President Bush failed soldiers returning home from Iraq, roughly one third of whom seek mental health counseling in their first year home. Military health insurance, privatized through Tricare is "hindered by fragemented rules and policies, inadequate oversight and insufficient reimbursement in its psychological health benefits" according to a Defense Department Task Force.
What did the Bush administration and Congress do to help troops coming home? The President who loves supply and demand in the oil sector, cut mental health provder fees by 6.4% this year as part of an "adjustment". The fees paid by Tricare were already lower than those paid by private insurers.
Of course the bureaucrats don't claim responsibility and do their best to fudge the numbers. One quality manager said "providers just are not willing to sign up to take Tricare assignment, and that is a problem." Most quality experts focus on causes of bad outcomes and work to remove their cause, apparently not those employed by the federal government and its contractors.
The basic plan known as Tricare Standard requires the patient to pay 20% of the amount Tricare pays the therapist. For a psychologist charging $150 an hour, Tricare adjusts it down to a usual customary rate of $120. Those eligible for this rate would receive $79.20. Under the Standard program $16 of that would be paid by the patient leaving Tricare to pay $63. That is 42% of the provider's full fee.
After engineering a $6 billion government givaway in his 2005 Energy Bill, President Bush continues to defend gasoline price hikes. At least in this market he planned to deal with the supply side by boosting exploration. He makes no such effort in health care. Cutting fees for mental health counseling for veterans is classic Bush. However he consistently cheers for greater corporate profits, whether those are in the energy or health insurance sectors.
What did the Bush administration and Congress do to help troops coming home? The President who loves supply and demand in the oil sector, cut mental health provder fees by 6.4% this year as part of an "adjustment". The fees paid by Tricare were already lower than those paid by private insurers.
Of course the bureaucrats don't claim responsibility and do their best to fudge the numbers. One quality manager said "providers just are not willing to sign up to take Tricare assignment, and that is a problem." Most quality experts focus on causes of bad outcomes and work to remove their cause, apparently not those employed by the federal government and its contractors.
The basic plan known as Tricare Standard requires the patient to pay 20% of the amount Tricare pays the therapist. For a psychologist charging $150 an hour, Tricare adjusts it down to a usual customary rate of $120. Those eligible for this rate would receive $79.20. Under the Standard program $16 of that would be paid by the patient leaving Tricare to pay $63. That is 42% of the provider's full fee.
After engineering a $6 billion government givaway in his 2005 Energy Bill, President Bush continues to defend gasoline price hikes. At least in this market he planned to deal with the supply side by boosting exploration. He makes no such effort in health care. Cutting fees for mental health counseling for veterans is classic Bush. However he consistently cheers for greater corporate profits, whether those are in the energy or health insurance sectors.
What price are U.S. veterans paying for delayed or inaccessible mental health care? Some might be paying with their life.
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