Military Health Care
TRICARE Cost-Sharing Proposals Would Help Offset Increasing Health Care Spending, but Projected Savings Are Likely Overestimated Gao ID: GAO-07-647 May 31, 2007In light of the fact that Department of Defense (DOD) health care spending more than doubled from 2000 to 2005 and continues to escalate, DOD proposed increasing the share of health care costs paid by TRICARE beneficiaries, under a proposal known as Sustain the Benefit. DOD estimated that if the proposal had been implemented in fiscal year 2007, savings would amount to over $11 billion through fiscal year 2011. As required by the National Defense Authorization Act for 2007, GAO evaluated (1) the likelihood that DOD would achieve its estimated savings from the proposed enrollment fee and deductible increases for retirees and dependents under age 65, (2) the likelihood that DOD would achieve its estimated savings from the proposed pharmacy co-payment increases for all beneficiaries except active duty personnel, and (3) the factors identified by DOD as contributing to increased TRICARE spending from 2000 to 2005. To conduct its work, GAO examined DOD analyses and interviewed DOD officials. GAO also analyzed data on many aspects of health care costs in general and interviewed health economists.
Although DOD would likely achieve significant savings if its proposal is implemented, it is unlikely to achieve the $9.8 billion savings that it expects to receive over 5 years as a result of increased TRICARE enrollment fees and deductibles for retirees and dependents under age 65. DOD's savings estimate depends largely on the assumption that the increased fees and deductibles will result in approximately 500,000 retirees and dependents under age 65 either leaving or choosing not to enroll in TRICARE--collectively referred to as avoided users--and on the assumption that each avoided user will save DOD the equivalent of the cost of providing health care to the average TRICARE beneficiary. However, DOD's projected number of avoided users is likely too high. Many beneficiaries in this group, particularly older and sicker individuals, are unlikely to have lower-priced health insurance options available to them and would therefore be likely to continue to use TRICARE. In addition, DOD's estimated savings per avoided user is likely too high because the estimate does not account for older and sicker individuals, who are less likely to leave or not enroll in TRICARE, and who incur greater-than-average medical expenses. Even without any avoided users, GAO estimates that DOD's proposed fee and deductible increases would achieve at least $2.3 billion in savings over 5 years. Neither GAO nor DOD can make a more accurate savings estimate, in part because DOD does not collect and compile certain data, such as the cost of other health insurance options. These data, along with information on beneficiaries' access to other health insurance options, could help DOD estimate beneficiary reaction to changes in TRICARE's cost-sharing structure, such as the number of beneficiaries who would become avoided users. DOD is unlikely to achieve the $1.5 billion it expects to save by increasing retail pharmacy co-payments for all beneficiaries except active duty personnel. DOD based its estimated savings on a study that measured savings from increased pharmacy co-payments in non-DOD employer-sponsored insurance programs. This study was not analogous to DOD's situation, which resulted in DOD overestimating the reduction in the number of prescriptions obtained from retail pharmacies, and thereby overestimating its savings. Therefore, more beneficiaries may continue to use retail pharmacies and pay higher co-payments, generating more revenue for DOD. However, revenues from these beneficiaries would not offset the higher cost of providing these beneficiaries' prescriptions in retail pharmacies. DOD attributed its increase in health care spending, from $17.4 billion in 2000 to $35.4 billion in 2005, to a number of factors. The factors DOD identified as the largest contributors were medical care inflation and benefit enhancements required by law, including TRICARE for Life, which supplements Medicare coverage for TRICARE beneficiaries, generally after age 65. DOD also identified other factors, including an increased number of beneficiaries who have chosen to use TRICARE and health care costs for mobilized reservists and their families due to the Global War on Terrorism.
RecommendationsOur recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.
Director: Team: Phone:GAO-07-647, Military Health Care: TRICARE Cost-Sharing Proposals Would Help Offset Increasing Health Care Spending, but Projected Savings Are Likely Overestimated
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Likely Overestimated' which was released on May 31, 2007.
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Report to Congressional Committees:
United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
May 2007:
Military Health Care:
TRICARE Cost-Sharing Proposals Would Help Offset Increasing Health Care
Spending, but Projected Savings Are Likely Overestimated:
GAO-07-647:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-07-647, a report to congressional committees
Why GAO Did This Study:
In light of the fact that Department of Defense (DOD) health care
spending more than doubled from 2000 to 2005 and continues to escalate,
DOD proposed increasing the share of health care costs paid by TRICARE
beneficiaries, under a proposal known as Sustain the Benefit. DOD
estimated that if the proposal had been implemented in fiscal year
2007, savings would amount to over $11 billion through fiscal year
2011. As required by the National Defense Authorization Act for 2007,
GAO evaluated (1) the likelihood that DOD would achieve its estimated
savings from the proposed enrollment fee and deductible increases for
retirees and dependents under age 65, (2) the likelihood that DOD would
achieve its estimated savings from the proposed pharmacy co-payment
increases for all beneficiaries except active duty personnel, and (3)
the factors identified by DOD as contributing to increased TRICARE
spending from 2000 to 2005. To conduct its work, GAO examined DOD
analyses and interviewed DOD officials. GAO also analyzed data on many
aspects of health care costs in general and interviewed health
economists.
What GAO Found:
Although DOD would likely achieve significant savings if its proposal
is implemented, it is unlikely to achieve the $9.8 billion savings that
it expects to receive over 5 years as a result of increased TRICARE
enrollment fees and deductibles for retirees and dependents under age
65. DOD‘s savings estimate depends largely on the assumption that the
increased fees and deductibles will result in approximately 500,000
retirees and dependents under age 65 either leaving or choosing not to
enroll in TRICARE”collectively referred to as avoided users”and on the
assumption that each avoided user will save DOD the equivalent of the
cost of providing health care to the average TRICARE beneficiary.
However, DOD‘s projected number of avoided users is likely too high.
Many beneficiaries in this group, particularly older and sicker
individuals, are unlikely to have lower-priced health insurance options
available to them and would therefore be likely to continue to use
TRICARE. In addition, DOD‘s estimated savings per avoided user is
likely too high because the estimate does not account for older and
sicker individuals, who are less likely to leave or not enroll in
TRICARE, and who incur greater-than-average medical expenses. Even
without any avoided users, GAO estimates that DOD‘s proposed fee and
deductible increases would achieve at least $2.3 billion in savings
over 5 years. Neither GAO nor DOD can make a more accurate savings
estimate, in part because DOD does not collect and compile certain
data, such as the cost of other health insurance options. These data,
along with information on beneficiaries‘ access to other health
insurance options, could help DOD estimate beneficiary reaction to
changes in TRICARE‘s cost-sharing structure, such as the number of
beneficiaries who would become avoided users.
DOD is unlikely to achieve the $1.5 billion it expects to save by
increasing retail pharmacy co-payments for all beneficiaries except
active duty personnel. DOD based its estimated savings on a study that
measured savings from increased pharmacy co-payments in non-DOD
employer-sponsored insurance programs. This study was not analogous to
DOD‘s situation, which resulted in DOD overestimating the reduction in
the number of prescriptions obtained from retail pharmacies, and
thereby overestimating its savings. Therefore, more beneficiaries may
continue to use retail pharmacies and pay higher co-payments,
generating more revenue for DOD. However, revenues from these
beneficiaries would not offset the higher cost of providing these
beneficiaries‘ prescriptions in retail pharmacies.
DOD attributed its increase in health care spending, from $17.4 billion
in 2000 to $35.4 billion in 2005, to a number of factors. The factors
DOD identified as the largest contributors were medical care inflation
and benefit enhancements required by law, including TRICARE for Life,
which supplements Medicare coverage for TRICARE beneficiaries,
generally after age 65. DOD also identified other factors, including an
increased number of beneficiaries who have chosen to use TRICARE and
health care costs for mobilized reservists and their families due to
the Global War on Terrorism.
What GAO Recommends:
GAO recommends that DOD collect and compile certain data from TRICARE
beneficiaries to help manage its health care spending. In its comments,
DOD concurred with this recommendation and with GAO‘s conclusions.
[Hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-647].
To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on
the link above. For more information, contact Laurie Ekstrand at (202)
512-7101 or ekstrandl@gao.gov.
