European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 26, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                May 2007 stars and stripes Mideast edition Page 19 your Money task Force to recommend Tricase Reform the Pentagon appointed task Force on the future of military health will endorse higher Tri care deductibles and copay ments for under65 retirees and their families in an interim report to be sent to Congress on May it also will Back other key Fea Tures of the Tricase Reform package first proposed last year by the department of these include raising beneficiary copay ments on prescriptions filled in the Tricase re Tail pharmacy indexing Tricase fees and deductibles so that automatic an Nual adjust ments keep them in step with rising healthcare establish ing tiers for the new Tricase fee probably based on rank at retire so retirees with bigger annuities pay More for their healthcare coverage and retirees with smaller annuities pay the task Force wont endorse every aspect of the sustain the Benefit plan floated last year to raise beneficiary Cost for the task Force wants higher fees and deductibles phased in Over three to five years rather than Over two As Tom Philpott co chairwoman Gail Wilensky said the task Force wants pharmacy copayment raised on prescriptions filled outside of military Dod initially or the sin Cleyear Spike in fees with a whiff of in Dods 2008 the task Force will pro pose that higher Tricase fees and deductibles be set so when fully phased they Are no More burdensome for retirees and their fam Ilies than fee Levels set in 1996 when Tricase was the task Force goes fur ther than the Dods proposal in one it favors periodic adjustments to Tri cares Cata strophic the maximum amount of out pocket expenses beneficiaries face in any Given the current Cap is for Active duty families and for other trocar eligible the original Dod plan would have left the Caps in co chaired by economist Gail Wilensky and air Force vice chief of staff John Cor the 14member task Force out lined its interim recommend thursdays Market 1 High Low chg chg chg Dow Jones industrials Dow Jones transportation Dow Jones utilities nose composite amex Index Nash a composite Russell 2000 do Wilshire 5000 1 11 most Active or Active or More most Active name last last chg name pm cup 802835 1716102 push Sqq 1989687 Micron 494638 858729 Sun Micro 1225594 forum 461113 283998 Intel 761267 Motorola 316092 272042 Cisco 670222 Geneles 299152 264255 Microsoft 621546 Tai Semi 292348 236522 Sirius 443423 Pfizer 287797 195217 net wrap 401498 timeworn 227306 164785 Marvell Sif 346388 Exxon by 213554 143532 Oracle 319293 tvs care 202807 71146 Apple inc 310667 key defense stocks key Mutual Ltd name div be last Nav  18 invest Greco Armor holdings 25 invest Grolnic Boeing 31 spartan  computer sciences 29 funds a Erlna p general dynamics 17 Century Ultra general electric 18 invest Amorso Halliburton 16 invest Oversea Harris 14 invest us i Allied signal 22 investments a const p l3 communications 21 Lockheed Martin 17 Frnk a Sec Para aim investments a Char tap Northrop 17 Raythelon 20 advisor Rockwell 8 advisor 19 funds a Globe qty Texas instruments 12 text Ron 23 advisor Tiv seat United technologies 18 funds a Elgva p tons May 23 at a Public meeting of the defense health the health Board is a standing panel of experts who advise the Secretary of the task Force functions As a subcommittee of the health but it was Congress that ordered it established last year to review Tricase costs and fees after lawmakers rejected the Dod the task forces interim recommendations fall into four two of which would directly affect beneficiary Cost shares higher re Tail drug copay and higher Tri care specific Levels of deductibles and copay recommended wont be detailed until a final Wilensky that report is due in the task she wants pharmacy copayment raised on prescriptions filled outside of Mili tary treatment facilities to encourage use of More cos effective Al particularly the Tri care mail order the task Force wants Tricase fees realigned for under65 retirees so they Are More fair to tax payers yet still recognize retirees years of demanding service to the she the task Force wont unveil specific proposed fee Levels until their final Wilensky said Tricase benefits will remain generous compared Exchange rates military rates euro costs May Dollar buys May British Pound May japanese yen May South korean won May commercial rates Bahrain British Canada China Denmark Egypt Hong Kong Hungary Israel Japan Kuwait Norway Philippines Poland saudi Arabia Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey new military Exchange rates Are those available to customers at military Bank ing facilities in the country of issuance for South the Netherlands and the United for no local currency Exchange rates purchasing British pounds in Germa Check with your local military Bank ing commercial rates Are inter Bank rates provided for reference when buying All figures Are foreign currencies to one except for the British which is represented in and the which is precious metals new York merc close Gold Silver interest rates prime discount Federal funds Market rate 3month 30year sources the associated Bank of America to All other Public or private the higher will take into account very Large expansions in benefits since the mid1990s while Tricase deductibles and copay were left the portion of the Cost borne by beneficiaries should be in creased to Levels that Are below the Federal employees health Benefit plan be hip or the most generous private sector Wilensky they also should be set at or below Infra Tio adjusted fee Levels beneficiaries paid Back to soften the blow of higher fees and of indexing them to Infra Wilensky said Congress could consider a onetime in crease in military retirement if deemed but Wilen sky suggested it is past time to begin to reverse the Ever Widen ing Cost differential for health care paid by working age Mili tary retirees versus other Ameri can besides adjusting pharmacy copay and Tricase the task Force will endorse Best practice acquisition strategies for pharmacy spot audits of the defense enrolment eligibility reporting sys tem deers to ensure enrollees truly Are eligible for closer screening of retirees and dependents for alternative health insurance by must reimburse Tricase for care provided to any dual eligible Ben Steve co chairman of the military an umbrella group of service and Veter ans urged the task Force during the meetings Public comment period not to ignore fac tors that might have skewed the Cost of military health care since for in measuring Dod Cost growth compared to fee he the task Force should consider the downsizing and closing of Many base Hospi tals and the Cost today of sending military doctors to War there Many More beneficiaries to get More costly care from Tricase civilian Wilensky said fees wont be reset based on some percentage of Overall military health care but the task Force will recognize that fees have been Flat for 11 she and during that time the beneficiary Cost share has slipped from about 11 percent Down to 4 Over the same added an other task Force retired army Nancy the value of the health Benefit has improved for the Promise of space available care first made in the 1950s has been replaced with Universal a Cess to care on base More through a network of civil Ian Adams called it a highest Quality Benefit having few Gregory de sense health Board advised the task Force that the Board is very supportive of its interim to email , write to military Box 201201111 or visit pets and sensibility Money tip of the Day smarter shopping online by Marshall Loeb Market watch new York the world wide web is an endless Chest of resources when it comes to shop Ping but you need to know the tricks of the web to save some try these four ways to shop smarter using the internet save Money on medications by buying according to consumer you can save 25 percent or More if you 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