To the editor:

Congress must vote to reject further Tricare prescription co-pay increases.

Frankly, I am upset at seeing the benefits package suffer one hit after another as national leaders view them like every other citizen.

A military career is difficult, and military families sacrifice a great deal. They need a solid healthcare benefit now, and they should be able to look forward to a healthcare benefit for life, prepaid by 20 or 30 potentially deadly years of service.

Yet each year, Congress chips away at the healthcare benefit for these men and women and their families. Congress must act now to stop this constant attack on our men and women in uniform.

In the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act as passed by Congress, Tricare prescription co-payment levels will be increased for the third time in four years. Come on!

I am a member of the Air Force Sergeants Association, and AFSA and the Military Coalition have repeatedly identified to the Department of Defense and Congress other military healthcare areas that are actually wasteful or that have never been enacted.

Military members and their families have earned healthcare benefits by serving this nation in ways that most citizens would never consider. I strongly feel that these further co-payment cuts need to be stopped.

Congress must stop further Tricare prescription co-payments. I hope you’ll agree with me that military members deserve better than this from our national leaders, that they have already “paid” enough for this nation through service and sacrifice, and that further Tricare cost increases are not justified.

As a voter, I am very interested in what actions my congressmen will take on my behalf in this matter.

Erik Velasquez

Yorktown