South Central Florida ChapterHeartlander

April 2016South Central Florida Chapter of MOAA

P.O. Box 7841Sebring, FL 33872Chapter Officers

President: Mike Borders, tel. (h)863-402-8292;(c)703-795-8776Vice President: Ron Buckley, tel. 863-314-9716Treasurer, John Harbaugh, tel. 863-658-1192Secretary: Malcolm Johnson, tel. 863-242-9215Recruiting/Retention: Ed Gadbois, tel. 808-280-7773Legislative Affairs: Tom Nunnallee, tel. 863-446-0055Newsletter: Bob Brooks, tel. 863-471-6318Past President: Roy Whitton

Our next dinner/social with spouses/better halves/significant others: Date: 10 May 2016. Time: 6:30 p.m. Venue: Caddyshack. Guest Speakers: Florida State Senator Denise Grimsley and Representative Cary Pigman

Business Meeting, 1900hrs (7:00 PM), 13 April 2016. Venue: Veteran Services Office, 7209 South George Blvd., Sebring, FL 33875

President’s Message: Can you believe it is April? Wow!! Even more incredible is that our chapter now has a website of its own. Much more info than we could ever put in a newsletter can be found on the site (www.scfcmoaa.org). Hey, even the newsletter is on there! When you check out the website, look down the left side of the homepage for the different tabs, look at the calendar for upcoming events/locations/dates/times. Check out the photo gallery, pull down the newsletter for easy viewing, check out the latest in legislative news. In sum, there is a lot of info on the site. We are looking for ideas from you all. Please give us your feedback. We want the webpage to be informative, useful, and easy to use. Your inputs are essential.Our chapter continues to grow—we have added several new members in the last couple of months. Thanks to Pete Injasoulian and Charlie Martin for recruiting some of them. We need everyone to do what they can to bring in new members. Don’t forget, if you bring in five members during the year, your dues are waived for the following year.Taking action on legislative issues is essential. Please sign up for the legislative updates on the MOAA main webpage (www.moaa.org). This is the best way to keep informed. When you get the preprinted cards in the Military Officer magazine, make sure and fill them in and put them in the mail. Benefits we were promised are under attack. Not only does this affect us directly, but the active force sees our elected leaders breaking those promises. The impact on retention is significant. None of it is positive.I want to mention that we have some really good guest speakers lined up over the next several months. Of particular note are the dinner speakers for the May get together—we have both

President’s Message (Cont):Florida State Senator Denise Grimsley and Representative Cary Pigman. In July we will have a representative of the Sheriff’s office talk to us about computer security. Do you ever get e-mails you aren’t sure about? This will be an invaluable presentation. So we have the chance to hear from our Florida representatives and learn ways to protect your computer and avoid identity theft—don’t miss it.A special note: As we begin to experience warmer temperatures, we will begin to see some of our chapter’s Snowbirds starting to make the trek north. We are sorry to see you all go, hope you have safe journeys, and look forward to seeing you next autumn. See the chapter members at 1900 on the 13th at the VSO. Our own Ron Buckley is giving a presentation on the Florida State Troopers. Ron is an Auxiliary State Trooper. Maybe he can tell you how to avoid a ticket!!

April birthdays:4/10 Robert Cullom4/11 Wayne Carlton4/22 Craig Smith4/23 Thomas Mitchell

Editor’s Note: If your birthday is not recognized, it is because you did not include it on your application form. Please contact the Secretary, Malcolm Johnson at

MOAA’s Top 10 Goals for 2016

• Ensure any TRICARE reform sustains top-quality care• Prevent disproportional TRICARE fee hikes• Sustain military pay compatibility with the private sector• Block erosion of compensation and commissary benefits• Protect military retirement/COLAs• Sustain wounded warrior programs/expand caregiver

support• End disabled/survivor financial penalties• Credit Guard/Reserve call-ups for retirement purposes• Improve spouse and family support• Assure timely access to VA and eliminate claims backlog

TAKE ACTION!!

