TREA: The ENLISTED ASSN

FROM WASHINGTON

NEWS FOR THE ENLISTED

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1) Medically Separated Vets Have Options-Veterans who were medically separated from military service between September 11, 2001 and December 31, 2009 have some recourse if they feel they unfairly received a too-low disability rating from the military.

The Physical Disability Board of Review (PDBR) will reassess the accuracy and fairness of the combined disability ratings assigned to servicemembers who were discharged as unfit for continued military service by the military departments with a combined disability rating of 20 percent or less.

Once a review is complete, the PDBR forwards their recommendation to the respective Service Secretary where it is up to the individual service branch to make the final determination on whether to change the original disability determination. Nearly half of the board applicants have received upgrades to 30% or more, which would make them eligible for a military medical retirement, retiree pay, access to military healthcare and other benefits.

Since the PDBR began reviewing its first cases in June 2009, only 3,000 veterans have applied of the roughly 75,000 eligible veterans. To encourage greater applications, later this month the VA and the Pentagon plan to begin sending letters to thousands of Post-9/11 eligible veterans.

If you know of any medically separated vets, PLEASE HELP spread the word. Most of these wounded warriors won't otherwise know about this important option to correct a possible wrong that happened to them years ago during their medical evaluation process.

More information on how to apply is at: www.health.mil/pdbr.

2) VA’s New Regulation Enlarges Emergency Civilian Health Care Policy-Yesterday the VA issued a Press Release (please see below) explaining new regulations that grant the VA the power to “pay for care provided to eligible Veterans at non-VA facilities until the Veterans can be safely transferred to a VA medical facility.” This could cover 100,000 veterans.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE      

January 12, 2012

VA Announces Changes to Emergency Care Payment Policy

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs announced today a change in regulations regarding payments for emergency care provided to eligible Veterans in non-VA facilities.

“This provision helps ensure eligible Veterans continue to get the emergency care they need when VA facilities are not available,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.

The new regulation extends VA’s authority to pay for emergency care provided to eligible Veterans at non-VA facilities until the Veterans can be safely transferred to a VA medical facility.

More than 100,000 Veterans are estimated to be affected by the new rules, at a cost of about $44 million annually.

VA operates 121 emergency departments across the country, which provide resuscitative therapy and stabilization in life-threatening situations. They operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. VA also has 46 urgent care units, which provide care for patients without scheduled appointments who need immediate medical or psychiatric attention.

For more information about emergency care in non-VA facilities, visit www.nonvacare.va.gov.

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3) New Contractor and Benefits for TRICARE Dental Program (TDP)-MetLife is now the official new contractor for the TRICARE Dental Program (TDP.) TDP is a voluntary premium based program for active duty family members and the Reserve Component. It is the largest dental program in the country with over 2 million covered lives in CONUS and OCONUS. 82.1% of all active duty families are enrolled. The premiums are supported by the government (60% government/40% enrollee payment.)

In January 2011 (yes a full year ago) DoD awarded the new contract to MetLife. The “incumbent contractor”, brought protests before both the GAO and the Federal Claims Court-but both actions were denied and the new contract will finally be stood up and care will start to be delivered by MetLife on May 1, 2012.

The benefit has been improved and the premiums lowered. The main improvements are that composite white fillings on back teeth will now be covered; the annual maximum payment will be $1300 (from the present ($1200), the orthodontic lifetime limit will increase to $1750 and there has been included a new and separate $1200 annual maximum for dental work needed because of an accident.

With these benefit improvements the premiums will drop from the present $31.72 a month for a single beneficiary ($12.69 service member/$19.03 government payment) and $79.30 a month for a family ($31.72 service member/$47.58 government payment) to $25.74 a month for a single beneficiary ($10.30 service member/ $15.44 government payment) and $77.22 a month for a family ($30.89 service member/$46.33 government payment.) It may not seem like a great deal of money but when was the last time you saw a drop in cost for any medical/dentistry cost??!!

The TRICARE Retiree Dental Plan is a completely separate dental plan. The benefits are similar but not exactly the same. The premiums are adjusted every October 1 and vary according to where the beneficiary lives. Presently in the DC area the monthly premium for a single beneficiary is $44.80 a month; for 2 people it is $87.14 a month and for a family of 3 or more it is $145.14 a month. But the most important difference is that there is no government contribution to the cost. 100% of the premium is paid by the beneficiary. For years TREA has been urging Congress and DoD to provide a subsidy to military retirees and we will continue to do so. Healthy teeth are crucially important to overall health of any person.

4) VA Creates New GI Bill Page-The VA has a one stop GI Bill page at http://www.gibill.va.gov/ where you can find all their GI education bill information. On this one site you can learn what the benefits are, see stories of veterans who have used or are using the benefits now, get information on how to select a school and apply online for the education benefits. You can also get information at the Post 9/11 GI Bill FACEBOOK page.

5) New Law Change Increases Insurance Coverage for Veterans Under the Age of 60-Veterans under the age of 60 who are presently covered under the Veterans Group Life Insurance program (VGLI) can now increase their amount of coverage to the current maximum amount under the Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) program. Under the Veterans’ Benefits Act of 2010, Veterans can increase their coverage by $25,000 at each five-year anniversary date of their policy to the current legislated maximum SGLI coverage (presently $400,000.) Prior to the statutory change when a member left the service he or she could convert their SGLI coverage to the VGLI coverage but were barred from having more VGLI coverage than the amount of SGLI they had at the time of separation from service. Now veterans can increase their coverage by $25,000 at each five-year anniversary date of their policy to the current legislated maximum SGLI coverage.

According to VA Under Secretary for Benefits Allison A. Hickey: “Currently, 70 percent of the Veterans covered under VGLI are under age 60, have less than $400,000 of coverage, and will greatly benefit from this law change.” 

The additional coverage can be issued regardless of the Veteran’s health. To be eligible to purchase this additional coverage, the veteran policy holder must:

• Have active VGLI coverage,
• Have less than the current legislated maximum coverage of $400,000,
• Request the additional coverage during the 120-day period prior to each five-year anniversary date, and 
• Be less than 60 years of age on the five-year anniversary date of his or her coverage. 

For more information go to www.va.gov or call 1-800-827-1000.

6) New Report Shows Veterans’ Homelessness Has Fallen-The Federal Homeless Assessment Report has shown a 12% drop in the number of homeless veterans between January 2010 and January 2012. The report found that on an average night in January 2010 there were 76,329 homeless vets in the U.S. while in January 2012 the number had dropped to 67,495. That is a drop of 8,834 veterans or 12%

Solving the homeless problem has been one of Secretary of Veteran Affairs Erik K. Shinseki’s primary goals. He responded to the report’s findings by saying: “We have been successful in achieving this milestone due to strong leadership from the president and hard work by countless community organizations and our federal, state and local partners who are committed to helping veterans and their families get back on their feet.” But then the Secretary added: “Our progress in the fight against homelessness has been significant, but our work is not complete until no veteran has to sleep on the street.”

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