VIRGINIA PENINSULA chapter of MOAA (VIPMOAA)

 

 

Please let me share a great concern with you that I currently harbor.  I joined the Air Force in 1955, and have been on either the active duty (60% of that time) or the retired military rolls since then.  At no time during that period can I recall a time when our military establishment was under such scrutiny for budget reductions and our hard earned benefits subject to curtailment as at present. 

 

 

 

 

SEE RECENT STATE LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES & ISSUES on this website, at this link http://vipmoaa.org/legislative/statelegislation.html 

 

 

The White House released details of its personnel and healthcare budget proposals on Monday, and they confirmed pretty much what MOAA had predicted.  All told, the TRICARE fee proposals envision shifting about $13 billion in health costs from the Pentagon to retirees over the next 5 years. The changes would phase in significant fee hikes for nearly every segment of the military population, including retirees of all ages, drilling Guard and Reserve members, and currently serving family members.TRICARE Prime annual enrollment fees for retired families (currently $520) would rise as high as $820 starting October 1, 2012, and rise to as much as $2,048 within five years, with fees based on military retired pay amount.TRICARE Standard beneficiaries would start paying a $140 annual family enrollment fee and a slightly increased deductible ($320) starting Oct 1, with the enrollment fee and deductible rising to $250 and $580, respectively within 5 years. These would be flat fees for all Standard beneficiaries. Retirees and family members age 65 and older would start paying an annual TRICARE For Life (TFL) enrollment fee of up to $135 per person starting this Oct. 1. This fee also would be graduated based on retired pay amount, and would rise to as much as $475 per year within 5 years.  Pharmacy co-pays for retail and mail-order brand-name medications would more than double.  Please use MOAA website to urge your legislators to oppose disproportional health fee increases for military beneficiaries.

 

Welcome Four New Members    Total Members:  360

 

 

Only 35 to 40 percent of the subscribers to MOAA’s weekly Legislative Updates open them.  I am proud of VIPMOAA as a chapter and think we can do better than this.  If you are not a subscriber to the weekly Legislative Updates, please visit www.moaa.org/email or email msc@moaa.org to sign up.  Also, please take action on MOAA legislative alerts when you see them.  The March Military Officer had four tear out letters to sign and send to ranking House and Senate Budget Committee members.  Please sign and send them.  We really need to exercise our “One Powerful Voice” now to prevent drastic measures that threaten our national defense and earned benefits. 

 

 

RICHMOND—According to the Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS), the number of veterans’ compensation and pension disability claims approved by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in FY11 increased more than seven percent.DVS assists veterans and their families with applying for benefits at the federal, state, and local levels.  Of the 28,000 claims submitted by the agency in FY11, the VA approved 12,063 claims for Virginia veterans represented by DVS.  The agency estimates the dollar value of these awards at $154.1 million annually. Developing a solid claim for VA benefits is more than a matter of completing the application.  Supporting documents, sometimes decades old, must be retrieved from federal and state archives.  The process is labor-intensive.  A DVS representative may spend an hour interviewing a veteran, but then spend 20 hours or more finding records and completing the necessary supporting documentation. If approved by the VA, a claim results in two types of awards:  monthly compensation based on the level of disability and a retroactive award back to the claim date.  While most retroactive (or retro) awards are relatively small, some exceed $50,000 and can even reach six-figures.  In FY11, the VA granted 193 awards ranging from $50,000 to well over $400,000 to Virginia veterans.  In total, 2,534 retro awards were granted totaling $57.6 million.DVS Office locations, including a Hampton office, are listed at www.VirginiaforVeterans.com.  All claims services are free. 

In addition to assisting veterans with submitting claims for benefits, DVS coordinates the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program.

 

 

 

 

 

District 1 Congressman, Rob Wittman, at center, shown with VIPMOAA President Frank Duckett and a past president, Melva Mallison, at Wittman’s district office on the peninsula.  Duckett and Mallison participated in the congressman’s Veterans Advisory Council meeting, 21 Feb 2012.