Eight Years After Problem Spotted, Veterans Affairs Continues To Overpay On Post-9/11 GI Bill
A flaw in a program to pay for veterans' books while they attend college still hasn't been fixed eight years after a government audit warned it could waste millions of dollars.
Billions Set Aside To Improve Military Housing In Government Spending Package Headed To Biden's Desk
The military will get an infusion of billions of dollars to repair and build more barracks and privatize military housing as part of the $1.7 trillion government funding bill passed by Congress on Friday.
More Than A Million Tricare Users Must Switch Managers After Massive Contract Decision
Tricare beneficiaries in the West Region will get a new managed care contractor in 2024 under a major contract award to TriWest Healthcare Alliance, the Pentagon announced Thursday.
Retirees To Get A Second Chance To Enroll In Or Opt Out Of The Survivor Benefit Plan
By: Amanda Miller | Military.com
Military retirees who opted out of a valuable survivor’s benefit when they left active duty will get a rare second chance to enroll thanks to a new rule in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. The same measure allows currently enrolled users to leave the program.
Retirees typically get only one chance to enroll in the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). Those who opt in usually name their spouses as the beneficiaries, said Mark Belinsky, director of currently serving/retired affairs for the Military Officers Association of America and an Army retiree.
The SBP is like a life insurance policy with no cap. After a retiree dies, the SBP pays a beneficiary up to 55% of the retiree’s retirement pay, adjusted for inflation, monthly for the rest of the surviving spouse’s life, or till a child reaches an age cap.
The SBP is such “a very good plan,” Belinsky said, that for retiring service members to opt out, their spouses have to consent.
But despite the benefit’s high face value, many retirees declined coverage because of a rule known colloquially as the “widow’s tax” and officially as the Survivor Benefit Plan offset. That law reduced SBP payments to spouses who were also eligible for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) allowances. DIC allowances are for the surviving spouses of service members who died on active duty or of veterans who died from injuries received as a result of their service.
The Defense Department has eliminated the SBP offset in phases, with full removal as of the Feb. 1, 2023 pay date, so now is a good time to open up enrollment, Belinsky said.
When service members decline coverage at retirement, they usually don’t get another chance to enroll, even if they were single when they retired and later gained a spouse. Those who opt in -- the default -- get to withdraw or change their coverage only in their third year of receiving retirement pay or in other limited situations such as if their beneficiary dies first.
A child may also receive the benefit, but not for life, as may others such as a business partner or parent in the absence of a spouse or children.
Those who enroll during the open season will have to catch up on paying the premiums they missed since retiring plus pay interest and “any additional amount” deemed necessary to maintain the “soundness” of the Defense Department’s retirement fund, according to the new law.
Current enrollees can opt out during the open season with their spouse and/or beneficiaries’ consent but won’t receive a refund for the premiums they’ve already paid.
The open season to enroll begins with Biden’s signature and ends Jan. 1, 2024. Anyone receiving retirement pay who hasn’t already enrolled in the SBP may take advantage of the open season in 2023. Retirees are eligible who either already receive retirement pay or who would receive it if they haven’t yet reached age 60.
AFSA 2023 Total Force Survey!
The Total Force 2023 survey is now available on the HQAFSA.org website, just in case you missed it or haven't caught up. Please take the time to complete the survey so that our Military and Government Relations Team can best assist you. The survey this year is thorough and covers a variety of vital subjects for our members, such as an Active Component, Reserve Component, and more! Have any inquiries? Contact our M&G team by sending an email to milgov3@hqafsa.org.
Updates the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by requiring the VA to continue providing assistance to a family caregiver for at least six months after the death of a veteran participating in the program.
Requires the VA to establish a process by which veterans who are determined to have the most significant need for caregiver assistance are permanently eligible for such assistance.
Requires the VA to standardize the criteria used across all facilities in its required evaluations of the needs of the veterans and the skills of the family caregiver.
Standardizes criteria used in accepting and evaluating applications for participation in the program across all facilities.
Support the CHAMPVA Children's Care Protection Act!
This bill provides that a child shall be eligible for medical care under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) until the child's 26th birthday, regardless of marital status.
Support the AUTO for Veterans Act!
Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92795/respond
Legislation Summary
The Advancing Uniform Transportation Opportunities for Veterans "AUTO" Act would reduce the financial burden incurred by virtue of military service by ensuring severely disabled veterans receive a grant from the VA's Automobile Assistance Grant program to purchase a specially equipped vehicle once every ten years - as opposed to only once.
Support the Aid and Attendance Support Act!
Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92792/respond
Legislation Summary
The Aid and Attendance Support Act temporarily increases eligible disabled veterans' and surviving spouses' Aid and Attendance (A&A) allowance by 25%.
Support the Ensuring Survivor Benefits during COVID-19 Act!
The Ensuring Survivor Benefits During COVID-19 Act requires the VA to solicit a medical opinion to determine if a service-connected disability was the principal or contributory cause of death in situations where a veteran's death certificate identifies COVID-19 as the principal or contributory cause of death, the certificate does not clearly identify any of the veteran's service-connected disabilities as the principal or contributory cause of death, and a claim for dependence and indemnity compensation is filed with respect to the veteran.
Ensures Reservists and National Guard members have no-fee healthcare through TRICARE Reserve Select that covers medical and dental coverage.
Fixes the parity gap for Reserve Component retirees receiving early retirement pay due to deployment credits making them eligible for TRICARE upon receipt of retirement pay.
Provides an incentive for small businesses to hire Reserve and National Guard members by ensuring their healthcare costs are covered.
Ensures service members can access physicals needed to be ready for no-notice deployments (which have increased over the past year).
Eliminates the statutory language that excludes Federal Employees Health Benefits Program eligible service members from TRICARE Reserve Select eligibility.
Support the Advancing Toward Impact Aid Full Funding Act!
Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92818/respond
Legislation Summary
The Advancing Toward Impact Aid Full Funding Act would:
Split Impact Aid's $1.1 billion request evenly over five years, across three main categories for funding: Basic Support, Federal Property, and Children with Disabilities.
Increase Basic Support funding by $190 million annually, meeting Impact Aid's 2019 funding requests.
Increase Federal Property funding proportionally to Basic Support (BSP) by allocating an additional $11 million annually.
Increase funding for Children with Disabilities by $9 million annually, funding $2,000 per eligible student.
Advance national K-12 school systems to become more equitable and meet educational needs.
Support military families that are especially impacted by federally tax-exempt land.
Support the Health Care Fairness for Military Families Act!
Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92815/respond
Legislation Summary
Modifies the extension of dependent coverage under TRICARE by allowing a dependent at the age of 26 to be covered without an additional premium.
Authorizes such coverage of dependents without a premium regardless of whether they are eligible to enroll in an employer-sponsored plan.
Support Expanding TRICARE Cranial Remolding Helmet Coverage!
Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92802/respond
AFSA urges our nation's elected officials to support legislation that would expand the scope of TRICARE's coverage of the DOC Band Post-Op device if your baby:
Is three to 18 months old; and
Is diagnosed with craniosynostosis or nonsynostotic positional plagiocephaly (to include torticollis)
Support the Jobs and Childcare for Military Families Act!
Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92799/respond
Legislation Summary
Allow an employer a work opportunity tax credit for hiring the spouse or domestic partner of a member of the Armed Forces.
Specifically, an employer may receive a tax credit equal to 40% of a new employee's first-year wages if the employer hires a service member's spouse or domestic partner (as recognized under state law or by the Armed Forces).
Create programs for service members to pay for childcare on a pretax basis.
Specifically, the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security (with respect to the Coast Guard) must implement flexible spending arrangements that permit members of the Armed Forces to use basic pay and compensation to pay on a pretax basis for dependent childcare.
Support the Retired Pay Restoration Act!
Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92798/respond
Legislation Summary
Allowsthe receipt of both military retiredpay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability.
Extends full concurrent receipt eligibility to individuals who were retired or separated after at least 20 years of military service due to a service-connected disability.
Call To Action:Share How TRICARE's coverage of the Dynamic Orthotic Cranioplasty (DOC) Band Post-Op device negatively impact your family's quality of life!
For the past year, our Military and Government Relations Team has been working with AFSA military families on getting legislation introduced that would expand the scope of TRICARE's coverage of the DOC Band Post-Op device if a baby:
Is three to 18 months old; and
Is diagnosed with craniosynostosis or nonsynostotic positional plagiocephaly (to include torticollis)
Despite unsuccessful efforts (via FOIA request) to obtain important data for the purpose of quantifying the need of this issue in the aggregate, our Team is looking to hear from the field to share your story and help have your voice heard by members of Congress.
