Political Quotes

“I commend Chairman Warner for the significant improvements he and his committee have proposed for the TRICARE system. However I am concerned that the current proposals do not address access problems in rural states, and I am offering this amendment to alleviate this problem. Military healthcare is one of the most important quality of life issues for my constituents. I have heard countless times how civilian doctors are refusing to see TRICARE patients because of the extremely low rates at which they are reimbursed. Because an adequate civilian healthcare provider network is required to supplement the military healthcare system, especially in rural states, TRICARE is failing to provide the kind of healthcare our service members, retirees and their dependents deserve. In rural states like my home state of Alaska, this is a huge problem. Medical costs are much higher than average, and there are fewer doctors. Having fewer doctors to compete with reduces physicians' incentive to accept the extremely low pay from TRICARE. In fact, in Alaska, doctors who see TRICARE patients are paid less than when they see Medicaid patients. Frankly, I am very concerned that the government would consider those who serve in our armed forces as less worthy of quality care than welfare recipients. When doctors refuse to see TRICARE beneficiaries and their dependents, they are forced to pay for their care themselves, or go without it all together.”