John Spratt: “I represent a lot of military retirees; and I can speak to the sentiments others have voiced that they feel betrayed.…”

“I represent a lot of military retirees; and I can speak to the sentiments others have voiced that they feel betrayed. This bill is an effort to try to make them feel that we are keeping the promises we made about military health care for life when we induced them to serve the better part of their adult lives in the armed services of the United States. The base bill here is basic. What it simply says is that, when they turn 65, if they are a military retiree, they can keep on going to a military treatment facility for medical care and the care they receive, if they have the space available, the resources available, will be paid for by Medicare, by HCFA. If the military treatment facility is not able to provide that care, then the retiree would continue to receive benefits that he had been receiving under the TRICARE program. Basically if the resources are not there, if the treatment facility cannot accommodate the military retiree, then that person will go back into the private network that he has always used if he has been a subscriber to TRICARE. This provides among other things for continuity of care.”