MOAA LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

September 5, 2003:

Issue 1: Beware Invasive DoD Retiree Survey

In mid-August, the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) mailed out a new survey instrument to an unknown number of military retirees. MOAA has obtained a copy of the survey. The survey probes the retiree community to reveal information on a wide range of subjects-some good, some bad, and some downright ugly. Consider these:

In 2002, how much did you earn, including bonuses and overtime pay, from your principal employer before taxes and deductions?

In 2002, how much income did you receive from the following sources: stocks or bonds, paid up life insurance, IRAs, savings, annuities, estate or trust payments, or rental income from property?

In 2002, how much income did you receive in supplemental security income, unemployment insurance, civilian or military disability, worker's compensation, GI Bill, Food Stamps, Aid to Families with Dependent Children or welfare, and child support or alimony?

The survey asks for the same information on spouse income.

MOAA is deeply disappointed and troubled by this unseemly effort and we strongly recommend that military retirees refrain from answering those questions that pertain to their personal finances.

September 12, 2003:

Issue 1: Medicare Therapy Caps Go Into Effect

Back in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Congress reduced the limits on how much Medicare could pay for these services. But every year since, Congress has delayed action to implement the lower caps. This year, Congress missed the September 1 deadline for passing another extension, despite multiple warnings.

For more information on the therapy caps, go to www.apta.org/govt_affairs/cap_resourcectr.

Issue 2: Don't Bill Hospitalized Wounded for Food Costs

For years, service members have been billed a subsistence charge during periods of hospitalization, because they're considered to be furnished government meals.

Rep. Bill Young (R-FL), Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, was incensed to learn that this is even true for troops who are hospitalized for combat wounds. He has introduced a bill (H.R. 2998) to exempt such members from paying for meals received in a military hospital. The bill, if enacted, would apply to current active duty members injured in combat, hazardous duty, war games and certain other conditions.

Hospitalized troops face a charge of $8 per day for their meals. In the course of a lengthy stay, this figure can amount to hundreds of dollars upon their discharge from the hospital.

Although service members receive the Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) as a part of their monthly pay, they're not always charged when they're provided government meals. For example, troops deployed on contingency operations aren't charged for meals even though they receive BAS. If other members of a wounded soldier's combat unit don't have to pay for their food (and we agree they shouldn't), why should the wounded member?

MOAA strongly supports H.R. 2998, and we hope Chairman Young will use his influence to secure quick passage.

September 19, 2003:

Issue 3: What's Still on the Table?

H.R. 1588 -- the FY2004 Defense Authorization Act -- is still pending House and Senate conference action. As mentioned above, the final bill should include substantive measures to improve health care delivery for TRICARE Standard beneficiaries. Other issues to be resolved include:

Authority for concurrent receipt of retired pay and VA disability compensation

Authority for eligible disabled Guard and Reserve retirees to participate in the Combat-Related Special Compensation program

2004 uniformed services pay raise and long-term pay comparability principles

Health care options for drilling Guard and Reserve members

Eligibility of Gray Area Reserve retirees for federal long-term care insurance

Hazardous Duty Pay and Family Separation Allowance rate adjustments

Survivor Benefit Plan coverage for Reserve members who die while on inactive-duty for training status.

S. 1/H. 1 -- the Prescription Drug and Medicare Improvement Act of 2003 -- also is pending House and Senate conference action. In addition to the larger prescription drug authority provisions that have been in the news, the conferees need to resolve proposals to:

H.R. 1307 -- the Armed Services Tax Fairness Act -- has been pending House and Senate conference action since last spring. The somewhat less-favorable House version also was included in the House-passed H.R. 1308, the All-American Tax Relief Act of 2003, the much broader child tax-credit bill that is also pending separate conference action. Issues to be resolved include:

September 26, 2003:

Issue 1: Concurrent Receipt Update

This was an important week for current and future disabled retirees and veterans. This week brought increased pressure on Congress to find a concurrent receipt fix.

On Tuesday, 23 Sep, a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing put a stake in the heart of a behind-the-scenes effort to make no-notice cutbacks in VA disability compensation eligibility criteria for future veterans.

Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) summed up the hearing with the comment, "The witnesses have made an overwhelming case that this is a bad idea, and I'm with you." Specter said he had written a letter to Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-VA), urging him and his committee to reject the House leadership's idea. Subsequently, House sources indicated the concept already had been dropped, though some proposal for a more measured and formal review of disability rules may still be offered.

