To express the sense of the Senate on costs for health care for members of the Armed Forces and their families.

1. Adds SEC. 706. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON HEALTH CARE BENEFITS AND COSTS FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AND THEIR FAMILIES on page 213, between lines 14 and 15

   Adds a sectionPrinted page

   Inserted: SEC. 706. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON HEALTH CARE BENEFITS AND COSTS FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AND THEIR FAMILIES.

   Inserted: (a) Findings.--The Senate makes the following findings:

   Inserted: (1) Career members of the Armed Forces and their families endure unique and extraordinary demands, and make extraordinary sacrifices, over the course of 20-year to 30-year careers in protecting freedom for all Americans.

   Inserted: (2) The nature and extent of these demands and sacrifices are never so evident as in wartime, not only during the current combat operations, but also during the wars of the last 60 years when current retired members of the Armed Forces were on continuous call to go in harm's way when and as needed.

   Inserted: (3) A primary benefit of enduring the extraordinary sacrifices inherent in a military career is a range of retirement benefits, including lifetime health benefits, that a grateful Nation provides for those who choose to subordinate their personal life to the national interest for so many years.

   Inserted: (4) Currently serving and retired members of the uniformed services and their families and survivors deserve benefits equal to their commitment and service to our Nation.

   Inserted: (5) Many employers are curtailing health benefits and shifting costs to their employees, which may result in retired members of the Armed Forces returning to the Department of Defense, and its TRICARE program, for health care benefits during retirement, and contribute to health care cost growth.

   Inserted: (6) Defense health costs also expand as a result of service-unique military readiness requirements, wartime requirements, and other necessary requirements that represent the "cost of business" for the Department of Defense.

   Inserted: (7) While the Department of Defense has made some efforts to contain increases in the cost of the TRICARE program, too many of those efforts have been devoted to shifting a larger share of the costs of benefits under that program to retired members of the Armed Forces who have earned health care benefits in return for a career of military service.

   Inserted: (8) In some cases health care providers refuse to accept TRICARE patients because that program pays less than other public and private payors and imposes unique administrative requirements.

   Inserted: (9) The Department of Defense records deposits to the Department of Defense Military Retiree Health Care Fund as discretionary costs to the Department in spite of legislation enacted in 2006 that requires such deposits to be made directly from the Treasury of the United States.

   Inserted: (10) As a result, annual payments for the future costs of servicemember health care continue to compete with other readiness needs of the Armed Forces.

   Show 4 more inserted paragraphsShow less

   Inserted: (b) Sense of Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate that--

   Inserted: (1) the Department of Defense and the Nation have an obligation to provide health care benefits to retired members of the Armed Forces that equals the quality of their selfless service to our country;

   Inserted: (2) past proposals by the Department of Defense to impose substantial fee increases on military beneficiaries have failed to acknowledge properly the findings addressed in subsection (a); and

   Inserted: (3) the Department of Defense has many additional options to constrain the growth of health care spending in ways that do not disadvantage retired members of the Armed Forces who participate or seek to participate in the TRICARE program, and should pursue any and all such options rather than seeking large increases for enrollment fees, deductibles, and copayments for such retirees, and their families or survivors, who do participate in that program.

   Original wording

   On page 213, between lines 14 and 15, insert the following:

Read automatically from the Congressional Record. Check the original before relying on it.

As printed