Issue Background
Helmet therapy is used to gently correct the shape of babies' skulls over time.
Newborn babies' skulls are soft plates with spaces between them. As the baby grows, these plates grow, gradually harden, and knit together.
Unfortunately, there are circumstances under which the soft plates may develop a flat spot or uneven appearance. This condition is called plagiocephaly.
Today, almost one in two babies (47%) is affected by some form of plagiocephaly.
When the baby's skull joins together too early, or in an abnormal way, this is called craniosynostosis. There are several types of craniosynostosis, depending on when the baby's skull joins together.
Today, it is estimated that 1 in every 2,500 babies has craniosynostosis.
Positional skull deformities and/or abnormalities - whether diagnosed as a form of plagiocephaly or craniosynostosis - can have short and long term health effects on a child.
However, despite this, TRICARE only covers the Dynamic Orthotic Cranioplasty (DOC) Band Post-Op device, synonymously referred to as a "molding helmet," if your baby:
Is three to 18 months old; and
Has had craniosynostoris surgery;
But still has a misshaped skull.
In other words, cranial molding helmet(s) are not covered for the treatment of nonsynostotic positional plagiocephaly or for the treatment of craniosynostosis before surgery; despite medical evidence that suggests the presence or absence of congenital or acquired plagiocephaly (to include torticollis) can, at the very least, increase the risk of gross motor development.
In fact, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics school-aged children with moderate to severe plagiocephaly scored lower than controls on cognitive and academic measures.
As a result, military families - who face unique challenges given the sacrifices that come along with serving our country - have been put in the tragic position to either front the hefty cost of the helmet (approximately $2,000), seek alternative forms of treatment that may not be preferred, or forego treatment altogether.
This edition features Port Mortuary and America’s Missing Heroes, Living with Bipolar Disorder in the Military, Fly-By Wire Defense and AFSA’s American Award Recipient – Don Ward. Read, download, print and share: https://www.hqafsa.org/fallmagazine.html
Greetings AFSA Division and Chapter Leadership,
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)
Email to: msvcs@hqafsa.org
Visit www.hqafsa.org and select the UPDATE button on the right
We thank you in advance for your support and prompt updates.
In sum, one of the main perks for military members that helps recruit to the all-volunteer force is the Post-9/11 GI Bill program, which has given more than $12 billion to nearly 800,000 students. However, the scheme has been plagued with errors and delays, with students having to wait an excessive amount of time to get money and it frequently being misallocated or wasted.
The VA Office of Inspector General examined the organization's actions after it made a number of adjustments, but it never repaired an automated system problem. The VA faces difficulties providing vastly increased services with poorly integrated systems, as seen by its failure to implement adjustments.
In a 2014 OIG study on the VA program, it was discovered that over half of the students either received money they weren't entitled to or encountered severe delays in receiving benefits. The U.S. Government Accountability Office determined in a separate investigation that the program overpaid students by $416 million just in 2014.
In addition, the bill, referred to as an omnibus, includes $17.4 billion for the FSRM funds, which are used by the services to pay for things like fixing moldy barracks. In addition, the omnibus includes $2 billion for privatized family housing on bases, which has had its own mold problems.
After the Senate likewise passed the measure on Thursday, the House passed it on a fairly partisan 225-201 vote on Friday, putting it to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature. The bill's passage prevents a government shutdown that would have started when the current financing for the government ran out at midnight.
And lastly,The Defense Department's Tricare health program will be managed by Humana Military and TriWest Healthcare Alliance under contracts that could total up to $136 billion over nine years.
The Defense Health Agency will also move six states from the East to the West Region as a result of the new contracts, which are scheduled to start in 2024. As a result, beneficiaries who reside in those areas will switch from Humana to TriWest.
With about 1.5 million beneficiaries moving to Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin, the DoD said that the shift will enable a more equitable balance of the beneficiary population. About 9.6 million beneficiaries, including active-duty people, some Reserve and National Guard members, military retirees, and family members, are served by the Tricare health program, which also manages referrals, customer service, claims processing, and other support services.
And that's the way it is for Tuesday, December 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!
