Reply #1: From Military Officers Association of America (MOAA)

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Sir,


I had our Legislative team look into the Canada Free Press article and here is the response:



TRICARE and VA beneficiaries pay a flat-dollar copay for medications, and that won’t change because the pharmacy companies get hit with a tax. Will copays rise to some extent in the future? Sure. But that would have happened with or without health reform.



Same thing for VA prostheses, durable equipment, etc. VA may pay more for them, but disabled vets don’t pay a cent for them for service-caused conditions. So much for impact on wounded warriors.



Anyone who uses the term “Obamacare” in their blog has an obvious ax to grind, and many reach to find any possible argument, regardless of whether it’s accurate or not.



According to the Senate Finance Committee staff that prepared the legislation, the insurers who manage the TRICARE contracts are exempt from the excise tax, because they are considered to be delivering a government benefit. If they have a large parent company (e.g., Humana), the parent will be subject, but not the subsidiary that manages the TRICARE contract.



Steve

Steve Strobridge
Colonel, USAF (Ret)
Director, Government Relations
Military Officers Association of America (MOAA)
201 N Washington St
Alexandria, VA 22314-2539