Wednesday, August 11, 2010

ROA Working to Get TRR Rates Fixed

Last week, ROA sent an alert regarding Pentagon plans to overcharge gray area retirees from the Guard and Reserve as they implement the new TRICARE Retiree Reserve (TRR) health care plan.

While the announcement on the new program is not scheduled to be made until Sept. 1, ROA received an advanced copy about the program that was sent to members of Congress and quickly reacted.

Within hours of sending out the TRR alert, ROA visited Senator John Cornyn's (R-Texas) office to discuss strategies on fixing the TRR rates with his staff.

ROA is working with other members of The Military Coalition and the National Military and Veterans Alliance will try to get language included in the National Defense Authorization Act reflecting the fact that how the Pentagon implemented TRR is not what Congress intended.

Another option will be to request a review of the calculation of the premium costs by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). In 2007, GAO reviewed the premiums for TRICARE Reserve Select and highlighted that DoD was overcharging Reservists on that program. The report resulted in congressional action which reduced premiums. Comments about TRR have already been submitted to GAO by ROA and other associations.

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