New Members:John LaneGordon WhiteCharles FillerLance Marine

Did You Know 2? Combat Veterans Get Telephonic Health Care Application Option  The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that it has amended its enrollment regulations to allow Veterans to complete applications for enrollment in VA health care by telephone without the need for a signed paper application. The change is effective immediately for Combat Veterans and will be effective July 5, 2016, for all Veterans.  This phased implementation accelerates VA’s effort to enroll all Combat Veterans with pending applications as part of its ongoing Veterans Enrollment Rework Project. The VA is working to complete the review and rework of all pending health enrollment records for living and deceased Veterans this summer. Veterans can view the amended regulation on the Federal Register website here.By adding this telephone application option to VA’s regulations, VA will now offer three ways to enroll.  This change provides Veterans an even more convenient way to apply for enrollment, in addition to the paper VA Form 10-10 EZ and online enrollment application process. When Veterans choose to enroll, VA offers an enhancement to their enrollment experience through “Welcome to VA” (W2VA).  Veterans enrolled since July 1, 2015 have received a personal introduction to VA health care services, programs and resources to help them become more familiar with VA’s services. In addition, VA sends each new enrollee an introductory letter and personalized handbook in the mail. W2VA enhances communication by reaching out to newly enrolled Veterans through personal phone calls upon enrollment, providing assistance with health care inquiries and assisting with their initial appointment at their preferred VA healthcare facility. For more information, Veterans can contact the Health Eligibility Center Enrollment and Eligibility Division toll free at 1-855-488-8440. You can also go to: http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/

Did You Know? (Cont.) out-of-network care without a referral would be subject to steep point-of-service fees: 50 percent of allowable charges after paying a $300/$600 deductible.  In addition, the DoD plan proposes charging all military retirees under age 65 an annual enrollment fee for participating in either TRICARE Prime or Standard. The Prime enrollment fee would rise to $350/$700 (single/family) vs. the current $283/$565.  The new enrollment fee for Standard would be even higher - $450/$900 (single/family) - plus the $300/$600 deductible for out-of-network care.Retiree copays and cost sharing also would apply to survivors (except those whose sponsors died on active duty) and TRICARE Young Adult beneficiaries with a retired sponsor.  TRICARE Select and TRICARE Retired Reserve beneficiaries would continue their current premium levels, and their deductible and cost-shares would be the same as proposed for TRICARE Standard.  Care in Military Treatment Facilities (MTF) would continue to be provided at no cost.  All fees, deductibles, and copays for all categories of beneficiaries would be increased annually by a national health care expenditure index, projected to rise over 5 percent annually. See this month's As I See It column for an assessment of the impact this would have over time.  Needless to say, MOAA believes this wide array of fee increases would impose disproportionate financial penalties on retired military beneficiaries.  In addition to our concerns about the fees, we want to see more details on how DoD plans to improve beneficiaries' timely access to quality care.- See more at: http://www.moaa.org/Content/Take-Action/Top-Issues/Retirees/New-TRICARE-Fees-Could-Be-Coming-to-You.aspx#sthash.YnIuJVBL.dpuf.

Did You Know? New TRICARE Fees Could Be Coming to You—THIS IS IMPORTANT. There is too much info to put in the newsletter. Please see the MOAA link: http://www.moaa.org/Content/Take-Action/Top-Issues/Retirees/New-TRICARE-Fees-Could-Be-Coming-to-You.aspx We'll start with TFL, which covers uniformed services beneficiaries age 65 and above, and certain other severely disabled retirees who are eligible for Medicare. The budget proposes future TFL-eligibles - specifically, those who become Medicare-eligible on or after Jan. 1, 2017 - would have to start paying an annual enrollment fee based on a percentage of the sponsor's retired pay.  Under this proposal, beneficiaries already enrolled in Medicare on Jan. 1, 2017 would be exempted from the new fee. (You can draw your own conclusions whether that exemption might be reconsidered in the future.) Chapter 61 retirees and survivors of service members who died on active duty also would be exempt from the new fee. The annual enrollment fee would start at 0.5 percent of gross retired pay in 2017, increasing to 2 percent of retired pay by 2021. In the first year, the fee would be capped at $150 for lower grades and $200 for retired flag and general officers. As the fee increased to 2 percent of retired pay over the next four years, those caps also would increase, reaching $632 and $842 annually in 2021.  MOAA is particularly concerned at this plan to means-test service-earned health care benefits. No other employer means-tests retired employees' health benefits.  MOAA objects to such means-testing, which would impose successively greater financial penalties for longer and more successful service. It is particularly inappropriate to seek to impose additional fees on TFL-eligibles for three other reasons:First, this population is already paying the highest fees of any military beneficiaries, as TFL requires enrolling in Medicare Part B and paying the associated premiums, which start at $2,500 per year for a married couple and can run far higher. Second, the expressed intent of Congress in enacting TFL was that Medicare Part B premiums would be the only enrollment fee for TFL, acknowledging that Medicare would be paying 80 percent of these beneficiaries' health costs. DoD and Hill leaders at the time opined that a career of service and sacrifice constituted a full, pre-paid premium for TFL coverage of the other 20 percent. Third, the Pentagon's costs for TFL have dropped dramatically - from $11 billion in FY11 to an estimated $6.4 billion in FY17, as Defense actuaries now have 15 years of actual experience with the program and can more accurately project program costs. Rather than “spiraling out of control,” DoD health costs for this group are spiraling downward - so why the need to charge them an additional fee?Retirees under age 65 will also see huge increases under the budget plan, with lots of fee and copay changes. Among the more complex changes are proposed cost-shares for various kinds of provider visits. TRICARE Prime enrollees would see some increases in fees for seeing civilian network providers. TRICARE Standard beneficiaries would pay flat fees (and would not have a deductible) if they see civilian providers in the network. If they see out-of-network providers, they would still pay 25 percent of TRICARE-allowed charges, but would see their current deductible doubled - from $150/$300 (single/family) to $300/$600. Prime beneficiaries who use

