them to participate in other programs (also in the bill) so there are more resources for active duty.

Tricare for life was promised as a part of their contract. If this were unions being asked to give up something by Obama, there would be hell to pay.

 

[Article 15]

Oh, but the military works for him personally. They should be honored that he thought about them.

I am so glad I no longer wear the uniform under his command.

That's because you're a partisan loser.

It takes a special kind of hypocrite to be all about having teachers and other gov't workers having to pay more into their healthcare plans and then turn and say something like "I am so glad I no longer wear the uniform under his command" in response to a thread like this.

I'm sure it comforts your little mind to feel that way, but no. If you think you have a point, you'll have to find where I said I want teachers and other government workers to have to pay more into their healthcare plans.

Please note I am responsible ONLY for the things I say; not for anyone else's words.

I'm don't dave enough to search but so we are clear when that whole Wisconsin thing was going on you were actually AGAINST teachers having to pay a greater portion of their health insurance and you were against other financial concessions they had agreed to as part of Walker's plan to balance the budget before he the rug out from under them and chopped off their ability to collectively bargain.

Is that accurate?

If so, is it your position that no government worker should ever be asked to pay more into their healthcare plans?

 

[jillian]

What? you didn't think the left wouldn't be emboldened by this victory?

you mean like the right was after citizens united; and after bush v gore; and after ledbetter, and after heller?

just wondering.

 

[Big Fitz]

What? you didn't think the left wouldn't be emboldened by this victory?

you mean like the right was after citizens united; and after bush v gore; and after ledbetter, and after heller?

just wondering.

Citizens United: The leveling of the playing field with Unions and other leftwing citadels of political cash? This is equivalent???

Bush v. Gore???? What exactly was 'emboldened' there? Teddy Kennedy's education bill and the Medicare Part D? How is this conservative? Or is it the emboldening to sue for every close election by all politicians and do selective recounts like Gore to steal the election?

I don't know Ledbetter or Heller, but I'm curious to see how these things are emboldening conservative causes in your mind.

 

[WillowTree]

I don't necessarily have an issue with this just yet. One, i don't know what they're already paying so my opinion could change based on that, but I don't automatically have a problem with raising their premiums. Military spending is out of control. It is by far and large our biggest expenditure so the costs need to be reined in. All the rest of us are paying more for our healthcare plans. I don't see why military families should automatically be exempt.

Here's a real link, not some talking points from a right wing site..............

President Obama proposed new TRICARE co-pays and fees, as well as a review of military retirement benefits, in his fiscal 2013 budget unveiled Monday.

The administration provided new details on Defense Department personnel cuts first proposed in January.

The budget includes new TRICARE co-pays, additional increases to TRICARE Prime enrollment fees, initiation of standard and extra annual enrollment fees, and adjustments to deductibles and catastrophic coverage caps.

The budget proposal also modifies pharmacy co-pays to encourage the use of less expensive mail-order and military treatment facility pharmacies, and includes modest annual fees for Medicare-covered beneficiaries older than 65 (TRICARE for Life).

The administration said these changes would save Defense an estimated $12.9 billion in discretionary funding and $4.7 billion in mandatory savings on Medicare-eligible retiree health care over the next five years. It is projected to save the department $12.1 billion over the next 10 years.

Defense implemented TRICARE Prime fee increases for new retiree enrollees beginning in fiscal 2012; under the 2013 proposal, the fees would be phased in based on annual retirement pay.

The TRICARE fee increases mean that military retirees in upper-income tiers would see their health care contributions nearly quadruple over the next five years, Defense Comptroller Robert Hale told reporters Monday. “It’s quite generous compensation compared to private sector plans,” Hale said, adding the department could “revisit” the personnel figures -- which make up $135.1 billion of the fiscal 2013 base budget -- if the economy were to improve.

The proposal includes some good news for military families: It provides $48.7 billion for the Defense Unified Medical Budget to support the Military Health System and $8.5 billion to support the “well-being and psychological health of the military family, ensuring excellence in military children’s education and their development, developing career and educational opportunities for military spouses, and increasing child care,” budget documents said.

The president’s budget proposal provides a 1.7 percent increase to basic military pay in calendar 2013, the full increase authorized by current law

Budget request includes TRICARE cut, military retirement details - Defense - GovExec.com

It looks like this program is aimed mainly at getting retirees to use some other form of health insurance other than TRICARE.

Way to keep a promise huh?