[end of section]
Contents:
Letter:
Results in Brief:
Background:
DOD Is Unlikely to Achieve $9.8 Billion in Savings as a Result of
Increased Enrollment Fees and Deductibles, though Significant Savings
Can Be Expected:
Savings from Increased Pharmacy Co-payments Are Likely Overestimated,
although Some Savings Can Be Expected:
Medical Care Inflation, Benefit Enhancements, and Other Factors Drove
the Increase in DOD Health Care Spending from 2000 to 2005:
Conclusions:
Recommendation for Executive Action:
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
Appendix I: DOD's Calculation of the Portion of TRICARE Costs Being
Paid by Retirees and Dependents under Age 65:
Appendix II: Comparison of DOD Medical Care Inflation with Insurance
Premium Growth and Broader Inflation Indicators:
Appendix III: Scope and Methodology:
Appendix IV: Comments from the Department of Defense:
Appendix V: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
Tables:
Table 1: TRICARE Prime Proposed Enrollment Fees for Military Retirees
and Dependents under Age 65:
Table 2: TRICARE Standard and Extra Proposed Enrollment Fee and
Deductible Increases for Military Retirees and Their Dependents under
Age 65:
Table 3: Proposed TRICARE Pharmacy Co-payments for All Beneficiaries
Except Active Duty:
Figures:
Figure 1: DOD's Projected Number of Retirees and Dependents under Age
65 Who Would Use TRICARE under the Sustain the Benefit Proposal and
under Current Policy, 2004-2011:
Figure 2: Percentage of Military Retirees under Age 65 Reporting Not
Having Access to Civilian Group Health Insurance by Age and Health
Status, 2006:
Figure 3: Comparison of Proposed TRICARE Enrollment Fees with Kaiser/
HRET-Reported Employee Shares of Employer-Sponsored Insurance Premiums,
Family Coverage, 2000-2008:
Figure 4: Factors Identified by DOD as Contributing to the Increase in
Its Health Care Spending, 2000-2005:
Figure 5: TRICARE Users by Beneficiary Group, 2001-2005:
Figure 6: DOD Health Care Costs by Beneficiary Group, 2001-2005:
Figure 7: Comparison of DOD's Estimated Rate of Medical Care Inflation,
Health Insurance Premium Growth Trends, and Broader Indicators of
Inflation:
Abbreviations:
AHRQ: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality:
BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics:
CalPERS: California Public Employees' Retirement System:
CBO: Congressional Budget Office:
COLA: cost of living adjustment:
CPI: Consumer Price Index:
CPI-W: Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical
Workers:
DOD: Department of Defense:
FEHBP: Federal Employees Health Benefits Program:
GWOT: Global War on Terrorism:
Kaiser/HRET: Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and
Educational Trust:
MEPS: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey:
MTF: military treatment facility:
NDAA: National Defense Authorization Act:
OMB: Office of Management and Budget:
OPM: Office of Personnel Management:
RAND: RAND Corporation:
TMOP: TRICARE Mail Order Pharmacy:
United States Government Accountability Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
May 31, 2007:
Congressional Committees:
From 2000 to 2005, the Department of Defense's (DOD) spending for
health care,[Footnote 1] which primarily funds TRICARE--its program
that provides health care to 9.2 million active duty personnel[Footnote
2] and other beneficiaries, including dependents of active duty
personnel, military retirees, and dependents of retirees--more than
doubled, from $17.4 billion to $35.4 billion.[Footnote 3] DOD projects
that its health care spending will continue to rise in coming years and
will consume 12 percent of its total budget by 2015,[Footnote 4] up
from 7.5 percent in 2005. In prior work, we have identified long-term
increases in the cost of health care, including TRICARE, as one of the
major challenges facing the nation in the 21st century.[Footnote 5] We
have also previously identified concerns with the sustainability of
military benefits, including health care, and recommended that Congress
consider restructuring military compensation.[Footnote 6]
According to DOD, the increase in its health care spending can be
attributed to several factors, including growth in the number of
TRICARE beneficiaries; the addition of new benefits such as the TRICARE
for Life program, which supplements Medicare coverage for TRICARE
beneficiaries over age 65;[Footnote 7] and increasing costs for
prescription drugs. For example, TRICARE spending on prescription drugs
increased from $1.6 billion in 2000 to $5.4 billion in 2005. DOD health
care officials have stated that ensuring that TRICARE remains intact,
affordable, and effective is their top priority, and this includes
finding ways to manage the growth in DOD's health care
spending.[Footnote 8]
While DOD's health care spending has increased significantly, out-of-
pocket expenses paid by many beneficiaries--including enrollment fees,
deductibles, coinsurance rates,[Footnote 9] and co-payments--have
remained relatively unchanged since TRICARE's inception in 1995. For
example, a retired beneficiary who is not yet eligible for TRICARE for
Life currently pays an annual enrollment fee of $460 for family
coverage in TRICARE Prime, DOD's managed care option--the same fee that
was charged in 1995.[Footnote 10] As a result, the proportion of
TRICARE costs paid by beneficiaries has steadily declined since the
program was implemented. According to calculations by DOD officials,
retirees and dependents under age 65 paid for approximately 27 percent
of their overall health care costs in 1996 and about 12 percent of
these costs in 2005.[Footnote 11]
To help address the growth in its health care spending, DOD proposed--
as part of the President's budget proposal for fiscal year 2007--
increasing the share of health care costs paid by TRICARE
beneficiaries, under a proposal DOD calls Sustain the Benefit. For one
group of TRICARE beneficiaries--retirees and dependents under age
65[Footnote 12]--DOD proposed implementing higher enrollment fees for
TRICARE Prime and establishing enrollment fees for beneficiaries who
choose not to use TRICARE Prime and instead use either TRICARE's fee-
for-service or preferred-provider options, called TRICARE Standard and
TRICARE Extra, respectively. Under the proposal, retirees and
dependents under age 65 who use Standard and Extra would also incur
higher annual deductibles. DOD proposed phasing in the enrollment fee
and deductible increases in fiscal years 2007 and 2008 and then
adjusting enrollment fees and deductibles in future years based on the
rate of premium increases in the Federal Employees Health Benefits
Program (FEHBP), the largest employer-sponsored health insurance
program in the country.[Footnote 13] Furthermore, DOD has proposed
increasing retail pharmacy co-payments in fiscal year 2007 for all
TRICARE beneficiaries except active duty personnel--that is, retirees
and dependents under age 65, retirees and dependents in TRICARE for
Life, and dependents of active duty personnel. The increased co-
payments are intended to encourage the use of the TRICARE Mail Order
Pharmacy (TMOP) or military treatment facility (MTF) pharmacies and to
discourage the use of more costly retail pharmacies. While DOD
originally proposed implementing Sustain the Benefit beginning in
fiscal year 2007, provisions in the John Warner National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 (NDAA for 2007)[Footnote 14]
prevent DOD from implementing the proposal before October 1,
2007.[Footnote 15] The proposal's implementation after that date
remains uncertain; DOD officials are awaiting the recommendations of
the Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care, a group
established by DOD and required by the NDAA for 2007 to make interim
recommendations on TRICARE's cost-sharing structure by May 31,
2007.[Footnote 16]
DOD estimated that if the proposal had been implemented beginning in
fiscal year 2007 as planned, savings from these changes--in the form of
reduced costs and increased revenues[Footnote 17]--would amount to over
$11 billion through fiscal year 2011, including $9.8 billion from the
effects of enrollment fee and deductible increases and $1.5 billion
from pharmacy co-payment increases. DOD estimated that these savings
would largely be the result of current users leaving TRICARE or
potential users choosing not to enroll in TRICARE--and choosing other
health care options--because of the higher enrollment fees and
deductibles. Collectively, DOD refers to these individuals as avoided
users.
Advocacy groups for military beneficiaries have raised concerns over
the analyses that led DOD to propose increasing beneficiaries' out-of-
pocket costs. The advocacy groups have questioned DOD's accounting of
the factors that have driven increases in DOD's health care spending as
well as the amount of projected savings from the Sustain the Benefit
proposal. The NDAA for 2007 required that we review DOD's
proposal.[Footnote 18] Specifically, as discussed with the committees
of jurisdiction, we examined (1) the likelihood that DOD would achieve
its estimated savings associated with the proposed enrollment fee and
deductible increases for retirees and dependents under age 65, (2) the
likelihood that DOD would achieve its estimated savings associated with
the proposed pharmacy co-payment increases for all beneficiaries except
active duty personnel, and (3) the factors identified by DOD as
contributing to the increase in its health care spending from 2000 to
2005. The act also required us to review DOD's calculations of the
proportion of TRICARE's health care costs paid by retirees and
dependents under 65. This information is included in appendix I.
Furthermore, the act required that we describe how DOD's annual rate of
medical care inflation--that is, the rate at which prices rise and
purchasing power falls for a fixed set of medical goods and services--
compares with increases in health insurance premium growth trends and
broader indicators of inflation from 2001 through 2005. We provide this
information in appendix II. We did not examine other challenges that
might be faced by DOD in managing TRICARE spending, but instead limited
our scope to those areas prescribed by the NDAA for 2007.
To examine the likelihood that DOD would achieve its estimated savings
associated with the proposed enrollment fee and deductible increases
for retirees and dependents under age 65 and the proposed pharmacy co-
payment increases for all beneficiaries except active duty personnel,
we reviewed the analyses prepared by DOD and a DOD contractor that
projected cost savings from these increases. We also interviewed DOD
officials, reviewed relevant economic literature, and consulted with
several health economists about DOD's assumptions and methodology for
making the savings estimates. As part of our review of DOD's savings
estimates, we used survey data from the RAND Corporation (RAND) on
military retirees' options for obtaining health insurance, survey data
from the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational
Trust (Kaiser/HRET) on employer-sponsored health insurance premiums,
and survey data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality on
the health care costs for the U.S. population. We also reviewed a draft
report prepared by RAND on the health insurance options of military
retirees and Kaiser/HRET reports on employer health benefits.
To examine the factors identified by DOD as contributing to the
increase in DOD health care spending, we reviewed the factors DOD
identified as contributing to the increase in its health care spending
from 2000 to 2005, including TRICARE's rate of medical care
inflation.[Footnote 19] We determined that the spending data provided
by DOD were sufficiently reliable for our purposes, but we did not
independently verify DOD's figures. In most cases, DOD provided
estimates instead of actual spending data, a practice on which we have
previously reported. We made recommendations to DOD in a previous
report to improve the reliability and reporting of its costs.[Footnote
20] DOD officials told us that in many cases the department does not
have the information systems necessary to precisely determine actual
spending for specific activities. We also interviewed DOD officials and
reviewed relevant literature on medical care inflation. To assess the
reliability of the data used by DOD to project savings for Sustain the
Benefit and identify the factors influencing increased DOD health care
spending, we interviewed DOD officials and tested the data for errors.
We determined that the data were sufficiently reliable for our
purposes. As required by the NDAA for 2007, we cooperated with the
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to conduct our work. We periodically
discussed our progress with and obtained advice from CBO officials,
particularly concerning our review of DOD's savings estimates.
We conducted our work from July 2006 through May 2007 in accordance
with generally accepted government auditing standards. See appendix III
for more information about our scope and methodology.
Results in Brief:
If Sustain the Benefit is implemented, DOD is unlikely to achieve the
$9.8 billion savings that it expects over 5 years as a result of higher
TRICARE enrollment fees and deductibles aimed at retirees and
dependents under age 65, but it is still likely to achieve significant
savings. DOD's savings estimate depends largely on the assumption that
the increased fees and deductibles will result in approximately 500,000
retirees and dependents under age 65 either leaving or choosing not to
enroll in TRICARE--collectively referred to as avoided users--and on
the assumption that each avoided user will save DOD the equivalent of
the cost of providing health care to the average TRICARE beneficiary.
However, DOD's projected number of avoided users is likely too high.
Many beneficiaries in this group, particularly older and sicker
individuals, are unlikely to have lower-priced health insurance options
available to them and would therefore be likely to continue to use
TRICARE. In addition, DOD's estimated savings per avoided user is also
likely too high because the estimate does not account for the fact that
the older and sicker individuals who are less likely to leave or not
enroll in TRICARE also incur greater-than-average medical expenses. CBO
officials reviewed DOD's savings estimates and our analysis and agreed
that DOD's estimates were likely too high. Nevertheless, even with no
avoided users, we estimate that DOD's proposed fee and deductible
increases would likely achieve a minimum of $2.3 billion in savings
over 5 years, in the form of revenue collected from higher enrollment
fees and deductibles. DOD's savings will likely be higher than this
minimum because Sustain the Benefit should result in some avoided
users. However, neither we nor DOD are able to make a more accurate
estimate of these savings, in part because DOD does not collect and
compile certain data, such as the cost of other health insurance
options available to beneficiaries. These data, along with information
on beneficiaries' access to other health insurance options, could help
DOD estimate how TRICARE beneficiaries would react to changes in
TRICARE's cost-sharing structure, such as the number of beneficiaries
who would become avoided users because of increased fees and
deductibles.
DOD would also be unlikely to achieve the $1.5 billion it expects to
save by increasing retail pharmacy co-payments for all beneficiaries
except active duty personnel. According to DOD officials, DOD based its
estimated savings on a study that measured savings from increased
pharmacy co-payments in non-DOD employer-sponsored insurance
programs.[Footnote 21] DOD used the decrease in costs reported by the
study to estimate the likely decrease in the number of TRICARE retail
prescriptions resulting from the proposed changes. However, doing so
resulted in an overestimate of the likely reduction in the number of
prescriptions that would be obtained from retail pharmacies because of
the increased co-payments--and therefore an overestimate of savings--
because some savings in the study resulted from beneficiaries switching
from brand-name to generic drugs. Because DOD already generally
requires the use of generic drugs when available, it cannot expect to
receive significant additional savings from a shift to generic drugs.
If fewer beneficiaries than DOD projected choose to reduce retail
pharmacy use, then more beneficiaries would pay the higher co-payments,
generating more revenue for DOD. However, increased revenues from these
beneficiaries would not be large enough to offset the higher cost to
DOD of providing these beneficiaries' prescriptions in retail
pharmacies.
DOD attributed the increase in its health care spending, from $17.4
billion in 2000 to $35.4 billion in 2005, to a number of factors. The
factors DOD identified as the largest contributors were medical care
inflation and benefit enhancements required by law, including TRICARE
for Life. DOD also identified other factors, including an increase in
the number of TRICARE beneficiaries who have chosen to use TRICARE and
increased health care costs because of the Global War on Terrorism
(GWOT), such as DOD's costs of providing health care for mobilized
National Guard and Reserve personnel and their families.
To help DOD manage its health care spending, we are recommending that
DOD routinely collect and compile certain information that could help
DOD identify the reasons why beneficiaries may or may not choose to use
TRICARE, including information on beneficiaries' access to and costs of
other health insurance.
