By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff

CONGRESSWOMAN Madeleine Z. Bordallo is continuing to push for easier medical travel for the island’s veterans and military retirees.
At present, Bordallo said military retirees who live on Guam who are referred off island for specialty care are forced to travel to those locations at their own expense.
Prior to 2005, the Department of Defense reimbursed retirees for the travel expenses they incurred as a result of such medical referrals and retirees were able to move on MIL-AIR flights between Guam and Honolulu that flew on a regular, routine basis.
This policy has since been rescinded.
“As a result of the loss of this MIL-AIR service and the change in policy and practice to no longer reimburse travel costs associated with referred specialty care, the costs are borne solely by the retiree. These trips to access referred specialty care in Hawaii or California cost in the thousands of dollars,” Bordallo said.
During a full House Armed Services Committee hearing last month on the Department of Defense’s health-care treatment of service members, Bordallo asked top Defense officials why the military no longer reimburses military retirees for travel expenses related to TRICARE referrals.
Bordallo pointed out that military retirees who live on Guam who are referred off island for specialty care are forced to travel to those locations at their own expense and these trips to access referred specialty care cost thousands of dollars.
“As a result, these costs are borne solely by the retiree,” Bordallo told Dr. William Winkenwerder, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, adding that she has discussed this issue with him, in several letters and in numerous HASC committee hearings since 2005.
Winkenwerder has assured Bordallo that the entire issue will be reviewed.
While awaiting further word from Winkenwerder and the Pentagon, Bordallo said she has urged General Norton A. Schwartz, USAF Commander of the U.S. Transportation Command, to examine the need to better facilitate travel for military retirees on Guam who are referred through TRICARE off-island to access specialty care, and offered an interim solution until the underlying policy can be adequately resolved.
“What I have proposed as an interim solution is that the Department of Defense revise its policy to afford our military retirees access to aircraft on a space-available basis. I have proposed that retirees should qualify for Space-A travel at the Category 2 priority level and therefore treated the same as authorized personnel on Environmental Morale Leave status,” Bordallo said.
She added that General Schwartz has already indicated that military retirees, regardless of their medical condition, can travel on a space available at the “Category 3” level, which is the lowest level of priority.
According to Bordallo, General Schwartz also told her that because of the increased military operational tempo as a result of events in the Middle East region, the military is more and more utilizing commercial aircraft to transport equipment and personnel in the Pacific, which places a premium on space available flight opportunities in the Pacific region.
“The military has already issued instructions to military aircraft in the Pacific to maximize their capacity for passengers to fly on a space available basis,” Bordallo said.