Also this week, Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) became the 203rd signer of Rep. Jim Marshall's (D-GA) concurrent receipt discharge petition. In doing so, Jones courageously joined Rep. Thomas Tancredo (R-CO) as the only two Republicans to defy their leadership's "death penalty" threat for any Republican representative who signs the petition. Only fifteen more signatures will force a floor vote in the House, but the other 183 Republicans who have cosponsored the main concurrent receipt bill (H.R. 303) have yet to step forward.

Meanwhile, House and Senate Armed Services Committees were working feverishly on possible concurrent receipt options. Several possible scenarios have been outlined in news media this week, but nothing's been decided. One Hill source told us, "We're costing out new options every hour or so."

Please help keep the pressure on by:

a. Urging House members to sign the concurrent receipt discharge petition (send an email via MOAA's Web site at http://capwiz.com/moaa/home/), and

b. Using MOAA's toll-free hot line to Congress (1-877-762-8762) to urge your senators and

representatives to ensure concurrent receipt is included in the FY2004 Defense Authorization Bill (H.R. 1588).

Issue 2: Defense Appropriations Goes to President

On Thursday, the Senate approved the FY2004 Defense Appropriations Act by a vote of 95-0, following a 407-15 House vote on Wednesday. All indications are that the President will sign it.

The Appropriations bill comes in at a total cost of $368.2 billion, a figure only slightly different from earlier proposals. The bill moved quickly through both chambers, in part because President Bush insisted it be given high priority. Most of the other appropriations bills will not be completed until after the start of the fiscal year on October 1, so Hill leaders are preparing a continuing resolution to fund the government on a temporary basis until the other bills are finished.

It's important to note that the Defense Appropriations Bill is not the vehicle for military benefits changes like concurrent receipt and improvements to TRICARE. Those will have to wait for the Defense Authorization Bill. On the bright side, a finished appropriations bill puts pressure on the Defense Authorization Bill conferees, who are ordinarily supposed to finish first.

Issue 3: CBO Study Misses Mark

This week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a study of the growth in military health care spending over the past fifteen years. The study says the military health care budget has grown from $14.6 billion in 1988 to $27.2 billion today. CBO uses these numbers to claim that health spending "per active-duty service member" has tripled, from $6,600 to $19,600.

That's a bogus statistic that's been taken out of context in national news stories. First of all, it attributes retiree health care costs to active duty members, which makes no sense at all.

Second, it's skewed by changes in active duty and retiree demographics that are driven by the Department of Defense's own policy decisions.

Third, the 2003 budget numbers are inflated by recent changes in government accounting methods introduced with enactment of TRICARE For Life. While the newly required health care trust fund deposits appear in DoD's budget, this isn't a real expenditure. It's just an accounting mechanism to recognize health costs that will be incurred many decades in the future after current active duty members attain Medicare eligibility.

The CBO study acknowledges that:

This bogus active duty cost assessment would hardly be worth noting if CBO weren't using it as an excuse to propose options to cut health care spending-almost all at the expense of the beneficiary.

The CBO report has the effect of blaming service members and retirees for cost increases that were driven by the government's own decisions, then uses that false implication to justify proposals to take huge amounts of money out of service members' pockets.



MOAA Benefits Information Update - September 2003

1. Contribute to the MOAA Scholarship Fund through CFC

When you receive your contribution form for the 2003 Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), look for the Military Officers Association of America Scholarship Fund, #2142. MOAA's Scholarship Fund provides interest-free loans and grants to children of officer and enlisted personnel.

The Fund has helped nearly 7,500 students achieve their dream of a college education since it was established 55 years ago. 100% of contributions are used for interest-free loans and grants. MOAA pays all operating expenses and overhead costs. More than 99% of the loans are repaid, so your gift is recycled to the next student.

2. Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) Processing Update

Services have received recent guidance from DoD to only pay for the combat related disability at this time and not pay for unemployability or other special monthly compensation. This guidance may be revisited in the near future. The current guidance should help clear applications that had been awaiting that decision. MOAA hopes the Congress takes up the Concurrent Receipt issue during the remainder of this legislative session.

For additional information and a copy of the application form, go to https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/crsc/

3. Blood Still Needed to Support Service members in Need

Though major combat actions have ended in Iraq, blood is still needed to support those who remain and those engaged in Operation Enduring Freedom. In addition to supporting the needs of military members and their families at home, the Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP) is responsible for supplying blood to soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines and Coast Guardsmen deployed worldwide. Having enough blood in forward areas can make the difference between life and death for those injured in the line of duty. The ASBP needs continuing donor support to make

sure the men and women who serve receive the best care possible.

