Death Benefits Rise

Senate, House leaders confer on emergency spending bill provisions to increase active duty SGLI and death gratuity and add traumatic injury rider, among other initiatives.

On April 28, House and Senate conferees met to begin negotiations to resolve the differences between the separate versions of the FY 2005 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill (H.R. 1268) passed by the two chambers. Negotiators had hoped to finish their work quickly, but at press time, the Senate had gone into recess until May 9.

The House and Senate versions remained about $2 billion apart, with the House adding more than the president requested for equipment for the Army and Marine Corps and the Senate adding $500 million more for survivor benefits but cutting funds in other areas.

Both versions would raise the death gratuity to $100,000 for some or all survivors of all servicemembers killed on active duty after the new law is enacted. Both bills also would raise maximum Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) coverage to $400,000 (versus the current $250,000). The Senate version would have the government pay the premiums for the first $150,000 in coverage for servicemembers serving in a combat zone.

Both the House and Senate plans have a retroactive provision that would pay a special death gratuity based on the new amounts to certain survivors of servicemembers killed after Oct. 7, 2001, the start of the war on terrorism. The House version would pay an additional $88,000 death gratuity to such survivors if the death was due to conditions incurred in Iraq or Afghanistan. The Senate would pay the additional $88,000 to survivors of almost all servicemembers killed after Oct. 7, 2001. The added $88,000 would make up the difference between the $12,000 already paid and the new $100,000 limit.

The House also would provide an additional $150,000 to the survivors of servicemembers who died “in performance of military duty” since Oct. 7, 2001. The Senate version would pay the extra $150,000 only if the servicemember were killed as a result of combat, training for combat, hazardous duty, or an instrumentality of war.

The intent of the $150,000 payment is to make the SGLI increase retroactive for this group. Since SGLI coverage can’t be purchased for someone who already is deceased, the Pentagon would pay the amount as a special death gratuity. The Senate version also would:

• express the (nonbinding) sense of Congress that DoD should pay full concurrent receipt to disabled servicemembers rated “unemployable” by the VA;
• provide federal civilian employees who are mobilized reservists the difference between their federal pay and military compensation (this would be part of their civilian pay, not their military pay, and would be comparable to what some civilian employers already do for their mobilized employees);
• authorize family travel to visit servicemembers hospitalized in the United States; and
• authorize a traumatic-injury rider to SGLI that would pay up to $100,000 for loss of various physical capabilities.

TFL Under Fire

MOAA speaks out against attacks on health benefits.

On April 14 New York Times article headlined “A New Call To Arms: Military Health Care” (www.moaa.org/legislative/41405nyt.asp) made the case that the growing cost of TRICARE For Life (TFL) will create growing pressures on the defense budget in the “people vs. things” cost debate.

The article quoted DoD leaders and certain others in and out of government as claiming that the rising cost of health care could crowd out other defense needs.

But it also quoted Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-Va.) and MOAA Director of Government Relations Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF-Ret., making the other side of the case: The defense budget needs to be increased to meet government obligations for both hardware and personnel — including TFL.

We’ll say again what we’ve said before: If the administration will submit a budget to Congress requesting funds to cover both needs, Congress will fund them. The chairmen of both the Senate and House armed services committees have called for larger defense budgets.

If DoD or the OMB is requiring trade-offs of any other defense needs to meet military health care costs, that’s not right. It’s not the intent of Congress, and it’s certainly not military retirees’ fault.

TFL was authorized only five years ago because Congress recognized that military retirees had earned and deserved Medicare-supplement coverage that previously had been denied to them. Rising health care costs are not unique to the military; it’s a continuing issue for the entire country. But the U.S. government should be a model employer, not a backsliding one, especially when it comes to those who spent decades of service and sacrifice defending the United States through multiple hot and cold wars.

Those who contend there’s no readiness return on spending money to treat retirees and survivors fairly have disturbingly short memories. It wasn’t that long ago that the Joint Chiefs of Staff were urging Congress to fix retiree health inequities because they were hurting active duty retention. TFL is a health benefit earned by years of service and sacrifice, and MOAA will fight to protect it.

COLA Watch

Inflation ticks up, but COLA still looks modest.

On April 20, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the March value for the CPI, which is the metric used to calculate the annual COLA for military retired pay, VA disability compensation, survivor annuities, and Social Security.

