In This
Issue
1. NDAA
Update
2. TRICARE
Data Breach
3. TSGLI Now
Covers Genitourinary
Injuries
4.
Veteran/Military
Bills Passed
5. Senate
VA Committee
Discusses Mental
Health Programs
6. House
Discusses Veteran
Contracting
Shortfalls
7. TRICARE
Young Adult
Enrollment
8. Five MIAs
Return Home
1. NDAA
Update:
Late Thursday night,
the Senate passed
their version of the
National Defense
Authorization Act
for FY 2012. A key
development included
Sen. John McCain
(R-AZ) withdrawing
an amendment to
allow TRICARE to
increase annual
rates by the rate of
medical inflation --
a drastic change in
current policy that
would have
encouraged
disproportionate
cost-shifting to
beneficiaries. The
Senate-passed bill
must now be
reconciled with the
House version before
it can be sent to
the President for
his signature. VFW
will continue to
advocate for
military personnel
and retirees as the
House/Senate
Conference makes its
final decisions. For
more on the NDAA and
our views on its
passage visit the
VFW blog at:
http://www.vfwonthehill.org/2011/12/vfw-protects-tricare-recipients-as.html
2. TRICARE
Data Breach:
Pentagon
contractor SAIC lost
backup data tapes
that contained
personal information
on almost 4.9
million TRICARE
patients who were
treated at
San Antonio
military facilities
going back to 1992.
TRICARE officials
said the tapes
included Social
Security numbers,
addresses, birth
dates and some
health information,
but no credit card
or bank account
numbers. TRICARE
believes the risk of
compromise to be low
due to the
sophistication of
the software, but as
a precaution, SAIC
will provide one
year of credit
monitoring and
restoration services
to patients who
express concern
about their credit.
Concerned patients
can call the SAIC
Incident Response
Call Center
toll-free at
855-366-0140,
or international
callers can call
collect to
952-556-8312.
The call center is
open Monday through
Friday from 9 a.m.
to 6 p.m. (Eastern).
Read more at
http://www.tricare.mil/mediacenter/news.aspx?fid=738.
3. TSGLI Now
Covers Genitourinary
Injuries:
Service members who
suffer severe
injuries to the
genitourinary organs
are now eligible for
Servicemembers'
Group Life Insurance
Traumatic Injury
Protection, or TSGLI.
TSGLI provides a
one-time payment of
up to $100,000 to
service members who
sustain certain
severe traumatic
injuries resulting
in a range of
losses, including
amputations; limb
salvage; paralysis;
burns; loss of
sight, and other
traumatic losses.
Genitourinary
injuries were added
because military
doctors reported
seeing an increase
in these types of
injuries due to the
proliferation of
improvised explosive
devices. The first
payments for
genitourinary losses
are being made
today, and the
eligibility is
retroactive to
injuries incurred on
or after Oct. 7,
2001. The VFW was
the lone veterans'
service organization
to back TSGLI
legislation back in
2005, when it went
from bill to law in
28 days. For more
information, go to
http://www.insurance.va.gov/sgliSite/TSGLI/TSGLI.htm.
4.
Veteran/Military
Bills Passed:
Several
VFW-supported bills
cleared the House
and Senate this
week. They include:
* S. 1025 would
allow the National
Guard Bureau Chief
to serve as a full
voting member of the
Joint Chiefs of
Staff. The bill
passed as standalone
legislation and was
inserted into the
Senate NDAA. Its
passage would
accomplish VFW
Resolution #435.
* H.R. 2192 would
extend bankruptcy
exemptions for
members of the
National Guard and
Reserve.
* H.R. 1801 would
require the
Transportation
Security
Administration to
develop expedited
screening procedures
for military members
traveling in uniform
or on special
orders. It would
also allow family
members to obtain
passes to accompany
their loved ones all
the way to their
departure gate, or
to meet them upon
their arrival.
For more on any of
the bills type the
bill number in the
search box at:
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php
5. Senate VA
Committee Discusses
Mental Health
Programs:
The Senate Veterans
Affairs Committee
held a hearing this
week on VA mental
health programs.
Witnesses were asked
to comment on data
collected from a
survey of mental
health providers
that showed wide
discrepancies in
wait times for care
at VA facilities
across the country.
The survey reported
that 70 percent of
providers said they
did not have
adequate staff or
space to meet the
mental health care
needs of veterans.
Committee Chairman
Patty Murray (D-WA)
questioned top VA
mental health
officials on causes
and efforts to
address this
problem. For
testimony or the
recorded webcast of
the hearing, visit
the Senate VA
Committee website
at:
http://veterans.senate.gov/.
6. House
Discusses Veteran
Contracting
Shortfalls:
The VFW was on hand
this week as the
House VA
Subcommittees on
Oversight &
Investigations and
Economic Opportunity
held a joint hearing
to review VA's
Service-Disabled
Veteran-Owned Small
Business, or SDVOSB,
certification
process. During the
hearing, GAO
representatives
testified about
investigating
companies for
fraudulently posing
as SDVOSBs to attain
government
contracts. Many at
the hearing
expressed views that
VA is falling short
in their efforts to
ensure veteran
business owners
receive the
opportunities to
which they are
entitled. VFW will
continue to work
with the House VA
subcommittee on ways
to ensure veteran
entrepreneurs
receive those
opportunities. For
more about the
hearing, go to
www.veterans.house.gov.
For the GAO Report,
go to
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-205T.
7. TRICARE
Young Adult
Enrollment:
Eligible dependents
can now enroll in
TRICARE Young Adult
(TYA), with coverage
beginning Jan. 1.
TYA will provide
beneficiaries
TRICARE Prime
coverage for a
monthly premium of
$201 per dependent
under age 26, who is
unmarried and not
eligible for any
employer-sponsored
health care
coverage. For more
information about
TYA or the other
nine TRICARE
programs, go to:
http://www.tricare.mil/mybenefit/home/overview/LearnAboutPlansAndCosts/TRICAREYoungAdult.
8. Five MIAs
Return Home:
The Defense
POW/Missing
Personnel Office
announced the
identification of
remains belonging to
four airmen and one
soldier who had been
missing in action
from World War II,
Korea and
Vietnam.
Returned are:
* Army Air Forces
Staff Sgt. John J.
Bono, 28, of
Denver. On
Sept. 13, 1944, Bono
and eight other
crewmembers were on
a B-17G Flying
Fortress that
crashed near
Neustaedt-on-the-Werra,
Germany. Only
one crewman
successfully
parachuted out of
the aircraft before
it crashed.
* Army Air Forces
1st Lt. Stephen L.
Pascal, 20, of
Hollywood, Calif.
On April 7, 1945,
Pascal was flying a
photo reconnaissance
mission between
Gottingen and Alfeld,
Germany, when his
P-38 Lightning
aircraft went
missing.
* Army Cpl. Theodore
A. Reynolds, 19, of
Syracuse, N.Y. In
November 1950,
Reynolds, who was
serving in the
Company B, 2nd
Chemical Mortar
Battalion attached
to the 8th Cavalry
Regiment of the 1st
Cavalry Division,
went missing during
a battle near Unsan,
North Korea.
* Army Lt. Col.
Glenn McElroy, 35,
of Sidney, Ill., and
Capt. John M. Nash,
28, of Tipton, Ind.
On March 15, 1966,
the men were flying
an OV-1A Mohawk
aircraft that failed
to return from a
reconnaissance
mission over
southern Laos in
Savannakhet
Province.
Read more on the
DPMO website at
http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/news/news_releases/.