GI Bill Users Must Now Verify Their School Attendance To Get Paid
Almost all GI Bill users will soon have to verify their attendance with the Department of Veterans Affairs before receiving any monthly payments. The new rule affects more than 550,000 students, nearly 85% of the over 650,000 veterans and dependents using the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The good news is that it should be a fairly painless process. Montgomery GI users have always been required to verify their school attendance each month before payment was issued. Beginning in September 2021, Post-9/11 GI Bill users attending technical or non-college degree schools were given the same requirement, and the VA recently announced on its website that all Post-9/11 GI Bill users attending college courses that began on or after Dec. 17, 2021, are now also required to verify their attendance with the agency before the normal monthly payment will be issued. The VA posted the change to its Facebook page on Jan. 20.
New Committee To Help Improve Care For Native American Veterans
Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough tasked his agency's new Advisory Committee on Tribal and Indian Affairs with helping the VA take more innovative approaches to serving Native American veterans. The newly created panel, one of 27 VA advisory committees, met for the first time on Tuesday to advise the VA on everything from COVID-19 efforts to homelessness among American Indians and Alaskan Native veterans. Its 15 members are Native American veterans, each from different tribal nations. "My commitment to you was and is clear, that VA will not make decisions about you without you," said McDonough.
Navy And Marine Corps Starting To Inspect All Privatized Military Housing
The Navy and the Marine Corps have started conducting health and safety inspections of more than 62,000 base houses, a move that will allow the services to meet requirements in the 2020 defense policy law. The inspections, to be conducted by an independent contractor, began last October for the Navy and Jan. 18 for the Marine Corps. They will be completed by October, according to the services. Until now, both the Marine Corps and the Navy had been conducting inspections of housing by request, while the Army and Air Force pledged to examine 100% of their public-private venture, or PPV, housing stock, in the wake of a 2019 scandal over the health and safety conditions in military homes highlighted by Reuters.
By the end of fiscal year 2026, the Department of Veterans Affairs' Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care plans to make its Home-Based Primary Care, Medical Foster Home, and Veteran-Directed Care programs available at all VA medical centers.
VAMCs around the country will receive 58 medical foster homes and 70 Veteran-directed care programs, as well as 75 home-based primary care teams in areas with the greatest unmet need.
"These evidence-based programs enable Veterans to age in place, avoid or delay placement in a nursing facility, and pick the care environment that best meets their care needs, preferences, and objectives," said Scotte Hartronft, M.D., Executive Director of the VA Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care. "Veterans who participated in these programs had fewer hospitalizations and emergency room visits, as well as fewer hospital and nursing home days, nursing home readmissions, and inpatient problems."
According to the VA's Policy Analysis and Forecasting Office, the number of Veterans of all ages eligible for nursing home care is expected to increase from around 2 million in 2019 to over 4 million by 2039. As the Veteran population rises, VA remains committed to delivering the best possible treatment in the least restrictive settings.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to our Military and Government Relations Team at milgov3@hqafsa.org
AFSA's Legislative Platform Survey is LIVE! If you haven't already, please take no more than 10 minutes to help our Military and Government Relations Team help you by taking the time to complete the survey. This year's survey is comprehensive and covers several important topics to our members - including BAH sufficiency, the current state of affairs for the TRICARE health care program, VA benefit satisfaction, and more!
Have any questions? Please reach out to our M&G Team at milgov3@hqafsa.org.
AFSA's Policy Advisor, Legislative Affairs, Matthew Schwartzman, Discusses the 2022 Legislative Platform Survey from AFSAHQ. To watch the video, please click on the image above.
We are pleased to share the AFSA Set-It-Forever/Auto Pay procedures and marketing materials to help share the process with our members, your membership and potential new recruits.
The Set-It-Forever/Auto Pay program creates an opportunity to JOIN AFSA or RENEW a membership by making a $36 once-a-year/every-year auto payment, or a $4-each-month/every- month auto payment. The $36 once-a-year option is set at $36, and the $4-a-month option includes a bank processing fee of $1 each month.
Review the two ways to enroll, the benefits to using the auto-pay option, and the marketing materials to help share the details of this program and ensure its success.
For questions, please contact AFSAHQ Member & Field team at 800-638-0594 x 288.
Please Update Your Contact Information Today!
Dear Air Force Sergeants Association Member,
In order for the AFSA to effectively communicate with our members, it is essential to ensure we have your current and / or valid e-mail address. We are in the process of updating our records and need your help! Please take a moment to ensure that we have your most current mail and email address (no .mil's); and accurate membership listing information.
We've made it easy, as you can update your information in either one of three ways:
Call Member & Field Relations team directly at 800-638-0594 x 288 (Mon. - Fri. 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (EST)
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We thank you in advance for your support and prompt updates.
AFSA Magazine Published: Read the Latest Edition Today!
Have you read the latest edition of the AFSA Magazine? The Fall issue features our Eye on Washington, Ultra-Endurance Military Athletes, How to Become a Servant Leader, Professional Spotlight on our Maintainers, member Final Fly-bys and much more.
In sum, the VA will contact all affected students via text or email to inform them that enrollment verification must begin immediately. Students will be informed via the phone number or email address on file with the VA, according to the agency. Students who have not been reached by the VA's Education Call Center by the end of the month may call 1-888-GIBILL-1 (1-888-442-4551). Students can also use VA's website to update or verify their contact information.
Additionally, the VA currently provides health care to over 140,000 Native American veterans, but they experienced major issues accessing care during the pandemic, which Secretary McDonough charged the group with resolving. Congress established the new advisory committee in 2020, and members were selected to their positions in October. According to Jeffrey Moragne, director of the VA Advisory Committee Management Office, despite the fact that committee recommendations are not binding, prior VA advisory groups have had more than 90% of their recommendations accepted.
And lastly, as part of the Navy and Marine Corps review, third-party inspectors will check home interiors and exteriors, heating and cooling systems, drainage, landscaping, and more. According to a Marine Corps press release dated Jan. 14, if a health or safety risk is discovered, the inspector must report it to the military housing office, which will notify the residences' private management business to correct the problem.
And that's the way it is for Thursday, January 27, 2022.
Stay tuned for our next M&G-B, where we will continue to keep you in the loop on all things pertinent to the coronavirus, veterans, active-duty members, guards and reservists, and military family members. Stay happy, and stay healthy!
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