Van Hollen Introduces Legislation That Would Keep Promises Made to Military Retirees
Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced the "Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act" and the "Keeping Faith with the Greatest Generation Military Retirees Act.''
"This legislation will help rectify the injustices and hardships for America's greatest heroes that we have allowed to fester for far too long," said Van Hollen. "We can and must make health care available to many military retirees for whom the military health care system is broken. We must keep our promise to America's military retirees."
The "Keep Our Promises to American's Military Retirees Act" (H.R. 1222) would fulfill the promises made to young recruits that quality health care would be available to them when they retired after a career in uniformed service to our country. It would allow military retirees to opt out of the Tricare military health system and enroll in the Federal Employees Health Benefit (FEHB) plan if Tricare does not provide them adequate health care. It also maintains and improves access to the military pharmacy benefit for military retirees who opt out of Tricare and enroll in FEHB.
The "Keeping Faith with the Greatest Generation Military Retirees Act" (H.R. 1223) would address a specific obligation Congress has to military retirees who entered the uniformed services prior to 1956. They joined the service under one set of rules but retired under a different set of rules that stripped them of health care that had been provided routinely to them. In 2002, a federal appeals court called on Congress to use its legal authority to address the "moral claims" of this class of military retirees. This bill would waive Medicare Part B Premiums for military retirees who entered the uniformed services prior to December 7, 1956, because they entered the service under one set of rules but retired under a different set of rules that stripped them of promised and earned health care.
"America's military retirees and their families have sacrificed much for their nation," said Congressman Van Hollen. "The last thing they need is to contend with the government's failure to deliver health care that was promised and earned."
http://vanhollen.house.gov/HoR/MD08/Newsroom/Press+Release+by+Date/2007/03-07-07+Van+Hollen+Introduces+Legislation+That+Would+Keep+Promises+Made+to+Military+Retirees.htm