European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 9, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                June stars and stripes Page is your Money health chief seeks gradual Rise in Tricase fee Ward Casscells is a but he has More than medical skills now to ease the stress on military retirees from re cent proposals to sharply in crease their Tricase copay and five weeks ago Casscells be came the new assistant Secretary of defense for health arriving from the University of Texas health science Center in hous ton where he was a distinguished professor and vice president of his appointment could be Good news for underage65 retirees and their families because Cass cells int a fan himself of the Steep increases in Tricase fees that defense department officials proposed Early last just from the standpoint of doing the right thing for the a i think abrupt changes in fees and deductibles could be in he military Tom Philpott As the pentagons top policy maker on health Casscells will working with lawmakers next year on a More palatable set of fee i would look for some gradual increases in fees and deductibles Over the not this because weve got plenty on our plate right now More than we can say Grace said Cass cells in a 45minute phone inter his first since becoming assistant Casscells wants beneficiaries to feel they Are partners in actions ahead to make military thursdays Market summary indexes 52 High Low name last net chg Ltd chg chg 52wk chg Dow Jones industrials Dow Jones transportation Dow Jones utilities nose composite amex Index Nash a composite Midcap Russell 2000 do Wilshire 5000 1 most Active m or name to 00 Active or name vol 00 Active or More name vol 00 last chg Pfizer 504945 forum 388704 Geneles 382656 pm cup 355256 and 335800 inc 302047 timeworn 296088 Motorola 288478 Exxon by 275112 Avaya 269691 2133565 ishr2knya 1084149 Prus Haqq n 300865 up util 255096 up incl 250473 Djina diam 246753 Semi her 221151 up engy 195082 oils vat 123932 up Mats 80835 2079668 Microsoft 677502 Apple inc 668293 Cisco 661345 Intel 637115 Sun Micro 534462 Oracle 377121 Al matl 351521 level3 344958 Yahoo 338670 key defense stocks name div be last Ltd Valliant Armor computer general general Harris Allied l3 Lockheed North Rockwell Seq a Texas text Ron United key Mutual funds name Nav Ltd ret Fidelity invest Fidelity invest Fidelity spartan Putnam funds a Erlna Amer Century inv Fidelity invest Fidelity invest Fidelity invest aim investments a const Frnk a aim investments a Charta Fidelity advisor Fidelity advisor Putnam funds a Globe qty Fidelity advisor Putnam funds a health care More efficient and of he praised the work of his William Winken saying that in a lot of areas he had the Ball on the 10yard which makes a new quarterbacks Job but Casscells Doest sound the same alarms Over the doubling of military health costs since he noted that 17 percent of the nations Gross Domestic product last year went for health yet health spending by the military is Only 8 percent of the defense Bud by that metric were doing there Are other metrics which make us look less efficient in the civilian health and there is no doubt we can be More efficient because were not at full capacity in base but the private sector is differ Casscells they fill their hospitals the Way airlines Exchange rates military rates euro costs june Dollar buys june British Pound june japanese yen june South korean won june 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 i Cal 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 dose Gold Silver interest rates prime discount Federal funds Market rate 3month 30year sources the associated Bank of America keep their planes there is no excess capacity for emergencies like pandemic flu or they Are not required to be to bile and they Are not required to practice they Are not required to practice under they dont have to have redundancies a backup system in the event a system takes a direct Casscells is a doctor in the army his Reserve deployments included three months in Iraq late last year where he worked As a Liaison for George Casey on initiatives to improve health care delivery systems for a priority As Dods health is to improve system efficiency and Quality of care by building More Choice into health care this could in clude testing military health Sav Ings Casscells also wants to see More patients in base More medical advice provided online and copay ments that discourage misuse of health a patient has to have some skin in the he Treyve got to get a Reward for taking Good care of Treyve got to get rewarded for not wasting taking some some owner is Casscells said he will await the final report of the task Force on the future of military healthcare before endorsing any fee hike As a prudent and a matter of its hard to exempt one group of people or one Type of service provided and give lifelong immunity from the free he he do drive to email Mil up , write to military Box 201201111 or visit Lints and sensibility t Money tip of the Day a few Steps can help lower your Cooling costs Market watch new York Cooling costs can chill your budget in the Peak summer Here Are four tips for chilling out without going broke invest in an electronic ther most people Are Comfort Able when temperatures Range from 78 to 80 degrees in the try to avoid going any cooler by installing a program Mable thermostat that automatically shuts off when it reaches a specified a few de Grees can make a big for every degree you shave you save roughly 3 percent on your Energy according to the experts at Progress ener get your filters dirty air filters can make your air conditioning unit less Cost effective and shorten the equip ments life in most parts of the you can hire a heat ing and Cooling technician to ser vice your machine for to a thorough cleaning May significantly lower your Energy weatherproof your hire a contractor to find and fix any air leaks and add extra Insu lation to attics and crawl Block out the using shades and blinds to Block Sun Light minimizes the amount of Energy needed to Cool your its also Worth noting that dark coloured exterior Walls and rooftops can absorb up to 90 per cent of the suns Radiant to keep things try painting your House a brighter if youve tried everything to keep Cooling costs Down and still find yourself saddled with a sky High electric Contact your Energy most companies will allow you to spread your payments out evenly Over the course of the your news local Ali liar military covering bases issues affect you nowhere but