After small increases in the CPI during the winter, inflation has continued to rise slowly this year. The March CPI grew 0.7 percent above February, but remains only 1.9 percent above last year’s COLA baseline.

We won’t know the final COLA until mid-October. MOAA will continue to provide updates periodically through the summer and fall

MOAA Staff Transitions

Key lobbyist moves up and MOAA adds new talent.

Col. Mike Jordan, USAF-Ret., deputy director of MOAA’s Government Relations Department since 2000, has been selected to serve as MOAA’s new director of Contract Services and Marketing. As MOAA’s principal lobbyist for active duty and retiree compensation issues, Jordan played a key role in winning concurrent receipt for disabled retirees, as well as enhanced pay raises, homeowner capital gains tax relief, upgraded relocation allowances, and voting rights protections for the active duty force, among many other accomplishments. Now, MOAA will take even greater advantage of his leadership and planning skills in his important new position.

Col. Mike Hayden, USAF-Ret., will fill Jordan’s position as of July 1, upon completion of a 25-year military career in air and space operations, personnel, recruiting, training, and education. Hayden’s most recent duty assignments were in the Pentagon, as chief of the Military Personnel Policy Division, HQ USAF, and as chief, Personnel Services Division for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In the latter position, he worked with MOAA in winning Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) coverage for survivors of servicemembers killed on active duty. He also has commanded an Air Force recruiting squadron and compiled 2,800 flying hours as a B-52 navigator/weapons systems officer. MOAA is pleased and fortunate to welcome him to the government relations team.

Nelson Writes White House

SBP champ asks president to help end SBP-DIC offset.

Senate Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) champion Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) has sent President George W. Bush a letter urging his support in ending the unfair SBP-Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) offset that affects thousands of military widows. The issue was one of several survivors’ issues raised by a group of widows who met with the president during a visit to Fort Hood, Texas.

Under current law, military survivors’ SBP entitlement is offset dollar-for-dollar by the DIC annuity paid by the VA when the death was caused by military service — currently $993 a month. The unfair practice hit home with the widows of the war on terrorism at Fort Hood, and they let the president know it.

Nelson’s letter to the White House noted that his bill, S. 185, would fix the SBP-DIC offset and sought support for his amendment to include this fix in the FY 2005 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act. Nelson’s amendment was ruled “non-germane” under expedited rules adopted by the Senate to speed action on the supplemental funding bill.

Despite that temporary setback, work continues on building cosponsor support for the legislation. Twenty-one cosponsors now are on board S. 185, nearly double the number for a similar bill in the 108th Congress. In the House, companion bills H.R. 808 (Rep. Henry Brown, R-S.C.) and H.R. 968 (Rep. Jim Saxton, R-N.J.) also are ahead of last year’s cosponsorship numbers.

To help build momentum on these issues, please call your legislators using MOAA’s toll-free Capitol Hill hot line at (877) 762-8762. You also can send your senators and representative an MOAA-suggested message by visiting MOAA’s Web site.
 

VA Disability Commission Gears Up

First meeting scheduled for May; report due in 2006.

The National Defense Authorization Act for 2004 (P.L. 108-136) established the Veterans Disability Benefits Commission. Its charter is to conduct a study of the benefits under U.S. law “to compensate and assist veterans and their survivors for disabilities and deaths attributable to military service.” Defense bill conferees agreed nearly two years ago to establish the commission in connection withtheir approval of concurrent receipt legislation and upgrades to the combat-
related special compensation program.

Of the 13 members of the commission, seven must hold a valor decoration of the Silver Star or higher. To date, 11 members have been appointed. Appointee Thomas Harvey recently resigned to become a senior policy advisor to VA Secretary Jim Nicholson; another appointee passed away last year and a replacement hasn’t been named.

Lt. Gen. James T. Scott, USA-Ret., was appointed to the commission by President George W. Bush and will chair the panel. In order of appointment, the other members of the commission are: Rick Surratt of Virginia; Vice Adm. Dennis V. McGinn, USN-Ret.; Charles Joeckel of Washington, D.C.; Nick B. Bacon of Arkansas; Donald M. Cassiday of Indiana; Lt. Cmdr. Jennifer Carroll, USN-Ret.; John H. Grady of Texas; Maj. Gen. James Livingston, USMC-Ret.; Col. Larry Brown, USA-Ret.; and Joe Wynn of Washington, D.C.

