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TSCL Announces its Support for Military Retiree Health Care Legislation
TSCL has announced its support for bills recently introduced in the 108th Congress, which would allow Federal and military retirees to pay their health insurance premiums with pre-tax dollars, called premium conversion. The two bills -- H.R. 1231, introduced by Congressman Tom Davis (R- 11th VA) and S. 623, introduced by Senator John Warner (R-VA) -- would allow uniformed service retiree beneficiaries, their family members and survivors to pay their health insurance premiums with pre-tax dollars. Current Federal employees who participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, as well as many private sector employees, already have this benefit. As he introduced the bill, Senator Warner had this to say: “The increasing cost of health care is a critical issue, especially to retirees living on a fixed income. The 2003 Cost-of-Living Adjustment, COLA, for Federal civil service annuitants is only 1.4 percent, the lowest since a 1.3 percent increase in 1999. The modest COLA is completely diminished by increased health care costs.” Extending the premium conversion program will provide some much-needed relief from the increasing cost of health care insurance. The bills already have widespread bipartisan support in both bodies of Congress, as well as support of several Federal and military retiree organizations, such as the National Association of Retired Federal Employees and the Military Coalition. We are hopeful that this legislation will pass in the 108th Congress, and be enacted into public law. April 2003 | ||||||||
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