Bipartisan Group Of Senators Opposes Proposed Rule That Would Require Tricare To Use Medicare's Reimbursement System For Outpatient Hospital Care

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 23 Nov 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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A bipartisan group of 55 senators has signed a letter asking the Department of Defense to reconsider a proposed rule for the military's Tricare health insurance program that would require hospitals that treat Tricare beneficiaries to use the same reimbursement system for hospital outpatient services as Medicare, CQ HealthBeat reports. The letter will be sent to U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Office of Management and Budget Director Jim Nussle.

In the letter, proposed by Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), the senators offered their support for the basic premise of the proposed rule but voiced concern that the current proposal "lacks a broad, effective transition" that would prevent any inconvenience to program beneficiaries during the policy transition. The senators wrote, "Sudden and severe shifts in payments as have been proposed by DOD could jeopardize providers' ability to care for Tricare patients," adding, "To prevent such disruptions to quality of and access to care, it is crucial that such new payment policies be implemented with a meaningful transition period."

Sens. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) and Jim Webb (D-Va.) are among those who already have signed the letter (Weyl, CQ HealthBeat, 11/20).

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