WASHINGTON (Army News Service, June 8, 2015) -- As a solution to a shortage of primary care providers for retirees, the Chief of Staff, Army Retired Soldier Council has recommended more doctors be brought into the TRICARE Prime program through a streamlining of the credentialing process.
The 14 members of the Chief of Staff, Army Retired Soldier Council met at the Pentagon, April 20-24, to discuss an array of issues including health care, benefits, entitlements, and enterprise-level communications. The council concluded their annual meeting with a detailed report on their recommendations and discussion.
The council advises in their report that access to quality health care by TRICARE Prime beneficiaries "is compromised by the lack of participating primary and secondary care providers in a number of locations around the nation."
As a result of this shortage of providers, retirees have instead looked for medical care at military treatment facilities, or MTFs, - sometimes hundreds of miles from their homes, the report says. According to the council, retirees are reporting that those MTFs are over-worked and understaffed - sometimes due to assigned physicians being deployed. As a result, retirees may not be able to get an appointment at such facilities.
"The council recommends that the military services attract more practitioners to TRICARE Prime by streamlining the credentialing process to ensure timeliness and efficiency," the council's report reads.
The report also recommends reform of the Medicare/TRICARE payment levels to reflect actual cost of treatment, as a way to increase the number of providers willing to participate in TRICARE.
"Failure to address the issue of reimbursement will result in more providers dropping Medicare and TRICARE patients," the council's report reads. "Apply Medicare-based standards and codes to reduce TRICARE-unique administrative burdens on current and potential TRICARE providers."
The council made a total of 30 recommendations on topics including establishment of a subsidy for the TRICARE Retiree Dental Plan, increases to Medicare reimbursement rates, an increase of the TRICARE catastrophic cap, an increase in burial allowance for service related deaths, and a change in calculation of Cost of Living Adjustment for retirees.
The report says that among retired Soldiers, the "most significant issues focus on the loss of their deferred compensation [earned benefits], which decreases their purchasing power." The issues in the report focus on increased health care costs, access to health care services, and the Army's ability to communicate effectively with retired Soldiers and their Families.
At the conclusion of the five-day meeting, retired Lt. Gen. James J. Lovelace and retired Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth O. Preston, the council's co-chairs, discussed their key proposals and concerns with Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno.
The co-chairs told Odierno that the retired community's major concern is that the "Army not break trust" with retirees. They also thanked Odierno for his strong support of the council, saying, "As part of the Army team, the retired community stands ready to support and disseminate your message. We will continue to do our part in telling the Army story."
The co-chairs also thanked Odierno for his support in retaining the health care benefits the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission recommended to cut. In its report to Odierno, the council acknowledged that the DOD faces significant challenges due to declining budgets, but wrote "even small increases in TRICARE fees have a significant impact on the retired Soldier ... especially the retired staff sergeants, sergeants first class, and master sergeants."
The co-chairs commended Odierno on the Army's improvement in communicating with the retired community over the last year. Council members were especially happy with recent improvements on the Soldier for Life website, including the Army Echoes Blog, and the new Army white pages.
The Army launched its new white pages, March 18. The pages are open to anyone with either a Common Access Card, or CAC, or Department of Defense Self-Service Logon account. Designed by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, the new White Pages are available through a link on the bottom of the Soldier for Life website.
First-time users to the white pages will be asked to opt-in to provide their contact information to others within the Army community. Users may opt in or out and update their contact information at any time. For users who do not opt in, the only information provided to others is their name, rank, status, and .mil email address, if known.
Users can find other members of the Army community by using the White Pages search feature. Users may also access their official military personnel file through the portal, which is helpful in obtaining information about awards and evaluations, as well as a copy of a Soldier's Department of Defense Form 214.
The council was also appreciative of the addition of LinkedIn to the Soldier for Life social media outlets on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Council members said this will be welcomed by the retired community who "desire to remain informed and engaged with America's Army ... their Army."
CHARTER EXTENDED
Last December, Army Secretary John M. McHugh approved a two-year extension of the charter that guides the work of the Chief of Staff, Army Retired Soldier Council. The Army has reaffirmed the need for the council every two years, since it was created in 1971 by then Army Chief of Staff Gen. William W. Westmoreland.
This time, the extension of the charter included something new - a name change. In prior years, the council was called the "Chief of Staff, Army Retiree Council." Now it is called the "Chief of Staff, Army Retired Soldier Council."
The change in name was requested to reflect the new Soldier for Life mindset.
"We're really retired Soldiers, not retirees," Preston said. "If you think about it, we've been Soldiers all of our adult lives. The only difference is that we're now serving in a different role. We still support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. We can still be recalled to active duty; many hundreds have been over the last 13-plus years of war. Our role now is to tell our Army stories, to connect America with its Army where we live, and to influence young people to serve in the military as we did. We're still Soldiers."
SOLDIER FOR LIFE STICKER
Just days after the Chief of Staff, Army Retired Soldier Council ended their annual meeting, the Army authorized the creation of a new window sticker to promote the Soldier for Life program, April 28.
The new sticker, designated "Department of the Army Label 180 (Soldier for Life)," will be available to Army units through the Army publications system this summer.
The sticker should also be available this fall through commercial sources, including the Army and Air Force Exchange Service.
The Army created the Soldier for Life, or SFL, window sticker to expand awareness of the Soldier for Life program and the mindset reflected in the SFL motto, "Once a Soldier, always a Soldier ... a Soldier for Life!"
Retiring Soldiers will be issued two of the window stickers in the Army Retiring Soldier Commendation Program, or ARSCP, package they receive at retirement or, for Reserve Component Soldiers, when they transfer to the Retired Reserve. The ARSCP also includes an American flag, the retired Army lapel button, which incorporates the SFL logo, and a letter from the Army secretary, the chief of staff of the Army and the sergeant major of the Army.
The members of the Chief of Staff, Army Retired Soldier Council serve on Army installation or Army service component command retiree councils. These councils nominate members to represent all retired Soldiers and surviving spouses worldwide on the Army council. The co-chairs select nominees each year to fill vacancies on the 14-member council. Nominees approved by the chief of staff serve four-year terms and are recalled to active duty annually for the week-long meeting. During the 2015 annual meeting, the council represented the views of 939,000 retired Soldiers and 248,000 surviving spouses.
Related Links:
Army Retirement Services Office
Chief of Staff, Army (CSA) Retired Soldier Council
2015 CSA Retiree Council Report
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