MOAA Membership is FREE!! Basic membership doesn’t cost a penny and can be done on line at www.moaa.org. Of course there are increased benefits and privileges with Regular or Life membership, and it is strongly encouraged.

The Heartlander is published monthly by members of the South Central Florida Chapter of Military Officers Association of America, P.O. Box 7841, Sebring, FL 33872. The Chapter is an apolitical and not-partisan, non-profit organization affiliated with National MOAA and the Florida Council of Chapters, MOAA, not associated with the Department of Defense. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of MOAA, the Florida Council of Chapters, the Chapter or DOD.

PURPOSES OF THE MILITARY OFFICERSASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) is a not-for-profit corporation that is operated exclusively to further the interests of the nation and its uniformed services personnel, their family members, and survivors.From the preamble to the Bylaws of The Military Officers Association of America

• To inculcate and stimulate love of country and flag;• To defend the honor, integrity, and supremacy of our

National• Government and the Constitution of the United States;• To advocate military forces adequate to the defense of

our country;• To foster the integrity and prestige of uniformed service;• To foster fraternal relations between all branches of the

various• Services from which our members are drawn;• To further the education of children of Service personnel;• To aid personnel of the Services from which our

members are• drawn, and their family members and survivors, in every

proper and• legitimate manner; and• To present their rights and interests when Service

matters are under considerationWe unite to form THE MILITARY OFFICERS

ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

Did You Know 3?VA Announces Community Care Call Center to Help Veterans with Choice Program Billing IssuesVeterans can now work directly with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to resolve debt collection issues resulting from inappropriate or delayed Choice Program billing. In step with MyVA’s efforts to modernize VA’s customer-focused, Veteran-centered services capabilities, a Community Care Call Center has been set up for Veterans experiencing adverse credit reporting or debt collection resulting from inappropriately billed Choice Program claims. Veterans experiencing these problems can call 1-877-881-7618 (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time) for assistance.The new call center will work to resolve instances of improper Veteran billing and assist community care medical providers with delayed payments.  VA staff are also trained and ready to work with the medical providers to expunge adverse credit reporting on Veterans resulting from delayed payments to providers. The VA is urging Veterans to continue working with their VA primary care team to obtain necessary health care services regardless of adverse credit reporting or debt collection activity.VA acknowledges that delayed payments and inappropriately billed claims are unacceptable and have caused stress for Veterans and providers alike.  The new call center is the first step in addressing these issues.  VA presented The Plan to Consolidate Community Care in October of 2015 that outlines additional solutions to streamline processes and improve timely provider payment.For more info about the Veterans Choice Program and VA’s progress, visit: www.va.gov/opa/choiceact. Veterans seeking to use the Veterans Choice Program can call1-866-606-8198 (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.Eastern Time) to find out more about the program, confirm their eligibility and schedule an appointment. Also see: http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2764.

Cadet James D. Frith of Lake Placid High School JROTC receiving his MOAA medal as this year’s award winner.

Mike Borders presents a MOAA travel tumbler to our March guest speaker, Jim Brooks, Chair of the Highlands County Commission.