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1993.03.31 :  Military Retirees

Contact:  Anne Verano (202) 690-6145
March 31, 1993

       More than 150,000 elderly military retirees enrolled in
Medicare and using medical facilities on military installations
scheduled for closure are encouraged to enroll in Medicare
managed care organizations, HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala
announced today.
       The most immediate effect of the changes will be felt by
military retirees who live in or near Philadelphia, Pa.; Fort
Worth and Austin, Texas; San Francisco, Long Beach, Monterey,
Victorville and Merced, Calif.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Miami, Fla.;
Indianapolis, Ind.; and Ayer, Mass.
       "Medicare HMOs and CMPs offer convenient, high quality
health care services.  Military retirees who are losing the use
of military medical facilities because of base closures should
seriously consider enrollment in a Medicare managed care
organization," Secretary Shalala said.
       Enrollment in Medicare managed care organizations, such as
health maintenance organizations and competitive medical plans,
is available to all Medicare beneficiaries, including military
retirees, who are enrolled in Medicare Supplemental Medical
Insurance, Part B.
       Many Medicare HMOs and CMPs offer services that fee-for-
service Medicare does not offer, such as routine physical
examinations and immunizations.  In most cases, these
organizations provide enrollees all of their health care
services.  Managed care enrollees normally pay a monthly premium
and may pay nominal co-payments for services received.
       "The Health Care Financing Administration is working
closely with the Department of Defense to provide these retirees
with information about Medicare managed care options and to
insure that they continue to receive high quality health care
services through Medicare," said HCFA Acting Administrator
William Toby Jr.  "We can do no less for those who have spent a
lifetime serving our nation in the military."
       Medicare managed care plans in the affected areas have
also been providing many of these individuals with information
about their services. 
       Beneficiaries who elect to use traditional fee-for-service
may purchase "Medigap" supplemental insurance policies to cover
out-of-pocket costs for physician and hospital services.

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Editor's Note: HCFA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, directs the Medicare and Medicaid programs,
which help pay the medical bills of 67 million Americans.  HCFA's
estimated fiscal year 1993 expenditures are almost $230 billion.