 

[daveman]

That's because you're a partisan loser.

It takes a special kind of hypocrite to be all about having teachers and other gov't workers having to pay more into their healthcare plans and then turn and say something like "I am so glad I no longer wear the uniform under his command" in response to a thread like this.

I'm sure it comforts your little mind to feel that way, but no. If you think you have a point, you'll have to find where I said I want teachers and other government workers to have to pay more into their healthcare plans.

Please note I am responsible ONLY for the things I say; not for anyone else's words.

I'm don't dave enough to search...

Then you can't back up your claims.

Dismissed.

 

[uscitizen]

As I said Bush III.
Remeber Bush trying to cut veterans HC benefits?

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

Now he is attacking U.S. Soldiers wallets. I am against this measure. He is suppose to be helping the soldiers, not hindering them. The military is our first line of defense and I don't think that they should have any burdens put upon them by their Commander n Chief, especially their healthcare.


Obama to Soldiers: Pay Up

Threatens to veto bill unless it hikes health care fees for service members
Obama to Soldiers: Pay Up | Washington Free Beacon

: Washington Free Beacon Staff - June 29, 2012 10:22 am

The Obama administration on Friday threatened to veto a defense appropriations bill in part because it does not include higher health care fees for members of the military.

“The Administration is disappointed that the Congress did not incorporate the requested TRICARE fee initiatives into either the appropriation or authorization legislation,” the White House wrote in an official policy statement expressing opposition to the bill, which the House approved in May

GOP, Bush/Cheney to US troops: go to Iraq without adequate body armor or equipment and get maimed and die unnecessarily.

 

[daveman]

As I said Bush III.
Remeber Bush trying to cut veterans HC benefits?

A less-than-requested increase is still an increase.

 

[Article 15]

I'm sure it comforts your little mind to feel that way, but no. If you think you have a point, you'll have to find where I said I want teachers and other government workers to have to pay more into their healthcare plans.

Please note I am responsible ONLY for the things I say; not for anyone else's words.

I'm don't dave enough to search...

Then you can't back up your claims.

Dismissed.

Nice try but it ain't gonna fly:

Just so we are clear, when that whole Wisconsin thing was going on you were actually AGAINST teachers having to pay a greater portion of their health insurance and you were against other financial concessions they had agreed to as part of Walker's plan to balance the budget before he the rug out from under them and chopped off their ability to collectively bargain.

Is that accurate?

If so, is it your position that no government worker should ever be asked to pay more into their healthcare plans?

 

[Dot Com]

This is extreme? FYI: I served BUT I don't whine like daveman.
DoD Officials Say Retiree TRICARE Fee Increase Essential, Despite Some Strong Objections from Congress

The White House is proposing a set of initiatives in its FY 2012 DoD budget to better balance health-care costs and revenue. One of the more controversial proposals is an increase of $2.50 per month for enrollment in TRICARE Prime (or $5.00 a month per retiree family). If enacted, this would be the first increase in enrollment fees since the benefit was introduced in 1995.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee, suggested that the time has come for Congress to consider raising fees. “I understand what the administration is trying to do. We have to move this debate forward on sustainability,” he said at the hearing. “We haven’t had a premium increase since 1989. Some of the fees to be increased proposed by the administration, I think, [are] something we should all consider.”

Graham was a JAG I believe.

 

[Douger]

Now he is attacking U.S. Soldiers wallets. I am against this measure. He is suppose to be helping the soldiers, not hindering them. The military is our first line of defense and I don't think that they should have any burdens put upon them by their Commander n Chief, especially their healthcare.


Obama to Soldiers: Pay Up

Threatens to veto bill unless it hikes health care fees for service members
Obama to Soldiers: Pay Up | Washington Free Beacon

: Washington Free Beacon Staff - June 29, 2012 10:22 am

The Obama administration on Friday threatened to veto a defense appropriations bill in part because it does not include higher health care fees for members of the military.

“The Administration is disappointed that the Congress did not incorporate the requested TRICARE fee initiatives into either the appropriation or authorization legislation,” the White House wrote in an official policy statement expressing opposition to the bill, which the House approved in May

You mean first line of offence.
If they were defending you 90% of the scumbags in DC and Walberg Blvd. would be in shackles.

 

[daveman]

I'm don't dave enough to search...

Then you can't back up your claims.

Dismissed.

Nice try but it ain't gonna fly:

Oh, it files straight and true. You based your claim on something I never said, and now demand I validate your delusion.