In its written comments on a draft of this report, DOD concurred with
our conclusions and recommendation. See appendix IV for DOD's comments.
DOD also provided technical comments, which we incorporated as
appropriate.
Background:
DOD's TRICARE program, which was established in 1995,[Footnote 22]
offers health care benefits to active duty personnel and other
beneficiaries, including dependents of active duty personnel, military
retirees, and dependents of retirees. Beneficiaries receive care at
MTFs or from civilian providers. TRICARE beneficiaries can obtain
prescription drugs through TRICARE's pharmacy system, which includes
MTF pharmacies, network retail pharmacies, nonnetwork retail
pharmacies, or TMOP.
Dependents of active duty personnel and retirees and dependents under
age 65 can choose to enroll in TRICARE Prime (managed care option), or
if they choose not to enroll, they can obtain care through TRICARE
Standard (fee-for-service option) or TRICARE Extra (preferred-provider
option). Active duty personnel are generally required to enroll in
TRICARE Prime.[Footnote 23] Enrollees in TRICARE Prime, except for
active duty beneficiaries and their family members, pay an annual
enrollment fee, which is the same regardless of a retired beneficiary's
rank. Beneficiaries who do not enroll in TRICARE Prime can receive care
subject to an annual deductible and other cost shares. When these
unenrolled beneficiaries use providers outside the TRICARE network,
they pay higher cost shares and are considered to be using TRICARE
Standard. When they use providers who are part of the TRICARE network,
they pay discounted cost shares and are considered to be using TRICARE
Extra. Before 2001, DOD provided health care for beneficiaries eligible
for the Medicare program--typically those over age 65--at MTFs on a
space-available basis. The National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2001 established TRICARE for Life to provide supplementary
health care coverage for TRICARE beneficiaries enrolled in the Medicare
program.[Footnote 24] All TRICARE beneficiaries except active duty
personnel pay co-payments for prescription drugs obtained through
retail pharmacies or TMOP. MTF pharmacies do not charge co-payments.
DOD's Proposed Sustain the Benefit Initiative:
As part of the President's fiscal year 2007 budget proposal, DOD
proposed increasing certain TRICARE fees through its Sustain the
Benefit initiative. Under the proposal, for retirees and dependents
under age 65, DOD would increase enrollment fees for TRICARE Prime and
establish enrollment fees and higher annual deductibles for TRICARE
Standard and TRICARE Extra.[Footnote 25] DOD proposed different fee and
deductible levels for retired officers and their dependents, retired
senior enlisted personnel (E-7 and above) and their dependents, and
retired junior enlisted personnel (E-1 to E-6) and their dependents.
DOD has proposed phasing in enrollment fee and deductible increases in
fiscal year 2007 and fiscal year 2008 that are generally lower than the
total percentage increase in premiums over the past 10 years for FEHBP;
these premiums are negotiated by the Office of Personnel Management.
DOD proposed adjusting enrollment fee and deductible increases based on
the annual rate of premium increases in FEHBP beginning in fiscal year
2009.
Provisions in the NDAA for 2007 prevent DOD from implementing its
proposal before October 1, 2007. The act also requires DOD to establish
the Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care and requires the
task force to make interim recommendations by May 31, 2007, on the
beneficiary and government cost-sharing structure needed to sustain
TRICARE's health benefits over the long term. The Sustain the Benefit
proposal was also included as part of the President's fiscal year 2008
budget proposal, but DOD officials expect to await the recommendations
of the task force before deciding on the future of the proposal. Table
1 lists DOD's proposed enrollment fees for TRICARE Prime.
Table 1: TRICARE Prime Proposed Enrollment Fees for Military Retirees
and Dependents under Age 65:
Retired junior enlisted[A];
Self;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 95-FY 06: $230;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 07: $275;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 08: $325;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 09 and future years: Fees for all adjusted
based on FEHBP.
Retired junior enlisted[A];
Family;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 95-FY 06: 460;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 07: 550;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 08: 650;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 09 and future years: Fees for all adjusted
based on FEHBP.
Retired senior enlisted[B];
Self;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 95-FY 06: 230;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 07: 350;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 08: 475;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 09 and future years: Fees for all adjusted
based on FEHBP.
Retired senior enlisted[B];
Family;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 95-FY 06: 460;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 07: 700;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 08: 950;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 09 and future years: Fees for all adjusted
based on FEHBP.
Retired officer;
Self;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 95-FY 06: 230;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 07: 500;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 08: 700;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 09 and future years: Fees for all adjusted
based on FEHBP.
Retired officer;
Family;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 95-FY 06: 460;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 07: 1,000;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 08: 1,400;
Annual enrollment fees: FY 09 and future years: Fees for all adjusted
based on FEHBP.
Source: DOD.
[A] Retired junior enlisted is defined as military grades E-1 to E-6.
[B] Retired senior enlisted is defined as military grades E-7 and
above.
[End of table]
Table 2 lists DOD's proposed enrollment fees and deductibles for
TRICARE Standard and Extra.
Table 2: TRICARE Standard and Extra Proposed Enrollment Fee and
Deductible Increases for Military Retirees and Their Dependents under
Age 65:
Retired junior enlisted;
Self;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 95-FY 06: $0;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 07: $75;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 08: $140;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 09 and future years: Fees for all adjusted
based on FEHBP;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 95-FY 06: $150;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 07: $175;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 08: $185;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 09 and future years: Fees for all
adjusted based on FEHBP.
Retired junior enlisted;
Family;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 95-FY 06: 0;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 07: 150;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 08: 280;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 09 and future years: Fees for all adjusted
based on FEHBP;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 95-FY 06: 300;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 07: 350;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 08: 370;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 09 and future years: Fees for all
adjusted based on FEHBP.
Retired senior enlisted;
Self;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 95-FY 06: 0;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 07: 100;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 08: 200;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 09 and future years: Fees for all adjusted
based on FEHBP;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 95-FY 06: 150;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 07: 175;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 08: 185;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 09 and future years: Fees for all
adjusted based on FEHBP.
Retired senior enlisted;
Family;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 95-FY 06: 0;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 07: 200;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 08: 400;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 09 and future years: Fees for all adjusted
based on FEHBP;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 95-FY 06: 300;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 07: 350;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 08: 370;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 09 and future years: Fees for all
adjusted based on FEHBP.
Retired officer;
Self;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 95-FY 06: 0;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 07: 150;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 08: 280;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 09 and future years: Fees for all adjusted
based on FEHBP;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 95-FY 06: 150;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 07: 225;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 08: 280;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 09 and future years: Fees for all
adjusted based on FEHBP.
Retired officer;
Family;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 95-FY 06: 0;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 07: 300;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 08: 560;
Annual enrollment fee: FY 09 and future years: Fees for all adjusted
based on FEHBP;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 95-FY 06: 300;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 07: 450;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 08: 560;
Annual outpatient deductible: FY 09 and future years: Fees for all
adjusted based on FEHBP.
Source: DOD.
[End of table]
In addition, for all beneficiaries except active duty personnel--that
is, for retirees and dependents under age 65, retirees and dependents
in TRICARE for Life, and dependents of active duty personnel, the
proposal includes increasing retail pharmacy co-payments and
eliminating co-payments for generic drugs in TMOP (see table
3).[Footnote 26] The proposal would not change other TRICARE provisions
that affect beneficiaries' costs, such as cost shares for inpatient and
outpatient care or the annual limit on beneficiaries' costs, known as
the catastrophic cap.[Footnote 27]
Table 3: Proposed TRICARE Pharmacy Co-payments for All Beneficiaries
Except Active Duty:
Delivery option: Military treatment facility;
Supply: Up to 90 days;
Current co-payments: Generic: None;
Current co-payments: Brand: None;
Current co-payments: Nonformulary: Not applicable;
Proposed co-payments: Generic: None;
Proposed co-payments: Brand: None;
Proposed co-payments: Nonformulary: Not applicable.
Delivery option: TRICARE Mail Order Pharmacy;
Supply: Up to 90 days;
Current co-payments: Generic: $3;
Current co-payments: Brand: $9;
Current co-payments: Nonformulary: $22;
Proposed co- payments: Generic: $0;
Proposed co-payments: Brand: $9;
Proposed co- payments: Nonformulary: $22.
Delivery option: Retail network pharmacy;
Supply: Up to 30 days;
Current co-payments: Generic: $3;
Current co-payments: Brand: $9;
Current co-payments: Nonformulary: $22;
Proposed co- payments: Generic: $5;
Proposed co-payments: Brand: $15;
Proposed co- payments: Nonformulary: $22.
Delivery option: Retail nonnetwork pharmacy, TRICARE Standard and
Extra;
Supply: Up to 30 days;
Current co-payments: Generic: Greater of $9 or 20 percent of total
cost;
Current co-payments: Nonformulary: Greater of $22 or 20 percent of
total cost;
Proposed co-payments: Generic: Greater of $15 or 20 percent of total
cost;
Proposed co-payments: Nonformulary: Greater of $22 or 20 percent of
total cost.
Delivery option: Retail nonnetwork pharmacy, TRICARE Prime;
Supply: Up to 30 days;
Current co-payments: Generic: 50 percent;
Current co-payments: Nonformulary: 50 percent;
Proposed co-payments: Generic: 50 percent;
Proposed co-payments: Nonformulary: 50 percent.
Source: DOD.
Note: Retirees and dependents in TRICARE for Life are eligible to
obtain prescription drugs through TRICARE, including from retail
pharmacies, TMOP, and MTF pharmacies.
[End of table]
Rationale for Sustain the Benefit:
DOD designed the Sustain the Benefit proposal to slow the increases in
its health care spending, which more than doubled from $17.4 billion in
2000 to $35.4 billion in 2005. A portion of this increase was caused by
prescription drug spending, which increased from $1.6 billion in 2000
to $5.4 billion in 2005. While TRICARE spending has increased, many
fees paid by beneficiaries, such as enrollment fees, deductibles, and
co-payments, have remained virtually unchanged since the program's
inception. In particular, TRICARE Prime enrollment fees have remained
at $230 for single beneficiaries and $460 for families since 1995, and
TRICARE Standard and Extra have never had an enrollment fee.[Footnote
28] In addition, enhancements to the TRICARE benefit required by law,
such as the reduction of the TRICARE Standard and Extra catastrophic
cap for retirees and dependents under age 65, have further limited
beneficiaries' out-of-pocket costs, thereby increasing DOD's share of
TRICARE costs.[Footnote 29]
DOD's increased health care costs, combined with the largely unchanged
average out-of-pocket costs for TRICARE beneficiaries, have led to a
decreasing portion of TRICARE costs being paid by beneficiaries. To
explain the need for Sustain the Benefit, DOD officials said that
military retirees and dependents under age 65--the group that would be
affected by enrollment fee and deductible increases--paid approximately
27 percent of their health care costs covered by TRICARE in 1996 and
about 12 percent of these costs in 2005. For more information on DOD's
calculation of these figures, see appendix II.
From 1996 to 2005, average out-of-pocket expenses paid by TRICARE
beneficiaries remained relatively unchanged, while average out-of-
pocket expenses for enrollees in FEHBP and other employer-sponsored
health insurance increased, largely in the form of higher premiums. For
example, an enrollee's share of the average FEHBP premium, when
weighted by the proportion of enrollees with single and family
coverage, nearly doubled in 9 years, from about $1,148 in 1996 to about
$2,260 in 2005. In contrast, the TRICARE Prime enrollment fees, when
weighted by the number of enrollees with single and family coverage,
amounted to $437 in 1996 and remained at $437 in 2005.
