<home> -- <press releases> News from Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo Pierluisi and Bordallo Introduce TRICARE Prime Bill for Guam and Puerto Rico FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 31, 2009 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo of Guam and Congressman Pedro Pierluisi of Puerto Rico today introduced H.R. 1809, a bill that if passed would extend healthcare coverage offered by TRICARE Prime to military retirees, their dependants, and survivors on Guam and in Puerto Rico. Under current law, military retirees and their dependants and survivors on Guam and in Puerto Rico are eligible only for healthcare coverage under TRICARE Standard. TRICARE is the Department of Defense’s healthcare program for members of the uniformed services, including both active duty and retired, their families and survivors. Under TRICARE Prime healthcare is primarily received from a military treatment facility or from a TRICARE contracted civilian medical provider within the TRICARE Preferred Provider Network. TRICARE Prime is the highest quality of care afforded to beneficiaries under the overall TRICARE program. TRICARE Prime provides its enrolled beneficiaries with the lowest out of pocket costs for healthcare, gives greater access to care at military treatment facilities such as Naval Hospital Guam and Tripler Army Medical Center on Oahu, Hawaii, and in most cases does not require the beneficiary to file a claim for processing. Congresswoman Bordallo has consistently advocated for expanded access to higher quality and more affordable healthcare services for military retirees residing on Guam. Her efforts are in concert with policies advocated by a wide range of associations representing the interests of uniformed servicemembers and military retirees, including the National Association of Uniformed Services (NAUS) and The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA). Congresswoman Bordallo has sponsored several provisions enacted in previous National Defense Authorization Acts that prioritizes retirees in accessing Space-A seating on military flights for the purposes of accessing specialty care on a medical referral and that is not otherwise available on Guam. The extension of TRICARE Prime to retirees and their dependants on Guam is meant, in part, to improve the quality and standard of military healthcare on Guam, including the expanded availability of specialty care. “The bill we introduced today would provide improved healthcare services for our retirees residing on Guam and in Puerto Rico,” Congresswoman Bordallo said today. “It requires the Department of Defense to provide TRICARE Prime to our retirees. This will ensure that our retirees have access to expanded medical services without paying out of pocket for transportation costs to Hawaii or the U.S. mainland. I will continue working with Congressman Pierluisi and my colleagues on the House Armed Services Committee on this issue to improve access to quality healthcare for our retirees and their dependents.” # # # matthew.mateo@mail.house.gov or krystal.agustin@mail.house.gov |
