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Old 01-28-2013, 11:07 AM   #8
fauch
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Baton Rouge
Posts: 431
M.O.C. #11342
I just helped my brother in-law who is a Vietnam Navy Veteran with bone marrow cancer research this. here is what I found:

Individuals who are eligible for Medicare and otherwise eligible for TRICARE may enroll in
Medicare Part B and receive “wrap-around” TRICARE coverage through the TRICARE for Life
Program, which covers costs not paid by Medicare that would otherwise be incurred by the
beneficiary.

How Does PPACA Affect TRICARE?
In general, PPACA does not affect TRICARE administration, health care benefits, eligibility, or
cost to beneficiaries.
PPACA does open a special Medicare Part B enrollment window to enable certain individuals to
gain coverage under the TRICARE for Life program.21 TRICARE was extended to Medicare eligible
military retirees, their Medicare-eligible spouses and dependent children, and Medicareeligible
widow/widowers by the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act of 2001
(P.L. 106-398). This law established the TRICARE For Life (TFL) program, which acts as a
secondary payer to Medicare and provides supplemental coverage to TRICARE-eligible
beneficiaries who are entitled to Medicare Part A based on age, disability, or end-stage renal
disease (ESRD). In order to participate in TFL, these TRICARE-eligible beneficiaries must enroll
in and pay premiums for Medicare Part B. TRICARE-eligible beneficiaries who are entitled to
Medicare Part A based on age, disability, or ESRD, but decline Part B, lose eligibility for
TRICARE benefits.22 In addition, individuals who choose not to enroll in Medicare Part B upon
becoming eligible may elect to do so later during an annual enrollment period; however, the
Medicare Part B late enrollment penalty would apply. PPACA also waives the Medicare Part B
late enrollment penalty during the 12-month special enrollment period (SEP) for military retirees,
their spouses (including widows/widowers), and dependent children who are otherwise eligible
for TRICARE and are entitled to Medicare Part A based on disability or ESRD, but have declined
Part B. The Secretary of Defense is required to identify and notify individuals of their eligibility
for the SEP; the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Commissioner for Social
Security must support these efforts. This section was amended by the Medicare and Medicaid
Extenders Act of 201023 to clarify that section 3110 applies to Medicare Part B elections made on
or after the date of enactment of PPACA. This is the only provision in PPACA that has an effect
on beneficiary eligibility under the TRICARE program.

At the risk of stirring the political emotions, I have folks in my family that have ended up in pretty good shape with some of the PPACA provisions. This B-I-L will be paying 80.00 a month vs 1000.00 for his portion of the 6500.00/mo. specialized medicine he will be taking. The other is a brother who is self employed. His premiums for himself and his wife with Blue Cross had gone to 1900.00/mo. He was able to get coverage through the state exchange for 700.00/mo. for he and his wife.

The above is an excerpt from this publication:
http://www.ncsl.org/documents/health...E&VA_PPACA.pdf
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