According to DOD, increasing enrollment fees and deductibles would
reduce the price gap between civilian health insurance premiums and
TRICARE enrollment fees, thereby reducing the incentive for retirees
and dependents under age 65 to choose TRICARE over other health
insurance options. DOD officials estimate that by 2011, the proposed
increases in enrollment fees and deductibles would generate over
500,000 avoided users. (See fig. 1.)
Figure 1: DOD's Projected Number of Retirees and Dependents under Age
65 Who Would Use TRICARE under the Sustain the Benefit Proposal and
under Current Policy, 2004-2011:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO analysis of DOD data.
[End of figure]
DOD officials told us that they want to increase enrollment fees and
deductibles for retirees and dependents under age 65 because these
beneficiaries are more likely than other beneficiaries to have other
health insurance options and therefore are more likely to leave or
choose not to enroll in TRICARE. DOD officials said that they did not
consider implementing enrollment fees and deductibles for active duty
personnel or increasing deductibles for their dependents to avoid
affecting military readiness. DOD officials also did not consider
establishing enrollment fees for retirees and dependents in TRICARE for
Life because they believe that the fact that the TRICARE for Life
benefit was recently established suggests that Congress would not be
likely to approve enrollment fees for those beneficiaries. In addition,
DOD officials told us that they proposed FEHBP as the basis for the
proposed increase amounts because its premiums are driven by the
private insurance market and are calculated outside of DOD by the
Office of Personnel Management.[Footnote 30] DOD officials did not want
to use DOD data to set rate increases because they wanted to avoid any
appearance that the data might be manipulated to DOD's financial
advantage.
To discourage TRICARE users from obtaining prescriptions at high-cost
retail pharmacies, DOD officials chose to increase co-payments for
prescriptions dispensed at retail pharmacies for all beneficiary groups
except active duty personnel. We previously reported that in 2004, DOD
spent over 50 percent--about $2.4 billion--of its pharmacy costs on
prescriptions dispensed through retail pharmacies, even though these
prescriptions account for less than 30 percent of its total number of
prescriptions.[Footnote 31] DOD's reported cost per prescription varies
among retail pharmacies, TMOP, and MTF pharmacies for a number of
reasons, including differences in the price of drugs dispensed in each
system, co-payments, and the administrative costs of dispensing the
drugs. For example, DOD receives discounted drug prices for drugs it
purchases and then dispenses through MTFs or TMOP, but does not receive
these discounts when beneficiaries obtain drugs through retail
pharmacies. Therefore, DOD's costs for purchases at retail pharmacies
are generally higher than at MTFs or through TMOP.
DOD's Projected Savings from Sustain the Benefit:
DOD projected that implementing the Sustain the Benefit proposal would
lead to a total savings of more than $11 billion over a 5-year period,
from 2007 through 2011. DOD projected that the effects of the proposed
increases in enrollment fees and deductibles for retirees and
dependents under age 65 would account for approximately $9.8 billion of
these savings, while the effects of proposed increases in pharmacy co-
payments for dependents of active duty personnel and retirees and
dependents under age 65 would account for about $1.5 billion of the
savings.[Footnote 32]
Specifically, DOD estimated that $7.6 billion of the $9.8 billion in
savings from the proposed increases in enrollment fees and deductibles
would result from avoided users--current beneficiaries choosing to
leave TRICARE or potential beneficiaries choosing not to enroll. DOD
also expected that some beneficiaries who choose to use TRICARE
Standard or Extra would be influenced by the proposal's higher
deductibles to use fewer health care services, leading to about $361
million of the $9.8 billion of expected savings. Finally, DOD expected
that $1.9 billion of the $9.8 billion in savings would come from the
higher enrollment fees and deductibles collected from beneficiaries who
continue to use TRICARE.[Footnote 33]
DOD also projected that the $1.5 billion in savings from increased
pharmacy co-payments would result from three factors: (1) reductions in
the overall number of prescriptions for TRICARE beneficiaries filled at
retail pharmacies, (2) a shift of prescriptions from higher-cost retail
pharmacies to lower-cost MTF pharmacies or TMOP, and (3) increased
revenues from higher co-payments. DOD officials expected that the first
two factors would account for about $982 million in savings. DOD
officials expected that the third factor would produce savings of $486
million, in the form of co-payments collected from beneficiaries who
choose to use retail pharmacies.
DOD Is Unlikely to Achieve $9.8 Billion in Savings as a Result of
Increased Enrollment Fees and Deductibles, though Significant Savings
Can Be Expected:
DOD is unlikely to achieve the $9.8 billion it expects to save as a
result of higher TRICARE enrollment fees and deductibles because it
overestimated the number of avoided users the increases would likely
generate. The number of avoided users is likely to be lower than DOD
estimated because for many military retirees and dependents under age
65, TRICARE may be the only option or may still be the lowest-cost
option for health insurance. DOD also overestimated the amount of
savings that could be attributed to each avoided user. If no current
TRICARE users leave TRICARE and no potential users choose not to enroll
as a result of the proposed cost-share increases, collection of the
higher enrollment fees and deductibles from a greater number of users
would likely amount to a minimum of $2.3 billion in savings through
2011. DOD's savings would be higher than $2.3 billion to the extent
that DOD generates avoided users. However, because DOD does not collect
and compile certain information from its beneficiaries--such as data on
the cost of other health insurance options available to TRICARE
beneficiaries that could help DOD estimate beneficiaries' reaction to
changes in TRICARE's cost-sharing structure--neither we nor DOD are
able to make a more accurate estimate.
DOD Overestimated the Number of Avoided Users That Would Likely Result
from Higher Fees and Deductibles:
DOD is unlikely to achieve the $9.8 billion it expects to save over 5
years from the effects of higher TRICARE enrollment fees and
deductibles aimed at retirees and dependents under age 65, largely
because the department likely overestimated the number of avoided users
that the change would generate. DOD projected that the proposed
increase in fees and deductibles would generate approximately 500,000
avoided users in 5 years. The department based this projection on a
RAND review of studies that examined how individuals enrolled in
employer-sponsored health insurance have responded to premium
increases.[Footnote 34] The studies RAND reviewed showed that most
individuals who left health insurance plans when faced with increases
in their health insurance premiums switched to lower-priced health
insurance plans. DOD officials recognized that TRICARE beneficiaries
often would lack lower-priced health insurance alternatives and
therefore relied on one of the studies in the RAND review that showed
the lowest level of beneficiary responsiveness to premium increases.
However, even in this study, the individuals who left their health
insurance plans in response to premium increases had lower-priced
health insurance options to choose from, an option that many TRICARE
beneficiaries would be unlikely to have. Therefore, DOD's projected
number of avoided users is probably too high. CBO officials reviewed
DOD's savings estimates, including its estimates of the number of
avoided users, and agreed that these estimates were likely too high.
In its savings estimates, DOD did not develop separate measures of
responsiveness to enrollment fee and deductible increases for various
groups within the population of retirees and dependents under age 65,
such as those who are older or less healthy than average, but instead
applied an average measurement of price sensitivity to the population
as a whole. However, for some retirees and dependents under age 65,
TRICARE is the only option for group health insurance through an
employer, a spouse's employer, or a professional association. For these
TRICARE beneficiaries, the proposed increases in enrollment fees and
deductibles are unlikely to make them leave TRICARE and become avoided
users. According to a draft report compiled in 2006 by RAND, around 21
percent of retired enlisted and 27 percent of retired officers reported
that they do not have access to group health insurance.[Footnote 35]
Because these individuals do not have access to group health insurance,
they are unlikely to have access to health insurance plans that are
less expensive than TRICARE.[Footnote 36] The lack of group health
insurance options is even more pronounced for retirees who reported
being older or less healthy than average, making these beneficiaries
even less likely than others to become avoided users. According to the
RAND survey, 51 percent of retired enlisted personnel ages 60-64 and 44
percent of retired officers in that age group reported not having
access to group health insurance, compared with 11 percent of retired
enlisted personnel ages 45-49 and 15 percent of retired officers in
that age group. Similarly, 47 percent of military retirees under age 65
in poor health reported not having access to group health insurance
through any of these sources, compared with 26 percent of those in
excellent health. (See fig. 2.)
Figure 2: Percentage of Military Retirees under Age 65 Reporting Not
Having Access to Civilian Group Health Insurance by Age and Health
Status, 2006:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO analysis of RAND data.
[End of figure]
In addition, for many retirees and dependents under age 65 with access
to group health insurance, TRICARE may be the lowest-cost option for
health insurance, even when DOD's proposed fee increases are taken into
account. According to the 2006 Kaiser/HRET Employer Health Benefits
Annual Survey, the average employer-sponsored insurance premium paid by
enrollees in 2006 was $2,973 for family coverage and $627 for single
coverage. Under DOD's Sustain the Benefit proposal, enrollment fees for
TRICARE, including Prime, Standard, and Extra, in 2008 would largely
remain below this average and range from $280 to $1,400 for family
coverage and $140 to $700 for single coverage, depending on the primary
beneficiary's rank (retired junior enlisted personnel, retired senior
enlisted personnel, or retired officer) and choice of TRICARE benefit
option (Prime or Standard and Extra). For example, if the average
employer-sponsored insurance premium paid by enrollees remains
unchanged from 2006 to 2008, only about 22 percent of employer-
sponsored insurance premiums for family coverage would be lower than or
equal to the proposed enrollment fees to be paid by retired officers
enrolled in TRICARE Prime in that year (see fig. 3).[Footnote 37]
Figure 3: Comparison of Proposed TRICARE Enrollment Fees with Kaiser/
HRET-Reported Employee Shares of Employer-Sponsored Insurance Premiums,
Family Coverage, 2000-2008:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO analysis of Kaiser/HRET data.
[End of figure]
Another factor limiting the number of avoided users that DOD is likely
to achieve is the fact that DOD's proposed enrollment fee and
deductible increases will not affect retirees and their dependents
under 65 who have annual out-of-pocket health care costs greater than
$3,000. All enrollment fees and deductibles paid by TRICARE
beneficiaries count toward TRICARE's catastrophic cap of $3,000 per
family.[Footnote 38] If DOD increases TRICARE enrollment fees and
deductibles, more TRICARE beneficiaries will reach the cap. For those
who reach the cap, there will be no additional out-of-pocket costs for
TRICARE, even if fees and deductibles continue to rise. Therefore, the
proposed fee and deductible increases may be limited in their ability
to generate avoided users, especially among high-cost users who
anticipate exceeding the cap.[Footnote 39]
DOD Likely Overestimated the Savings Associated with Each Avoided User:
In addition to overestimating the number of avoided users, DOD also
overestimated the savings that it would be likely to achieve from each
avoided user. In projecting $7.6 billion in savings over 5 years from
avoided users, DOD calculated that each year, the average avoided user
would result in savings equivalent to DOD's annual cost of providing
health care to the average TRICARE retiree or dependent under age
65.[Footnote 40] However, this calculation is likely too high, for two
reasons. First, as previously discussed, beneficiaries who are older
and sicker than average are less likely than others to become avoided
users. Therefore, avoided users would likely have lower-than-average
health care costs, reducing DOD's savings. As previously noted,
beneficiaries who anticipate meeting the catastrophic cap for their out-
of-pocket expenses--and this group includes beneficiaries who tend to
be older and sicker than average--have little incentive to become
avoided users in response to increased enrollment fees and deductibles.