The commission must report to the president and Congress within 15 months of its first meeting on May 9-10. In conducting its work, the commission will evaluate and assess the laws and regulations that determine eligibility for disability and death benefits; assess compensation rates for such benefits based on average impairment of earning capacity; and compare federal disability benefits with those provided by state governments and the private sector.

Representatives of MOAA and several other military and veterans’ organizations are scheduled to testify before the commission in May.

VA Issues on the Hill

MOAA testifies before veterans’ committees.

On April 14, Col. Bob Norton, USA-Ret., and Cmdr. John Class, USN-Ret., deputy directors of MOAA’s Government Relations Department, testified before a joint hearing of the House and Senate veterans’ affairs committees on MOAA’s legislative priorities for veterans’ health care and benefits.

Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) and Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), newly appointed chairmen of the House and Senate veterans’ affairs committees, respectively, presided. Other groups also presented their legislative agenda for veterans, including AMVETS, one of MOAA’s partners in The Military Coalition.

Class addressed a number of VA health care issues, urging the committees to:

• fully fund the VA Health Care System to meet a rising demand and ensure appropriate access standards are met;
• renew efforts with the armed services committees to direct and oversee a concerted DoD and VA effort to ensure full and timely implementation of seamless transition activities, including a bidirectional electronic medical record, an electronic service separation document, and enhanced post-deployment health screening; and
• expand mental health care services for veterans, their families, and their survivors, including training programs to help individuals know when to seek professional help. Norton urged the committees to:
• fix the VA claims processing system (there continue to be problems with consistency among the regional offices, initial accuracy, and inefficiencies in processing claims);
• raise the Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) policy limit to $400,000 and increase the military death gratuity to $100,000 to cover all deaths since Oct. 7, 2001, deemed to be “in the line of duty”;
• place all active duty and Guard and Reserve Montgomery GI Bill authorities under a single part of the U.S. Code — Title 38 — so reserve benefits can be adjusted in proportion to changes in active duty benefits; and
• hold a hearing to assess the need for further improvements to reemployment rights rules for mobilized reservists and to revisit the financial and legal protections available under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

New Bills

Legislators propose additional benefit upgrades.

New legislation offered in recent weeks is aimed at correcting inequities affecting disabled veterans and their survivors, among others. Following is a summary of selected bills of importance to MOAA members.

• H.R. 2076 (Rep. Mike Bilirakis, R-Fla.) would expand existing concurrent receipt eligibility to phase out the disability offset over 10 years for members with 40 percent and lesser rated disabilities. It also would require full, immediate concurrent receipt payments to otherwise qualifying members rated as “unemployable” by the VA.
   
• H.R. 1594 (Rep. Jeb Bradley, R-N.H.) would authorize chiropractic care as a benefit for all TRICARE beneficiaries. Currently, chiropractic care is authorized under Medicare but not TRICARE.
   
• H.R. 1462 (Rep. Mike Bradley, R-Fla.) would allow the survivors of servicemembers who died of service-connected causes to retain eligibility for VA-paid Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) if they remarry after age 55. Currently, the DIC age limit is 57, even though all other federal survivor annuity programs set such eligibility at age 55.
   
• H.R. 1220 (Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind.) would authorize an annual COLA for disabled veterans and DIC widows. Unlike other federal annuity programs, VA COLAs require annual legislation.
   
• S. 487/H.R. 1373 (Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb./Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Calif.) would allow a member of the armed forces adopting a child in a qualifying child adoption 21 days of leave in connection with the adoption. A qualifying child adoption is one in which the member is eligible for reimbursement of qualified adoption expenses.

Use MOAA’s Web site (http://capwiz.com/moaa/issues/bill) to check the status of key bills and urge your legislators’ support.

Third Rx

Tier is Here DoD takes next steps to implement pharmacy copayment adjustments.

DoD has announced the start of the uniform formulary program, placing three medications on the third tier (more expensive) “non-formulary” category. Starting July 17, the following medications will require a $22 copayment:

• Nexium for stomach problems and ulcers,
• Teveten and Teveten HCT for high blood pressure.

