Senate Floor Speech
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
February 3, 1999 -- Page: S1163

MRS. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Military Health Care Improvement Act of 1999. This bill is a first step to reform the military health care system known as TRICARE. We are trying to recruit and retain the best people for our nation's military. To do this, we must pay them better, maintain good retirement benefits and improve the health care we provide them and their families.

Mr. President, there is a growing perception among active duty military, their dependents and military retirees that the military health care benefit is no longer much of a benefit. We have not done a very good job of keeping the promise the government made to military personnel: That in return for their service and sacrifices, the government will provide health care to active-duty members and their families even after they retire. In the past 10 years, the military has downsized by over one-third, and the military health care system has downsized by one-third as well. While hospitals have been closed as a result of BRAC or downsized in the past decade, the number of personnel that rely on the military and the military health care system has remained constant. Today, our armed forces have more married service members with families than ever before. In addition, those who have served and are now retired were promised quality health care as well.

In place of the promise, these individuals and families have been given, instead, a system called `TRICARE.' TRICARE is not health care coverage, but a health care delivery system that provides varying levels of benefits depending largely on where a member of the military or a retiree lives.

Unfortunately, what we find is that the TRICARE program often provides spotty coverage. My offices and those offices of my colleagues in the Senate no doubt have received thousands of complaints regarding access to care, unpaid bills, inadequate providers and difficulties with claims.

For their part, the doctors who participate in TRICARE complain about a host of administrative problems including delayed payments and a very cumbersome claims process. Many doctors have simply left the program, and in some locations, there are simply no providers at all in certain specialties. This is unacceptable.

Mr. President, I am introducing this bill to improve the health care benefits under the TRICARE program by ensuring that the health care and dental coverage available under TRICARE is substantially similar to the health care coverage and dental care coverage available under the Federal Employees Health Benefits program. This bill will:

Raise reimbursement levels for TRICARE, the military health-care delivery system, to attract and retain more participating doctors to the program.

Expedite and reduce the costs of TRICARE claims processing, which has been a thorn in the side of both beneficiaries and providers.

Require portability of benefits between regions. This would make it easier for military personnel and their families to receive health care benefits when they travel to different regions. Minimize the cumbersome pre-authorization requirements for access to care.

Mr. President. This bill will help break down the bureaucracy that exists in the current system. There is no single solution to this problem, but we must begin now to ensure we honor our commitments. This is a critical issue to recruiting and retaining qualified people in the military--which is critical to the security of our country.

I am pleased to be joined in this effort by Senators Allard and Hagel and look forward to working with my colleagues to keep the promise and improve the military health care system.