Similarly, studies on individuals' choices of health insurance have
concluded that older and sicker individuals are less likely than those
of average health to leave a health insurance plan in response to
premium increases.[Footnote 41]
Second, older and sicker beneficiaries are more likely to incur greater
medical expenses than the average TRICARE user. In developing the
Sustain the Benefit proposal, DOD did not conduct an analysis of the
distribution of health care costs by age or health status of TRICARE
beneficiaries. However, data on the health care costs by age and health
status are available for the general population from the Medical
Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a set of surveys of families and
individuals, their medical providers, and employers across the United
States conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
According to the most recent MEPS data, the reported average health
care costs for individuals ages 60-64 in 2004 were more than twice as
high as the reported costs for individuals ages 45-49. Moreover, in
2004 the reported health care costs for individuals who indicated that
they were in poor health were more than 10 times as high as those for
individuals who indicated that they were in excellent health.
In its technical comments, DOD stated that many beneficiaries are
unable to anticipate being sicker than average. While this is true, the
lack of a limited enrollment period for TRICARE Standard and Extra
would allow these beneficiaries to enroll in TRICARE whenever they
choose to do so. Therefore, DOD's projected savings per avoided user
may be overestimated because healthy individuals who are eligible for
TRICARE may initially choose not to enroll in the program--avoiding
associated enrollment fees--until confronted with a costly medical
condition, at which point they could choose to enroll in TRICARE
Standard and Extra. DOD officials told us that they are considering
limiting the enrollment period for TRICARE Standard and Extra to an
annual or semiannual open-enrollment period; however, as of March 2007
no final decision had been made.
Revenues from Higher Enrollment Fees and Deductibles Would Likely Be
between $1.9 Billion and $2.3 Billion, Depending on the Number of
Avoided Users:
DOD expects to collect $1.9 billion in revenues from retirees and
dependents under 65 who remain in TRICARE and who would pay higher
enrollment fees and deductibles under Sustain the Benefit. The estimate
of $1.9 billion depends on DOD achieving its projected number of
500,000 avoided users from Sustain the Benefit. However, if DOD does
not generate as many avoided users as projected, the increase in
revenue would be higher than $1.9 billion, because DOD would collect
higher enrollment fees and deductibles from a greater number of
beneficiaries. We estimated that if the higher enrollment fees and
deductibles do not result in any avoided users, the increase in
collected revenue would likely amount to $2.3 billion over 5 years.
This $2.3 billion figure also represents the minimum total savings that
are likely to result from the proposed enrollment fee and deductible
increases, if these changes do not generate any avoided users. However,
Sustain the Benefit would be likely to generate some avoided users, and
any savings associated with each avoided user would increase total
savings in excess of $2.3 billion. With each avoided user, total
savings would increase because the average savings generated from each
avoided user would be higher than the associated reduction in revenue
from the user no longer paying enrollment fees and deductibles.
A Lack of Data on TRICARE Beneficiaries Prevents a More Accurate
Estimate of Likely Savings from Proposed Fee and Deductible Increases:
While we estimate that DOD would achieve $2.3 billion or more from the
proposed fee and deductible increases, we cannot make a more accurate
estimate of these savings, in part because DOD does not collect and
compile certain data from TRICARE beneficiaries--data that DOD could
have used to make the projections for Sustain the Benefit more
accurate.[Footnote 42] In particular, DOD officials told us that the
department does not collect and compile data from TRICARE beneficiaries
on the cost of premiums in non-TRICARE health insurance programs
available to them. In addition, for Sustain the Benefit, DOD did not
collect information on why beneficiaries choose to use or not to use
TRICARE. This information could be used to help better predict how
beneficiaries might react to changes in TRICARE's cost-sharing
structure, such as the number of avoided users that might result from
TRICARE enrollment fee increases. RAND recently surveyed military
retirees under age 65 and collected some of this information for its
draft report. However, this information was compiled after DOD
developed its Sustain the Benefit proposal, and it does not include
some important information. RAND researchers stated that data on
premiums for other health insurance plans available to TRICARE
beneficiaries, relative to their available financial resources, and
reasons why beneficiaries choose to enroll in TRICARE Prime would be
necessary to fully model the effects of increases in TRICARE cost
shares. They recommended a follow-up survey of military retirees under
age 65, aimed at collecting this information.
Savings from Increased Pharmacy Co-payments Are Likely Overestimated,
although Some Savings Can Be Expected:
DOD is unlikely to achieve the $1.5 billion it expects to receive by
increasing retail pharmacy co-payments for all beneficiaries except
active duty personnel.[Footnote 43] DOD projected that implementing the
proposed higher co-payments would both reduce demand for prescription
drugs purchased in retail pharmacies and encourage TRICARE
beneficiaries to use MTF pharmacies and TMOP instead of relatively more
expensive retail pharmacies, resulting in $982 million in savings.
DOD's estimate of $982 million in savings is likely too high because
fewer beneficiaries than DOD projects are likely to reduce their use of
retail pharmacies. If more beneficiaries continue to use retail
pharmacies and pay higher co-payments, DOD will receive more than the
estimated $486 million in increased revenue that the department
expects. However, the increased revenue collected from these co-
payments would not be large enough to offset the cost of providing
these beneficiaries' prescriptions through higher-cost retail
pharmacies.
DOD's Estimate of Savings Resulting from Beneficiaries' Response to
Increased Retail Pharmacy Co-payments Is Likely Too High:
DOD projected that $982 million in savings from the proposed increases
in retail pharmacy co-payments would result from beneficiaries'
reactions to the increased co-payments. Specifically, DOD projected
that some beneficiaries would reduce their demand for prescription
drugs purchased in retail pharmacies and increase their use of MTF
pharmacies and TMOP instead of relatively more expensive retail
pharmacies. However, DOD's estimate of $982 million is likely too high
because DOD based the estimate on results from a study[Footnote 44] of
non-DOD employer-sponsored health insurance plans that was not
analogous to DOD's situation. The study included savings from
individuals who shifted from brand-name to less expensive generic
drugs, but DOD already generally requires beneficiaries to use generic
drugs when available. Specifically, the study measured how increases in
the co-payments for brand-name and generic prescription drugs affected
prescription drug spending in employer-sponsored health insurance
plans. However, the cost-sharing structures and options for obtaining
prescriptions in the plans included in the study were different from
those in TRICARE. DOD relied on this study because no studies were
available that directly applied to its situation. The study reported a
percentage decrease in prescription drug spending because of increased
co-payments. However, DOD applied this percentage as a decrease in the
number of retail prescriptions. Doing so is incorrect--and
overestimates the reduction in demand for prescription drugs obtained
at retail pharmacies--because a portion of the percentage decrease in
prescription drug costs reported in the study resulted from individuals
shifting from brand-name to less expensive generic drugs. DOD cannot
expect significant additional savings from beneficiaries shifting from
brand-name to generic prescriptions because TRICARE already generally
requires beneficiaries to use generic drugs when available.[Footnote
45] Therefore, DOD's projected savings are likely to be lower than the
savings projected in the study. In its technical comments, DOD stated
that the study did not find savings from increased pharmacy co-payments
to be caused by an increased use of generic drugs and that savings were
similar among plans that required beneficiaries to use generic drugs
when available and plans that did not. Although the study is somewhat
ambiguous on this point, a discussion with the study's main author
indicated that DOD's use of the study's results likely overestimated
the savings from increased retail pharmacy co-payments.
DOD's projection of $982 million in savings depends on a reduction in
the number of prescriptions obtained at retail pharmacies over 5 years.
DOD projected that about two-thirds of these prescriptions would
instead be obtained from MTF pharmacies or TMOP, and projected that
about one-third would not be obtained through TRICARE. However, neither
we nor DOD have data to accurately project the number of beneficiaries
who would be likely to obtain prescriptions at MTFs or TMOP instead of
retail pharmacies. It is likely that some beneficiaries would increase
their use of MTF pharmacies and TMOP because these options would
continue to be less expensive than retail pharmacies. However, the
exact number and associated savings cannot be estimated accurately
because of the lack of data.
Although DOD May Collect More Revenue Than Projected from Higher Co-
payments, the Increase Would Not Be Sufficient to Offset the High Cost
of Retail Pharmacies:
If fewer beneficiaries than DOD projected choose to reduce retail
pharmacy use, then more beneficiaries would pay the higher co-payments,
generating more revenue than the $486 million over 5 years that DOD
estimated.[Footnote 46] DOD calculated this estimate by determining the
additional amount of co-payments that would be paid by beneficiaries
who continue to obtain prescriptions at retail pharmacies. If more
beneficiaries than DOD projected continue using retail pharmacies, then
revenues would be higher because more beneficiaries would pay higher
retail pharmacy co-payments. However, the increased revenue collected
from these co-payments would not be large enough to offset the higher
cost of providing these beneficiaries' prescriptions through retail
pharmacies. For example, DOD would collect an additional $6 for each
brand-name prescription drug and $2 for each generic drug that
beneficiaries would obtain from retail pharmacies if Sustain the
Benefit were enacted. However, based on DOD data, we estimated that it
would save an average of $29 for each prescription that is no longer
dispensed at a retail pharmacy. Some of these prescriptions would
instead be dispensed through TMOP or MTFs.[Footnote 47]
Medical Care Inflation, Benefit Enhancements, and Other Factors Drove
the Increase in DOD Health Care Spending from 2000 to 2005:
DOD estimated that from 2000 to 2005, its health care spending
increased by $18.0 billion, from $17.4 billion to $35.4 billion, and
that this increase was driven by several factors: medical care
inflation; benefit enhancements required by law, including TRICARE for
Life; increasing numbers of beneficiaries who choose to use TRICARE;
and GWOT (see fig. 4). According to DOD, increases in its overall
health care spending are reflected in spending for each of its
beneficiary groups--active duty personnel, their dependents, retirees
and dependents under age 65, and retirees and dependents in TRICARE for
Life.
Figure 4: Factors Identified by DOD as Contributing to the Increase in
Its Health Care Spending, 2000-2005:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO analysis of DOD data.
[A] DOD officials believe that the "not attributed to specific causes"
category is driven by additional medical care inflation beyond DOD's
estimated amount of $4.4 billion, increasing use of health care
services, technological advancements in treatment, and decreasing
portions of costs paid by beneficiaries.
[B] The $8.7 billion increase in spending for TRICARE for Life is based
on contributions DOD has made to the DOD Medicare Eligible Retiree
Health Care Fund.
[End of figure]
DOD estimated that medical care inflation accounted for $4.4 billion of
the $18.0 billion increase in its health care spending from 2000 to
2005. According to DOD, medical care inflation--increases in cost over
time for delivering a fixed set of medical goods and services--averaged
4.6 percent per year. According to DOD officials, the department did
not develop this estimate of medical care inflation based on its own
spending. Instead, DOD based this estimate on information provided
annually by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on inflation
rates for the various components of the TRICARE operating budget, such
as military personnel assigned to MTFs, private sector health care, and
pharmaceuticals.[Footnote 48]
However, an additional portion of DOD's spending increase may also be
caused by medical care inflation. DOD officials identified $1.6 billion
in spending increases--classified as residual--that DOD could not
attribute directly to specific causes. DOD officials stated that a
portion of the residual could also be the result of medical care
inflation. If the residual category is included with DOD's estimate of
medical care inflation, then medical care inflation could account for
up to $6.0 billion of the increase in DOD health care spending from
2000 to 2005. This could add up to 1.5 percent to DOD's average annual
rate of medical care inflation, making the total as much as 6.1 percent
per year. However, DOD officials told us that they believe a large
portion of the residual is caused by factors other than medical care
inflation, such as an increasing use of health care services by
beneficiaries, technological advancements in treatment, and decreasing
portions of health care costs paid by TRICARE beneficiaries.[Footnote
49] Our prior work on TRICARE has noted that a factor similar to DOD's
residual--technology and intensity--is widely recognized as one that
reflects growth in health care costs and often accounts for an
additional 1 or 2 percent beyond medical care inflation in the private
and public sectors.[Footnote 50] As health care providers adopt new and
expensive medical technologies and offer more intensive patient
treatment, health care costs can increase at rates above the rate of
medical care inflation. (See app. II for information on how DOD's
estimated rate of medical care inflation compares to health insurance
premium growth trends and broader indicators of inflation.)