Depending on where the prescription is filled, beneficiaries will pay $22 for a 30-day supply of these medications from a TRICARE Retail Pharmacy (TRRx) or a 90-day supply from the TRICARE Mail-Order Pharmacy (TMOP). In non-network retail pharmacies, the copayment will be $22 or 20 percent of the cost, whichever is higher. Third-tier drugs will not be stocked in military treatment facility (MTF) pharmacies, but can be special-ordered if an MTF physician (or a non-MTF physician to whom the patient was referred) determines they are medically necessary for a particular patient.

Beneficiaries who are taking Nexium, Teveten, or Teveten HCT should check with their doctors to see if a less-costly medication would be equally effective. Providers who believe there is a valid medical reason why a patient must take the non-formulary third tier medication can request a medical-necessity determination.

Beneficiaries who already have established medical necessity for Nexium with the TMOP system must get another medical-necessity determination by July 17 to continue receiving the medication at the $9 copayment. Beneficiaries without an updated medical-necessity determination will have to pay the $22 cost share.

Hill Leaders Tout Agenda

MOAA supports GI Bill of Rights for the 21st Century.

House and Senate minority leaders invited MOAA and others to participate in April events highlighting military and veterans’ issues. As a non-partisan organization, MOAA attends such events when we are invited by either side of the aisle as an opportunity to present the issues that are of interest to our members.

MOAA Director of Government Relations Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF-Ret., and Deputy Director Col. Bob Norton, USA-Ret., represented MOAA at a press conference on Capitol Hill in mid-April, when House Democratic leaders introduced their proposed “GI Bill of Rights for the 21st Century.”

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), along with Reps. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) and Lane Evans (D-Ill.) and Gen. Wesley Clark, USA-Ret., introduced the initiative. Skelton is the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee and Evans is the ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

The GI Bill of Rights for the 21st Century would:

• eliminate the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP)-Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) offset (referred to as the “Military Families Tax” at the press conference);
• extend fee-based TRICARE to all members of the National Guard and Reserve and their families;
• increase VA health funding by $3.2 billion over the administration’s budget request;
• eliminate the “Disabled Veterans Tax” (authorize full concurrent receipt);
• authorize a $1,000 bonus for those who have served in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan); and
• increase educational and job training benefits under the GI Bill.

“Just as soldiers leave no one behind on the battlefield, we will leave no veteran behind once they’ve come home,” Pelosi said.

Some bills already address a number of the initiatives, including the SBP-DIC offset (S. 185, H.R. 808) and TRICARE for the Guard and Reserve (S. 337, S. 32, H.R. 558).

MOAA President Vice Adm. Norbert R. Ryan Jr., USN-Ret., Norton, and more than a dozen other organization representatives also met with Senate Democratic Steering Committee leaders at the Capitol in late April. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), chair of the Steering Committee, and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) invited participants to present their views on VA health care funding, including mental health needs for returning veterans, support for servicemembers, and other concerns.
Sens. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) also participated.

Ryan said there was an urgent need to increase the Army’s and Marine Corps’ strength to relieve enormous pressure on the all-volunteer force. He warned that the force was in danger of “sliding into a ditch” if action is not taken. Ryan also thanked Clinton and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) for sponsoring legislation to extend fee-based TRICARE to all members of the National Guard and Reserve and urged helping surviving spouses of the war on terrorism by eliminating the SBP-DIC offset.

Murray said there was a “train wreck” coming in the VA health care system due to a shortage of funds to treat thousands of new veterans from the war on terrorism and to maintain commitments to veterans of earlier conflicts. Murray earlier had sponsored an unsuccessful amendment to earmark $2 billion for VA care from the FY 2005 emergency supplemental funding measure.

Michael M. Faenza, president and CEO of the National Mental Health Association, urged increases to mental health services for returning combat veterans, noting there is a need for “stigma busting” over PTSD and other mental health conditions in the military and veterans’ community.

Other initiatives discussed included improving support services for military families (especially the Guard and Reserve), implementing “seamless transition” initiatives for separating servicemembers, and fixing the VA claims system.

— Contributors are Col. Steve Strobridge, usaf-Ret., director; Col. Lee Lange, USMC-Ret.; Col. Bob Norton, USA-Ret.; Sue Schwartz, DBA, RN; Cmdr. René Campos, USN-Ret.; Cmdr. John Class, USN-Ret.; Cynthia Dougherty; and Maria Tutino, MOAA’s Government Relations Department