Panel warns Tricare in ‘death spiral’

Panel warns Tricare in ‘death spiral’ - News - Stripes:
"WASHINGTON — The military’s Tricare health insurance is a broken system that is now in a “death spiral” and must be replaced, a congressional review commission told the House on Wednesday.
The insurance has been veering toward less choice and access since it was created and now falls far behind other networks in its number of providers and ability to incorporate new types of medical care, members of the Military Retirement and Compensation Modernization Commission testified before an Armed Services subcommittee.
...“Tricare is a broken system … do not get sucked into the status quo,” Buyer said.
He said the essential problem with the military’s system is that it has driven down costs by reducing its reimbursements to health care providers below that paid to Medicare, the government subsidized insurance system that functions as a measuring stick for the industry.
...“I think our commission believes Tricare is in a death spiral,” he said...