DOD attributed a total of $9.6 billion of the increase in its health
care spending to benefit enhancements required by law--$8.7 billion for
TRICARE for Life and $941 million to other enhancements to the TRICARE
benefit required by law. DOD's estimate of $8.7 billion in increased
spending on TRICARE for Life, which was implemented in 2001, is based
on contributions DOD has made to the DOD Medicare Eligible Retiree
Health Care Fund, an accrual fund that pays costs for TRICARE for
Life.[Footnote 51] Since TRICARE for Life's initial implementation and
2005, the increase in DOD's spending represented by payments to the
accrual fund was $8.7 billion.[Footnote 52] In addition to its spending
on TRICARE for Life, DOD estimated that its spending increased by $941
million from 2000 to 2005 because of other enhancements to TRICARE
required by law, such as the reduction of the TRICARE Standard and
Extra catastrophic cap from $7,500 to $3,000 for retirees and
dependents under age 65 and the elimination of TRICARE Prime co-
payments for active duty dependents. According to DOD, the $941 million
is based on cost estimates of benefit enhancements before they were
implemented. DOD did not determine actual spending on these benefit
enhancements. CBO cost estimates done at about the same time project
lower costs for some benefit enhancements. CBO officials also
questioned the appropriateness of using cost estimates completed prior
to implementation to estimate actual program costs because they are
often based on incomplete information about a program. DOD officials
have estimated spending on some of these enhancements after their
implementation, but DOD officials told us that the department does not
have the information systems necessary to precisely determine the
spending because of the enhancements.
DOD estimated that an increase in the number of retirees and dependents
under age 65 accounted for $1.3 billion of the $18.0 billion increase
in DOD health care spending from 2000 to 2005. DOD's ability to control
its health care spending for this population depends to a large degree
on the extent to which beneficiaries who currently do not use TRICARE
later enter the program for care, generating more spending. Our
analysis of DOD data indicates that the number of retirees and
dependents under age 65 increased 6.0 percent a year, on average, from
2001 to 2005. (See fig. 5.)
Figure 5: TRICARE Users by Beneficiary Group, 2001-2005:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO analysis of DOD data.
[End of figure]
DOD attributed $1.1 billion of the increase in its health care spending
from 2000 to 2005 to health care costs associated with GWOT. According
to DOD officials, the largest components of costs related to GWOT over
this period were health care for mobilized National Guard and Reserve
personnel and their families, pre-and postdeployment medical care for
servicemembers, and filling vacated positions of deployed medical
personnel. DOD was able to provide only limited documentation and
description of how these estimates were calculated. We reported in
September 2005 about numerous problems with DOD's processes for
recording and reporting costs for GWOT. Factors affecting the
reliability of DOD's reported costs included long-standing deficiencies
in DOD financial management systems and business processes, the use of
estimates instead of actual costs, and the lack of supporting
documentation. We made several recommendations to DOD to improve the
reliability and reporting of costs. These included using actual data
whenever possible and, when not possible, taking steps to allow the
development of actual data.[Footnote 53]
The overall increase of $18.0 billion in DOD health care spending from
2000 to 2005 is spread across each of DOD's beneficiary groups--active
duty personnel, dependents of active duty personnel, retirees and
dependents under age 65, and retirees and dependents in TRICARE for
Life--each of which showed increases in overall spending and spending
per beneficiary. Our analysis of DOD data on overall health care
spending from 2001 to 2005 by beneficiary group indicated that total
spending has increased by an average of 10.8 percent per year for
active duty personnel, 11.7 percent for dependents of active duty
personnel, and 13.6 percent for retirees and dependents under age 65.
(See fig. 6.) A separate analysis indicated that total spending for
retirees and dependents in TRICARE for Life increased at 16.2 percent
per year, on average, from 2003 to 2006. During this time, DOD's
spending per TRICARE beneficiary also increased. According to our
analysis of DOD data, from 2001 to 2005, health care spending per
beneficiary increased by an average of 7.3 percent per year for active
duty personnel, 8.6 percent for dependents of active duty personnel,
and 7.2 percent for retirees and dependents under age 65.
Figure 6: DOD Health Care Costs by Beneficiary Group, 2001-2005:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO analysis of DOD data.
[A] The costs for retirees and dependents in TRICARE for Life increased
by 16.2 percent, on average, per year from 2003 through 2006.
[End of figure]
Conclusions:
DOD health care spending more than doubled from 2000 to 2005. In an
effort to control this rapidly increasing health care spending, DOD has
proposed increases to certain fees and co-payments that have remained
unaltered for over 10 years. DOD's proposal would begin to narrow the
price difference between TRICARE and civilian health insurance, which
is consistent with DOD's priority of ensuring that TRICARE remains
intact, affordable, and effective.
While the proposal would likely result in significant savings for DOD,
DOD is unlikely to achieve the amount of savings it projected. In
particular, DOD overestimated the amounts it would likely save from the
increases in fees, deductibles, and retail pharmacy co-payments, in
large part because of the difficulties in determining how beneficiaries
will react to the increases. Determining how beneficiaries will react
to changes in the TRICARE benefit--such as the number who would be
likely to leave or choose not to enroll in TRICARE because of increased
enrollment fees and deductibles--can be important for understanding the
effects of implementing benefit changes. Although DOD routinely
collects and compiles some information from its TRICARE beneficiaries,
it does not collect and compile information on beneficiaries' access to
and cost of other health insurance, or other information on reasons why
beneficiaries may or may not choose to use TRICARE. This information
would allow DOD to more accurately predict beneficiaries' likely
responses to changes in TRICARE and could help DOD manage its health
care spending.
Recommendation for Executive Action:
To help DOD manage its health care spending, we recommend that the
Secretary of Defense direct the Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Health Affairs to collect and compile information that could help DOD
identify the reasons why beneficiaries may or may not choose to use
TRICARE. Such data could include beneficiaries' access to and cost of
other health insurance.
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
We received written comments on a draft of this report from DOD. DOD
stated that it concurs with our conclusions and recommendation. DOD
expressed concern that the report leaves the impression that savings
from DOD's proposed cost share increases may be as low at $2.3 billion.
As stated in the draft report, we estimate that even with no avoided
users, the enrollment fee and deductible portion of DOD's proposed cost
share increases would likely achieve a minimum of $2.3 billion in
savings over 5 years. We state that DOD's savings will likely be higher
than this minimum because the proposal should result in some avoided
users. However, neither we nor DOD are able to make a more accurate
estimate of these savings. DOD's concern highlights the importance of
our recommendation. Because the available information did not allow us
or DOD to make a more accurate estimate of savings, we recommend that
DOD collect and compile information that could help identify the
reasons why beneficiaries may or may not choose to use TRICARE, such as
beneficiaries' access to and cost of other health insurance. DOD's
written comments are reprinted in appendix IV. DOD also provided
technical comments, which we incorporated as appropriate.
We are sending copies of this report to the Secretary of Defense and
other interested parties. We will also make copies available to others
on request. In addition, the report will be available at no charge on
GAO's Web site at http://www.gao.gov.
If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please
contact me at (202) 512-7101 or ekstrandl@gao.gov. Contact points for
our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found
on the last page of this report. GAO staff who made major contributions
to this report are listed in appendix V.
Signed by:
Laurie Ekstrand:
Director, Health Care:
List of Committees:
The Honorable Carl Levin:
Chairman:
The Honorable John McCain:
Ranking Member:
Committee on Armed Services:
United States Senate:
The Honorable Daniel Inouye:
Chairman:
The Honorable Ted Stevens:
Ranking Member:
Subcommittee on Defense:
Committee on Appropriations:
United States Senate:
The Honorable Ike Skelton:
Chairman:
The Honorable Duncan Hunter:
Ranking Member:
Committee on Armed Services:
House of Representatives:
The Honorable John P. Murtha:
Chairman:
The Honorable C. W. Bill Young:
Ranking Member:
Subcommittee on Defense:
Committee on Appropriations:
House of Representatives:
[End of section]
Appendix I: DOD's Calculation of the Portion of TRICARE Costs Being
Paid by Retirees and Dependents under Age 65:
To demonstrate the need for its Sustain the Benefit proposal,
Department of Defense (DOD) officials calculated the proportion of
health care costs paid by retirees and dependents under age 65 in 1996
and 2005. We were mandated to review these calculations.
DOD's calculations show that retirees and dependents under age 65 paid
for approximately 27 percent of their overall health care costs in
1996, while they paid for around 12 percent in 2005. DOD based this
calculation on the average out-of-pocket health care costs paid by a
family of three and estimates of DOD's costs to provide health care to
an average family of that size. DOD's calculations assume that the
hypothetical family of three received all of its health care through
civilian providers rather than military treatment facilities
(MTF).[Footnote 54] Had DOD included care received at MTFs in its
calculation, the share of the cost paid by beneficiaries would have
been even lower, because unlike civilian providers, MTFs do not charge
co-payments or coinsurance.
Our review of DOD's calculation showed that DOD used different methods
to calculate beneficiaries' out-of-pocket costs in 1996 than it used
for 2005. DOD officials told us that they used the best available data
for each year. Certain information, such as individual claims data used
to estimate the average costs paid per beneficiary in 2005, was not
available for 1996. Instead, for TRICARE Standard and Extra users DOD
estimated average costs paid by beneficiaries in 1996 by allocating
TRICARE's total health care costs paid to civilian providers for that
year among the total number of Standard and Extra users and estimating
the average family of three's out-of-pocket costs, including
deductibles and coinsurance based on these data and the assumption that
all care was received from civilian providers.
To ensure consistency, we asked DOD officials to recalculate the
proportion of health care costs paid by retirees and their dependents
under age 65 who were Standard and Extra users in 2005 using the same
methods that they used for the 1996 calculation. We then reviewed the
results of this calculation. These results were very similar to DOD's
original calculation, but were different in two ways. First, the new
calculation produced a 2005 estimated proportion of health care costs
paid by beneficiaries that was slightly smaller than the proportion
estimated using DOD's original calculation. Second, the new calculation
showed that the proportion decreased by a slightly larger amount over
the same period.
