From: FRA NewsBytes
[Newsbytes@fra.org]
Sent: Saturday, April 17, 2010 03:54
To:
fra@fra367.org
Subject: FRA NewsBytes -- 04-16-2010
In this week's NewsBytes:
Doc Fix Moves Forward ...
For Now
Senate Considers TRICARE Extended Coverage
TRICARE Affirmation
Passes
Senior Enlisted Leaders Testify on Capitol Hill
Discuss Veterans
Higher Education Benefits
Doc Fix Moves Forward ... For Now
When Congress returned from its Spring recess this week, lawmakers in
the House and Senate passed legislation (H.R. 4851) to again delay the Medicare
and TRICARE reimbursement-rate cuts - this time until June 1, 2010. The
21-percent cuts to providers' payments, which took effect on April 1, forced
Medicare and TRICARE administrators to briefly delay processing claims for
medical services provided after April 1st until the matter could be resolved.
This short-term extension will again give Congress time to craft provisions in a
separate bill (H.R. 4213) that will delay doctor reimbursement cuts until
January 1, 2011. Readers are urged to go to the Action Center (www.fra.org) to express their support for delaying
cuts that may negatively affect access for Medicare and TRICARE patients.
Hot Topic: How will Medicare/TRICARE reimbursement-rate cuts affect you
if they become permanent? Visit www.fra.org/hottopics to discuss how
reimbursement rate cuts may affect you.
Senate Considers TRICARE
Extended Coverage
Senator Mark Udall (Colo.) introduced "The TRICARE
Dependent Coverage Extension Act" (S. 3201) this week, a measure that would
extend TRICARE coverage to children up to age 26. The legislation is a companion
bill to H.R. 4923, sponsored by Rep. Heinrich (N.M.) in early April.
Extending coverage to older children is a provision of recently passed
national health care legislation and, since TRICARE was not part of the reform
effort, this provision does not currently apply to TRICARE beneficiaries.
TRICARE will continue to cover eligible dependent children up to age 21, or up
to age 23 if they are enrolled full time at an accredited institution of higher
education and are reliant on the sponsor for more than 50 percent of their
financial support until there is a legislative change. Members can use the FRA
Action Center (www.fra.org) to contact their
elected officials on this issue.
Hot Topic: FRA worked to ensure TRICARE
and VA health care benefits were not impacted by national health care reform
legislation, but many shipmates are in favor of the new provisions to extend
health care coverage to dependent children until age 26. What do you think?
Visit www.fra.org/hottopics to join
the discussion on health care reform.
TRICARE Affirmation Passes
"The TRICARE Affirmation Act" (H.R. 4887) passed in both the House and
Senate and now awaits presidential approval. The bill clarifies the intent of
the recently passed health care legislation by explicitly stating that the
TRICARE health plan meets all standards for individual health insurance required
by the new law. This reflects FRA's and other organizations' work to keep
TRICARE and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care benefits separate
and distinct from health care reform efforts.
Chairman of the House
Veterans Affairs Committee Rep. Bob Filner (Calif.) has issued a statement that
the recently enacted health care reform legislation does not undermine or change
the VA mandate to provide comprehensive health care to
veterans. Enrolled veterans also meet the individual responsibility
requirements under the bill to maintain quality health
coverage.
Senior Enlisted Leaders Testify on Capitol Hill
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Rick West, Sergeant Major
of the Marine Corps (SMMC) Carlton Kent, and the top enlisted advisors from the
Army and Air Force testified before the House Military Construction Veterans
Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee (MilCon/VA) this week to discuss
quality-of-life programs, recruiting and retention, Reserve force, and Veteran
Affairs issues. MCPON West noted the added stress on the force (including 11,000
Individual Augmentees in Iraq, Afghanistan and other overseas locations) and
that the Navy is taking steps to support Sailors and their families. According
to MCPON, the Post-9/11 GI Bill has helped with recruitment and retention and
more than 18,000 active duty Sailors have transferred education benefits to a
family member. MCPON also stressed the importance of affordable and high-quality
child care for Navy families.
SMMC Kent stressed the
importance of taking care of Marine Corps families, pointing out that nearly
half (47 percent) of currently-serving Marines are married, and almost 70
percent of today's Marines are on their first enlistment. The Marine
Corps recently hired 400 full-time civilian family readiness officers to ensure
family concerns are addressed. The Marine Corps is currently providing 64
percent of child care needs and hopes to meet the 80-percent standard required
by DoD within 18-24 months. Rep. Chet Edwards (Texas), who chairs the
panel, thanked the senior enlisted leaders for their efforts to add more
appropriation dollars for child development centers.
The
Association provided its own testimony to the MilCon/VA Subcommittee earlier in
the year and thanks the subcommittee for regularly seeking input from the senior
enlisted community. (Note: The Coast Guard was not represented at this hearing
because the service is part of the Department of Homeland Security, over which
the subcommittee has no jurisdiction.)
Discuss Veterans Higher
Education Benefits
The American Council on Education (ACE) and the
Kresge Foundation is inviting veterans and retirees to participate in Veteran
Success Jam on May 3-6, 2010. This three-day online brainstorming event will
bring together thousands of veterans and their families, service members, campus
leaders, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies to engage in a
national conversation about higher education's role in the successful
reintegration of returning veterans. This event provides an opportunity for
veterans to discuss education benefits and an opportunity to help other veterans
navigate their way to and through college.
You may join the Jam from any
computer with Internet access. The event will be live and available anytime over
the span of three days. The Jam begins on Monday, May 3, 2010, at 12 PM (EDT)
and concludes on Thursday, May 6, 2010, at 12 PM (EDT). Registration is free and
is available through two Internet links. If you have an e-mail address that ends
in .edu, .mil, or .gov, visit https://www.collaborationjam.com/minijam2/veteransuccess/registration/
to register for the Veteran Success Jam. If your e-mail address does NOT end in
.edu, .mil, or .gov (e.g. .com), go to https://www2.acenet.edu/jam/register/index.cfm.
________________________________________
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