NEWARK, N.J. – Included in a Defense Department bill the Congress passed late last week is a measure by United States Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) to prohibit any increase in co-payments at retail pharmacies for active duty family members, retired military and their families and Guard and Reserve family members. The Lautenberg measure is in the Defense Department Authorization bill President Bush is expected to sign shortly.

“The Congress stood up against the Bush Administration’s plan to increase healthcare costs for our troops and veterans,” said Senator Lautenberg. “Especially during a time of war, it’s simply wrong to increase the cost of medicine for the families of those who serve our country.”

The Congress adopted the Lautenberg TRICARE amendment, which specifically seeks to cap retail pharmacy co-pay increases at the current $3.00 for generic drugs and $9.00 for brand named drugs. TRICARE is the military’s healthcare plan covering approximately nine million servicemen and women, veterans, and their families.

The Bush Administration’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2007 would have increased co-payments for drugs obtained in retail pharmacies to $5.00 for generic and $15.00 for brand name drugs. According to the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), of all drugs dispensed through TRICARE, about 43 percent are sold through retail pharmacies. The Administration’s proposed pharmacy co-payments would have represented a 70 percent increase for military beneficiaries over five years – an increase that far outstrips the 24 percent increase in military pay or the 14 percent increase in retired pay over the same period.

Cosponsors of the Lautenberg Amendment were Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Marry Landrieu (D-LA), Joe Lieberman (D-CT), John Kerry (D-MA), and Patty Murray (D-WA), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL) and Barack Obama (D-IL).