[End of section]
Appendix II: Comparison of DOD Medical Care Inflation with Insurance
Premium Growth and Broader Inflation Indicators:
The John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007
required that we describe how DOD's annual rate of medical care
inflation compares with increases in health insurance premium growth
trends and broader indicators of inflation from 2001 through
2005.[Footnote 55] To respond to this requirement, this appendix
compares DOD's estimated annual rate of medical care inflation with
premium growth trends among non-TRICARE health insurance, including the
Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and other programs,
and indicators of inflation in broader sectors of the economy from 2001
through 2005. The methods used by DOD to estimate its annual rate of
medical care inflation are not strictly comparable to the methods used
to calculate more widely used price indexes, such as the Consumer Price
Index (CPI). Price indexes such as CPI and its components, including
the medical care component, are constructed from detailed data on the
prices of a fixed set of goods and services of constant quantity and
quality bought on average by urban consumers over time. DOD did not
develop its estimate of inflation based on its own spending. Instead,
DOD based the estimate on inflation rates provided annually by the
Office of Management and Budget for the various components of the
TRICARE operating budget, such as military personnel, private sector
health care, and pharmacy. To facilitate the comparison, we gathered
premium data, including FEHBP premium trend data from the Office of
Personnel Management; premium data from the California Public
Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS)--the second largest public
purchaser of employee health benefits; and premium levels from surveys
of employer-sponsored health plans from the Kaiser Family Foundation
and Health Research and Educational Trust (Kaiser/HRET). We also
gathered information on broader indicators of inflation from the Bureau
of Labor Statistics (BLS) on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage
Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which is the basis for the annual
cost of living adjustment (COLA) to cash pensions paid to military
retirees,[Footnote 56] and the medical care component of CPI-W.
Generally, the annual rate of medical care inflation estimated by DOD
from 2001 to 2005 is lower than premium growth trends among FEHBP and
other purchasers but higher than increases in broader indicators of
inflation. (See fig. 7.) However, these measurements are by definition
very different from each other, so comparing them to each other can be
problematic.
Figure 7: Comparison of DOD's Estimated Rate of Medical Care Inflation,
Health Insurance Premium Growth Trends, and Broader Indicators of
Inflation:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO analysis of data from DOD, kaiser/HRET, CalPERS, and BLS.
Notes: Cumulative growth reflects increases over the level of each
measurement in 2000.
[End of figure]
DOD calculated its average annual rate of medical care inflation to be
about 4.6 percent per year from 2001 through 2005.[Footnote 57] Premium
growth trends in FEHBP, the Kaiser/HRET survey of employer-sponsored
health plans, and CalPERS ranged from 10.4 to 14.4 percent, on average,
per year from 2001 to 2005. The average premium growth rate for the 10
largest FEHBP plans by enrollment--accounting for about three-quarters
of total FEHBP enrollment--was 10.4 percent per year during this
period. The average premium growth rate for surveyed employers was 11.6
percent per year and 14.4 percent per year for CalPERS.
Comparing DOD's annual rate of medical care inflation to premium growth
trends and broader indicators of inflation is difficult because of
differences in each measurement. Unlike medical care inflation, premium
growth trends may reflect factors such as changes in the
comprehensiveness of the policy, changes in the ratio of premiums
collected to benefits paid, or changes in costs because of increased
utilization of health care services. Therefore, it can be problematic
to compare premium growth trends to DOD's estimated rate of medical
care inflation. Broader indicators of inflation increased substantially
slower than premium growth trends. In contrast, broader indicators of
inflation, particularly the medical care component of CPI-W and the
COLA, increased at lower rates than DOD's estimated rate of medical
care inflation. The medical care component of CPI-W increased almost 2
percentage points per year faster than the COLA--4.4 percent per year
compared to 2.5 percent per year, on average. The medical care
component of CPI-W is based on medical care expenses, but it is
difficult to compare with DOD's estimated rate of medical care
inflation because it is based only on out-of-pocket medical
expenditures paid by consumers, including health insurance premiums,
and excludes the medical expenditures paid by public and private
insurance programs. The COLA is also not directly comparable to DOD's
estimated rate of medical care inflation because it is based on price
increases of a broad range of goods and services, and is not based
solely on medical expenses.
[End of section]
Appendix III: Scope and Methodology:
To examine the DOD's estimated savings associated with enrollment fee
and deductible increases for retirees and dependents under age 65 and
pharmacy co-payment increases for all beneficiaries except active duty
personnel, we reviewed the analyses prepared by DOD and its contractor
that projected cost savings from these increases. We also interviewed
DOD officials in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Health Affairs, the Office of Program Analysis and Evaluation, and the
Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller). Furthermore, we
reviewed literature from the field of health economics and interviewed
six health economists to discuss economic principles relevant to our
work, including price sensitivity for health insurance and prescription
drugs and adverse and biased selection. We also reviewed survey data
from (1) the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and
Educational Trust (Kaiser/HRET) on employer-sponsored insurance
premiums, (2) the RAND Corporation (RAND) on the health insurance
options of military retirees, and (3) the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality (AHRQ) on health care costs for the U.S.
population. We also reviewed a draft report prepared by RAND on the
health insurance options of military retirees and Kaiser/HRET reports
on employer health benefits. In addition, to identify concerns with
DOD's Sustain the Benefit proposal and associated savings estimates, we
interviewed representatives from the Reserve Officers Association, the
National Association of Uniformed Services, the National Military
Families Association, and The Military Coalition.
To examine the factors identified by DOD as contributing to the
increase in TRICARE spending, we reviewed the factors that DOD
identified as contributing to the increase in TRICARE spending from
2000 to 2005 and interviewed officials from the Office of the Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. We determined that the
spending data provided by DOD were sufficiently reliable for our
purposes, but we did not independently verify DOD's figures. We also
reviewed academic literature on medical care inflation.
Evaluation of Cost Savings Estimates:
As part of our evaluation of DOD's estimate of beneficiary response to
increases in TRICARE enrollment fees and deductibles and the cost
savings attributable to these individuals, we reviewed data from
several sources to conduct the following frequency analyses and cross
tabulations.
We calculated the average cost of civilian health insurance premiums
and how it compares to TRICARE enrollment fees by evaluating data on
the cost of employer-sponsored insurance premiums reported in the
Kaiser/HRET annual employer health benefits survey. Using these data
for 2000 through 2006, we determined the percentage of enrollees whose
share of the employer-sponsored health insurance premium was lower than
or equal to the TRICARE Prime and Standard and Extra enrollment fees
for both single and family coverage.
We assessed characteristics of the military retiree population,
including access to health insurance other than TRICARE, self-reported
health status, age, and employment status, by reviewing data reported
in RAND's draft report titled Civilian Health Insurance Options of
Military Retirees. We also examined cross tabulations showing access to
health insurance other than TRICARE by age and self-reported health
status to determine whether older and less healthy individuals are less
likely to have other health insurance options.
We examined health care spending for various groups within the U.S.
population by reviewing data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey
(MEPS), which is conducted by AHRQ. Using the results from the 2004
MEPS, we examined cross tabulations of health care expenditures by age
and health status.
Our analysis was limited because neither we nor DOD were able to
control for several important factors affecting beneficiaries' response
to enrollment fee and deductible increases and the associated savings.
For example, no data on TRICARE beneficiaries' sensitivity to cost-
share increases is available because DOD has not attempted to increase
fees since TRICARE's inception. Furthermore, although the RAND draft
report includes information on access to civilian insurance plans among
military retirees and their dependents under age 65, there are no data
specific to this population on the cost of civilian health insurance
plans available to them.
Data Reliability Tests:
To ensure that the DOD data were sufficiently reliable for our
analyses, we conducted detailed data reliability assessments of the
data sets that we used. We restricted these assessments, however, to
the specific variables that were pertinent to our analyses.
We reviewed DOD analyses that we determined to be relevant to our
findings to assess their quality and methodological soundness. Our
review consisted of (1) examining documents that describe the
respective analyses, (2) manually and electronically checking the data
for obvious errors and missing values, (3) interviewing DOD officials
to inquire about concerns we uncovered, (4) interviewing DOD officials
about internal controls in place to ensure that data are complete and
accurate, and (5) assessing the reasonableness of assumptions DOD made.
To assess DOD assumptions, we reviewed relevant health economics
literature and interviewed six health economists.
Our review revealed inconsistencies and minor errors in DOD's analyses
that we reported to DOD officials. Overall, however, we found that all
of the data sets used in this report were sufficiently reliable for use
in our analyses.
We conducted our work from July 2006 through May 2007 in accordance
with generally accepted government auditing standards.
[End of section]
Appendix IV: Comments from the Department of Defense:
Assistant Secretary Of Defense:
1200 Defense Pentagon:
Washington, DC 20301-1200:
Health Affairs:
May 1 1 2007:
Ms. Laurie E. Ekstrand:
Director, Health Care:
U.S. Government Accountability Office:
441 G. Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20548:
Dear Ms. Ekstrand:
This is the Department of Defense (DoD) response to the GAO draft
report, GAO-07-647, "Military Health Care: TRICARE Cost Sharing
Proposals Would Help Offset Increasing Health Care Spending, but
Projected Savings Are Likely Overestimated," dated April 20, 2007 (GAO
Code 290559).
Thank you for the opportunity to review the Draft Report and for GAO's
review of this critically important topic, Overall, I concur (enclosed)
with the report's conclusions and findings. Our technical comments on
the draft report are enclosed.
While we understand that there may be differing opinions on the amount
of the overall savings estimate, our concern is that without an
independent estimate from GAO, the report leaves the impression that
the savings from the premium/deductible changes may be as low as
$2.313. While the detailed report hints that this is not the case, a
stronger statement on the most likely effect or a range of the effect
would have been more informative for the discussion on this important
topic.
My points of contact on this action are Mr. Allen Middleton
(Functional) at (703) 681-1724 and Mr. Gunther Zimmerman (Audit
Liaison) at (703) 681-3492.
Sincerely,
Signed by:
S. Ward Casscell, MD:
Enclosures:
As stated:
GAO Draft Report Dated April 20, 2007 GAO-07-647 (GAO Code 290559):
Military Health Care: TRICARE Cost Sharing Proposals Would Help Offset
Increasing Health Care Spending, but Projected Savings Are Likely
Overestimated,
Department Of Defense Comments To The Recommendation:
Recommendation: To help DoD managed its health care spending, we
recommend that the Secretary of Defense direct the Assistant Secretary
of Defense for Health Affairs to collect and compile information that
could help DoD identify the reasons why beneficiary may or may not
choose to use TRICARE. Such data could include beneficiaries' access to
and cost of other health insurance.
DOD Response: Concur:
[End of section]
Appendix V: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
GAO Contact:
Laurie Ekstrand (202) 512-7101 or ekstrandl@gao.gov:
Acknowledgments:
In addition to the contact named above, Bonnie Anderson, Assistant
Director; Thomas Conahan, Assistant Director; Timothy Carr; Timothy
Cunningham; Krister Friday; Adrienne Griffin; William Simerl; Eric
Wedum; and Michael Zose made key contributions to this report.
[End of section]
(290559):
FOOTNOTES
[1] While TRICARE is DOD's health care program, its total health care
spending includes additional items, such as research and development.
All of the DOD spending figures and calculations included in this
report relate to fiscal years, rather than calendar years. Figures that
appear in this report are generally rounded.
[2] Reserve personnel who are on active duty orders for a period of
more than 30 consecutive days become eligible for TRICARE with the same
benefits as active duty personnel. The duration of eligibility may
range from up to 90 days before active duty begins to 180 days after
active duty ends. The dependents of these reservists also become
eligible for several TRICARE options. In this report, we include these
mobilized reservists with other active duty personnel and include their
dependents with other dependents of active duty personnel.
[3] TRICARE includes a health maintenance organization option called
TRICARE Prime, a preferred-provider organization option called TRICARE
Extra, and a fee-for-service option called TRICARE Standard. A separate
benefit, TRICARE for Life, supplements Medicare coverage for eligible
beneficiaries.
[4] DOD estimates that its health care spending will amount to about
$64 billion in 2015.
[5] GAO, 21st Century Challenges: Reexamining the Base of the Federal
Government, GAO-05-325SP (Washington, D.C.: February 2005).
