Civilian employers of military retirees once again can offer a Tricare supplemental plan with their cafeteria-style health insurance options so that workers who elect to use their benefit can buy coverage conveniently and with pre-taxed dollars.
The change took effect June 18 under a final rule published by the Department of Defense that implements a 2007 law prohibiting employers from enticing retirees to use Tricare instead of employer-paid insurance.
The final rule relaxes an interim regulation unveiled two years ago. Employers still are prohibited under section 707 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act from offering incentives to military retirees to leave employer-paid plans and use Tricare instead.
For example, they can’t subsidize a Tricare supplement. They also are barred from offering cash incentives exclusively to military retirees if these workers will elect to opt out of employer-paid health plans.
But advocates for working-age military retirees, backed by Sens. Lindsey Graham. R-S.C., and Ben Nelson, D-Neb., had complained that the interim rule published in March 2008 created unnecessary hassles for military retirees in second careers and denied them of a valuable tax break.
Defense officials agreed.
Under the final rule, which employers can find in the April 9 Federal Register, employers once again can make available in their cafeteria-style health plans a Tricare insurance supplement as long as retiree participants cover the full cost.
Jeff Halseth with Government Contractors Insurance Services, an insurance brokerage that sells benefit plans to government contractors, said the revised rule will help working-age military retirees.
“The important thing now is to inform retirees that they can get a Tricare supplement through their employer again,” said Halseth.
Retirees will want to do that, rather than buy a supplement directly from a broker, Halseth explained, because premiums paid for cafeteria health plans are exempt from federal and state taxes, including social security taxes. This lowers out-of-pocket costs of a Tricare supplement by about 27 percent, he said.
Congress acted three years ago to prohibit employers from offering incentives to Tricare-eligible employees to try to turn around a costly trend. More and more companies, as well as state and local governments, were finding ways to encourage their military retirees to use Tricare rather than employer-paid health plans.
In effect, they were shifting their own health care costs onto federal taxpayers, Defense officials complained.
On reviewing comments received on the interim rule, Defense officials agreed it was only reasonable to permit employers to offer Tricare supplements if the plans are not paid for, even partially, by employers.
“The employer’s only involvement is providing the administrative support for the benefits under the cafeteria plan,” said officials in an analysis that accompanied the final regulation.
To comment, send e-mail to milupdate@aol.com or write to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120-1111
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