Some confusion exists over who is able to donate. Information explaining donor eligibility is available on the ASBP Web site http:

//www.tricare.osd.mil/asbpo/donor_info/deferral.htm

Those with additional questions about eligibility should contact their local blood donor center. An online directory of blood donor centers is available at http://www.

tricare.osd.mil/asbpo/donor_info/donor_centers.htm

If you'd like to donate blood or sponsor a group blood drive, contact your local blood donor center to make arrangements.

"American pride flows through us all. Donate blood."

4. Tricare Contracts Awarded

In late August, DOD announced the award of TRICARE contracts to Health Net Federal Services, Rancho Cordova, Calif.; Humana Military Healthcare Services, Louisville, Ky.; and TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corp., Phoenix, Ariz. To read the entire press release, visit http://www.

defenselink.mil/releases/2003/nr20030821-0387.html

5. Fact Sheets Cover Varied TRICARE Topics

A series of fact sheets have been written to help anyone who needs detailed information on particular TRICARE topics.

Beneficiaries, beneficiary counseling and assistance coordinators, customer service representatives and others responsible for explaining or understanding TRICARE are encouraged to print out and save all the Fact Sheets to assist with questions or issues at hand, or to use for future reference.

All of the Fact Sheets reflect the most current information, and print versions are available at the bottom of each fact sheet.

TRICARE Fact Sheets covering the following topics are currently available at http:

//www.tricare.osd.mil/factsheets/index.cfm?fx=show:



MOAA's Member Services Update - September 2003

TRAVEL TIPS

* Airlines Modify an Unpopular Policy

American Airlines recently became the first major airline to change their policy and allow travelers who purchase non-refundable tickets to change their plans and keep the ticket's full value for at least a year. To keep the value, passengers must cancel their trip before the flight departure and pay a fee (about $100) for domestic flights. Now passengers will no longer have to reschedule their flight before departure or lose their ticket.

Most major airlines have followed American's lead and adopted similar policies.

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* FREE Admission for Active Military To Disneyland and Disney World

Email MOAA Vacations@moaavacations.com for complete details. Please include Disney in the subject line.

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* When looking for the best cruise bargain, size does matter!

Reduced rates for single travelers are also available.

Go to moaavacations.com/military/default.htm for a complete list of reduced military rate cruises.

SHOPPING CENTER - Picks of the Month

* Dell Member Purchase Program!

Take advantage of MOAA's 10% discount on new Dell desktop and notebook PC's.

Go to www.moaa.org/Dell.asp to see September's specials on Dimension and Inspiron systems. (Make sure you use the MOAA Dell Coupon Code - 3B38103FC16F - during checkout.)

Dell's sales representatives are also available at 800-293-3492 to help you configure your system. To receive a full 10% discount make sure you identify yourself as an MOAA member when ordering.

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* MOAA Wireless

Looking for a new or replacement wireless plan. Let your fingers do the walking by using the MOAA Wireless. It's your one source for wireless phones from the top names, including Nokia, Motorola and Sony Ericsson, plus calling plans from leading carriers, including AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless, Nextel, T-Mobile and others. Choose the plan to fit your lifestyle, and get all this from MOAA Wireless:

FREE Digital Phone, Hands-Free Kit, Belt Clip, In-Car Charger, FREE Shipping and Handling and guaranteed lowest calling plan prices.

Go to www.inphonic.com/r.asp?r=troa for more information and to order, or call MOAA Wireless at (800) 300-7066. Please use reference code #16845.

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*MOAA Holiday Cards - It's not too early to order!

You can preview MOAA's beautiful selection of 2003 Holiday Greeting Cards on the Web. Each special image has been carefully chosen to appeal to those who support MOAA.

With each box of cards you purchase, will help the children of military personnel receive the education they deserve.

Cards come 25 to a box with FREE imprinting, FREE address labels, FREE festive holiday seals and an unconditional guarantee. Go to www.holidaycardcenter.org/moaa2 to purchase now.

MOAA EXCHANGE

Your source for distinctive clothing and gifts

Check out MOAA's great new products in the MOAA Exchange.

Get ready for the cool autumn weather with distinctive MOAA Ashworth jackets and Gear windshirts.

Visit the MOAA Exchange at

www.targetlogosonline.com/moaa/ to see our unique line of merchandise or call 866-663-6622 to place an order.