[6] GAO, Military Personnel: DOD Needs to Improve the Transparency and
Reassess the Reasonableness, Appropriateness, Affordability, and
Sustainability of Its Military Compensation System, GAO-05-798
(Washington, D.C.: July 19, 2005).
[7] TRICARE for Life also supplements Medicare coverage for TRICARE
beneficiaries under age 65 who qualify for Medicare on the basis of
disability or end-stage renal disease and enroll in Medicare Part B.
[8] Department of Defense, The Military Health System (Prepared
statement for testimony before the Subcommittee on Personnel, Committee
on Armed Services, U.S. Senate, April 2005).
[9] Coinsurance is a form of cost sharing between insurer and
beneficiary in which the beneficiary pays a percentage of the cost of
certain aspects of care. In some of the TRICARE benefit options, for
retirees and dependents under age 65, the coinsurance rate for
outpatient visits is 20 or 25 percent.
[10] The current retirement system requires servicemembers to generally
serve 20 years before becoming eligible for nondisability retirement
pay and benefits. Retired reserve component personnel are eligible for
TRICARE when they reach age 60.
[11] In this report, we use the phrase retirees and dependents under 65
to refer to military retirees under age 65 and their dependents and
survivors under age 65. Survivors include widows, widowers, and certain
unmarried children. After age 65, beneficiaries are generally eligible
for Medicare with supplementary coverage through TRICARE for Life.
[12] The proposed increases in enrollment fees and deductibles do not
apply to beneficiaries in TRICARE for Life, including TRICARE for Life
beneficiaries who may be under age 65 but who are eligible for Medicare
on the basis of disability or end-stage renal disease.
[13] The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) administers FEHBP by
contracting with multiple health insurance carriers to offer health
plans for federal employees enrolled in the program. OPM negotiates
benefits and premium rates with each carrier.
[14] See Pub. L. No. 109-364, §§ 704, 708, 120 Stat. 2083, 2280, and
2284 (2006).
[15] The proposal remained as part of the President's budget proposal
for fiscal year 2008.
[16] See Pub. L. No. 109-364, § 711, 120 Stat. 2083, 2284-87 (2006).
[17] DOD refers to offsetting collections from enrollment fees,
deductibles, and co-payments as revenue. We have adopted this term for
the purposes of this report.
[18] See Pub. L. No. 109-364, § 713(a), 120 Stat. 2083, 2288-89 (2006).
[19] Medical care inflation represents cost increases for delivering a
fixed set of medical goods and services. Medical care inflation is
distinguished from other cost increases in health care that can result
from changing medical goods and services, such as expanding health
benefits or an increase in the number of beneficiaries.
[20] GAO, Global War on Terrorism: DOD Needs to Improve the Reliability
of Cost Data and Provide Additional Guidance to Control Costs, GAO-05-
882 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 21, 2005), and Global War on Terrorism:
Observations on Funding, Costs, and Future Commitments, GAO-06-885T
(Washington, D.C.: July 18, 2006).
[21] G.F. Joyce and others, "Employer Drug Benefit Plans and Spending
on Prescription Drugs," JAMA, vol. 288, no. 14 (2005): 1733-1739.
[22] Prior to 1995, DOD provided health benefits under a different
system, the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed
Services.
[23] DOD officials told us that some active duty beneficiaries are not
required to enroll in TRICARE Prime. However, DOD still considers these
beneficiaries to be covered by TRICARE Prime.
[24] See Pub. L. No. 106-398, §§ 712-713, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A-176 to
1654A-184 (2000). TRICARE for Life covers beneficiaries who are
eligible for Medicare Part A, which helps cover inpatient care in
hospitals, and who are enrolled in Medicare Part B, which helps cover
medical services such as doctors' services and outpatient care. It acts
as a secondary payer to Medicare and pays for many services that
Medicare only partially covers or does not cover. While TRICARE
beneficiaries do not have to pay for their TRICARE for Life coverage,
they pay premiums to be enrolled in Medicare Part B. Some TRICARE
beneficiaries under age 65 are eligible for Medicare on the basis of
disability or end-stage renal disease, and therefore are also eligible
for TRICARE for Life.
[25] Outpatient deductibles for TRICARE Standard and Extra are
currently capped by law at $150 annually for single beneficiaries and
$300 annually for families. See 10 U.S.C. § 1086(b).
[26] Retirees and dependents in TRICARE for Life are eligible to obtain
prescription drugs through TRICARE, including from retail pharmacies,
TMOP, and MTF pharmacies. According to DOD, for nearly all TRICARE for
Life beneficiaries, under most circumstances, there is no added value
in purchasing Medicare prescription drug coverage, referred to as
Medicare Part D.
[27] Specifically, the catastrophic cap is the maximum out-of-pocket
expense for which TRICARE beneficiaries are responsible in a given
fiscal year. As of March 2007, the catastrophic cap for active duty
families was $1,000 and the catastrophic cap for all other TRICARE-
eligible families was $3,000. The catastrophic cap applies only to
services covered by TRICARE.
[28] Active duty beneficiaries and their family members do not pay
enrollment fees.
[29] The Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 2001 lowered the maximum allowable catastrophic cap for retirees
and dependents under age 65 in TRICARE Standard and Extra from $7,500
to $3,000. See Pub. L. No. 106-398, § 759, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A-200
(2000), codified at 10 U.S.C. § 1086(b)(4).
[30] For more information on how FEHBP costs are calculated, see GAO,
Federal Employees Health Benefits Program: Premium Growth Has Recently
Slowed, and Varies Among Participating Plans, GAO-07-141 (Washington,
D.C.: Dec. 22, 2006).
[31] See GAO, Mail Order Pharmacies: DOD's Use of VA's Mail Pharmacy
Could Produce Savings and Other Benefits, GAO-05-555 (Washington, D.C.:
June 22, 2005).
[32] DOD also expects that there will be savings of $1.5 billion over 5
years because of pharmacy co-payment increases for retirees and
dependents over 65 in TRICARE for Life. However, DOD officials told us
that they did not include this amount in DOD's estimate of savings
because TRICARE for Life costs are paid through the Department of
Defense Medicare Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund. See 10 U.S.C. §§
1111 et seq.
[33] Numbers do not total precisely because of rounding.
[34] J.S. Ringel and C. Eibner, Health Care Demand Elasticities and
Their Implications for Military Health Cost Containment (RAND
Corporation: 2004).
[35] Louis T. Mariano and others, Civilian Health Insurance Options of
Military Retirees: Findings from a Pilot Survey, Draft (RAND
Corporation: August 2006).
[36] These individuals may have access to health insurance plans on the
individual market, but premiums for these plans are, for the most part,
more expensive than the premiums they would pay for group health
insurance.
[37] If employer-sponsored insurance premiums increase from 2006 to
2008, then these percentages would be even lower.
[38] Specifically, the catastrophic cap is the maximum out-of-pocket
expense for which TRICARE beneficiaries are responsible in a given
fiscal year. As of March 2007, the catastrophic cap for active duty
families was $1,000 and the catastrophic cap for all other TRICARE-
eligible families was $3,000. The catastrophic cap applies only to
services covered by TRICARE.
[39] DOD estimated that approximately 20 percent of families in
Standard and Extra would exceed the cap from 2007 to 2011. These
beneficiaries are generally responsible for the highest health care
costs among Standard and Extra beneficiaries.
[40] For example, for 2007, DOD determined that the projected annual
cost of providing health care for the average retiree and dependent
under 65 was $3,924 for TRICARE Prime users and $3,173 for TRICARE
Standard and Extra users.
[41] See, for example, B.A. Strombom, T.C. Buchmueller, and P.J.
Feldstein, "Switching Costs, Price Sensitivity, and Health Plan
Choice," Journal of Health Economics, vol. 21, no. 1 (2002): 89-116 and
A.B. Royalty and N. Solomon, "Health Plan Choice: Price Elasticities in
a Managed Competition Setting," The Journal of Human Resources, vol.
34, no. 1 (1999): 1-41.
[42] DOD routinely collects data about its beneficiaries, such as their
satisfaction with TRICARE, through surveys. DOD is required by law to
conduct an annual survey to collect certain information from
beneficiaries and may also collect additional information on other
matters through those surveys, as appropriate. See 10 U.S.C. § 1071,
note.
[43] DOD also expects that there will be savings of $1.5 billion over 5
years because of pharmacy co-payment increases for retirees and
dependents over 65 in TRICARE for Life. However, DOD officials told us
that they did not include this amount in DOD's estimate of savings
because TRICARE for Life costs are paid through the Department of
Defense Medicare Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund. See 10 U.S.C. §§
1111 et seq.
[44] Joyce and others.
[45] A clinical justification for the use of a brand-name drug may be
made under procedures prescribed by DOD. See 32 C.F.R. § 199.21(j).
[46] DOD's estimate of savings from increased retail pharmacy co-
payments also depends on the number of avoided users generated by
increased enrollment fees and deductibles for retirees and dependents
under 65. If there are some avoided users, the population of
beneficiaries who would be affected by increased retail pharmacy co-
payments would be decreased, which would result in a reduction in
savings from higher retail pharmacy co-payments. However, the reduction
in savings from higher retail pharmacy co-payments would not be high
enough to offset the savings from avoided users.
[47] In calculating its data on average costs, DOD assumed that it
would receive federal pricing discounts at retail pharmacies, although
it currently does not receive these discounts.
[48] As part of the annual budget process, OMB provides agencies with
inflation rates for the various components of their budgets. The
TRICARE operating budget is mostly supported by appropriations for
Operation and Maintenance.
[49] According to DOD officials, the residual also includes any
spending not accounted for in the other categories, such as the
spending for the global settlement to pay managed care support contract
claims.
[50] See GAO, Defense Health Program: Future Costs Are Likely to Be
Greater Than Estimated, GAO/NSIAD-97-83BR (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 21,
1997).
[51] Before the TRICARE for Life program was implemented, DOD provided
care to these beneficiaries on a space-available basis in MTFs. DOD
makes annual contributions to the accrual fund for the cost of medical
benefits to be provided in retirement to certain active duty
servicemembers and reservists. The U.S. Treasury also makes
contributions to the fund to cover its unfunded liability, including
liability for beneficiaries who are already retired.
[52] DOD contributed about $10.22 billion to the accrual fund in 2005,
but DOD officials estimated that DOD would have spent approximately
$1.56 billion on increased MTF care if the TRICARE for Life benefit had
not been implemented. Therefore, increased spending attributed to
TRICARE for Life benefit amounts to $8.66 billion as of 2005.
[53] GAO-05-882 and GAO-06-885T.
[54] For the calculation, DOD officials assumed that TRICARE Prime
users received all of their care from participating TRICARE network
providers and that TRICARE Standard and Extra users received all of
their care from nonnetwork providers in 1996 and 50 percent of their
care from network providers and 50 percent from nonnetwork providers in
2005.
[55] See Pub. L. No. 109-364, § 713(a)(2)(D), 120 Stat. 2083, 2289
(2006).
[56] For military personnel who first entered military service before
August 1, 1986, each December a COLA equal to the percentage increase
in CPI-W between the third quarters of successive years is applied to
military retired pay for the annuities paid beginning each January 1.
[57] DOD's rates of medical care inflation from 2001 through 2005 are
based on inflation rates provided annually by the Office of Management
and Budget for the various components of the TRICARE operating budget,
such as military personnel assigned to MTFs, private sector health
care, and pharmacy. As we note in this report, an additional portion of
DOD's spending increase may also be caused by medical care inflation,
making DOD's average annual rate of medical care inflation likely to be
from 4.6 to 6.1 percent.
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