TRICARE

Starting Oct. 1, fees for members enrolled before Oct. 1, 2011, will go up to $269 a year, from $230. Family fees will go up to $538 per year, from $460.

The Government Accountability Office has turned back a protest over a multibillion dollar contract to administer part of the military’s TRICARE health insurance system, the losing bidder said Monday. The Comptroller General’s decision was not publicly released as of Monday afternoon, but TriWest officials said they had been notified of the rejection.

Defense Deputy Secretary Ashton Carter said for every dollar lawmakers add to the military’s budget or for every program they continue that the Pentagon wants to cancel, it requires cuts elsewhere. He also called sequestration irrational and said DoD is not planning for it.

Senate panel rejects Air Force’s proposed decreases to National Guard aircraft and personnel, orders cutbacks in DoD civilian and contractor personnel and imposes contractor salary caps.

The Defense Department had proposed having patients pay up to 14 percent of their health care costs by 2017, compared with 10 percent now.

As part of the annual Defense authorization bill, House lawmakers will take up a provision designed to let federal employees gain experience and share expertise while working temporarily in other agencies.

Changes to the TRICARE Dental Program will mean some National Guard and Reserve members will have to pay their premiums the old-fashioned way.

House military personnel subcommittee asserts retirees have already paid for their health care via their military service, omits DoD proposal to hike TRICARE fees.

The Pentagon is telling lawmakers military retirees’ share of health care costs is going to have to increase if it’s going to meet the budget targets Congress and the President handed over with last year’s budget control act.

Mary Rosado, the vice president of federal government affairs at Express Scripts, joined In Depth with Francis Rose to discuss a proposed merger between prescription managers.