Mr. John Heizer
23400 Old Kansas City Rd
Spring Hill, KS 66083
Dear Mr. Heizer:
Thank you for contacting me regarding health benefits for our men and women in uniform. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.
Congress recognizes the important contributions of our warfighters. I have long supported legislation to increase health care benefits provided through the Department of Defense (DoD). However, the increasing cost of health care nationwide is also reflected in the military health care system. The dollar amounts allocated to health care in the DoD budget more than doubled from $19 billion in 2001 to over $47 billion in 2010. Total health care funding in the DoD projections indicate even further growth, perhaps reaching $64 billion in 2015.
Congress passed and the President signed the National Defense Authorization Act for 2012 (P.L. 112-81), which limited potential TRICARE enrollment fee increases in any future year to the percentage by which military retired pay is increased in the same year. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that this provision would allow the fees to increase by about 2 percent annually over the next decade.
The President’s budget request for 2013 includes an enrollment fee for both TRICARE Standard and TRICARE for Life and increases enrollment fees for TRICARE Prime for retirees. Additionally, fees would increase annually at the same rate as Medicare and Medicaid. The President’s budget request also includes an increase for name-brand prescription drugs acquired through both retail and mail-order pharmacies. Rest assured, as Congress begins work on the president's budget request for 2013, I will keep your concerns in mind.
As a former Marine, I work hard to ensure that the brave men and women serving our country receive the best equipment, training, and care a grateful nation can provide. I strongly support the men and women who have worn the uniform. I continue to work with my Senate colleagues to ensure that the more than 250,000 Kansas veterans have the quality care and benefits they deserve. If you would like more information on issues before the Senate, please visit my website at http://roberts.senate.gov. You may also sign up on my home page for a monthly electronic newsletter as well as follow me on Facebook at Facebook.com/SenPatRoberts and Twitter at Twitter.com/SenPatRoberts for additional updates on my work for Kansas.
