Third Party Collection and Obamacare

By letter to the editor

Here is one thing that most people do not know about Obamacare: The US Congress created a program known as the Third Party Collection Program. This is a program under Title 10 of the US Code (10 U.S.C 1095, codified at 32 C.F.R 220).

The program bills the private insurance of retirees and dependents (both of active duty and retires) for care received at military and VA medical treatment facilities. For example, a retiree, covered under tricare (their retirement insurance), also has Blue Cross. The Military/VA treatment center would send a bill to Blue Cross to pick up a portion of the cost to bring money back to the medical facility for much needed equipment. The program does not bill the patient a dime. Not for the insurance deductible, co-payment or anything else (Retirees this is why you are asked if you have other insurance when you check in at either a Military medical center or at the VA).

If Obamacare goes into effect and brings an end to private insurance, Military facilities and VA facilities will lose millions of dollars in revenue every year to purchase needed medical supplies that treat not only our retirees, but also our wounded warriors. Last year, for example, Madigan Army Medical Center brought in roughly $8 million and may top $10 million this fiscal year. These are just the numbers for just one military medical center.

According to the latest GAO figures I could find:

“VA’s fiscal year 2002 third-party collections rose by 32 percent over fiscal
year 2001 collections, to $687 million, and available data for the first half of
fiscal year 2003 show that $386 million has been collected so far.”

If Obamacare goes through it will amount to a huge budget cut for the facilities that treat our active duty and retiree community.

[Editor's Note: The author of this blog is a third party insurance biller who wishes to remain anonymous.]