NAUS Weekly Update for January 11, 2008

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National Association
for Uniformed Services®Weekly UpdateJanuary 11, 2008
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"Did you ever notice:

When you put the 2 words "The" and "IRS" together it spells "Theirs?"

~Anon. ~

WASHINGTON REPORT

President to Release Additional VA Funds
Early this week, NAUS asked our members and supporters to use our CapWiz site to send emails to the President and ask him to designate the additional $3.7 billion in funding to the VA. This appeal was based on a letter NAUS President MG Matz sent to the President asking for the release of those funds. Click Here. We are pleased to report that your emails along with thousands of others were persuasive. Late Wednesday, the White House announced that President Bush will release those funds to the VA on his return from the Middle East. Possibly as early as this weekend.

NAUS thanks all of you who responded and sent the email. Your efforts were very helpful and we hope you continue to be involved when action is needed. It is unfortunate that funding for the VA had to come to this and the promised additional funding for the VA was split into two separate pieces instead of one as originally proposed. VA funding should never be the source of "games" or political maneuvering. Veterans have earned their benefits and their care should be a national priority.

NAUS Meets With New VA Secretary
Early Thursday morning, NAUS President MG Matz was invited to a breakfast meeting at VA Headquarters with the new Secretary of Veterans Affairs James B. Peake. During the meeting Secretary Peake stated that his emphasis would be on Transition, Mental Health issues and the Claims Backlog. In regards to the backlog, the Secretary emphasized that the three key issues in this area are improving the process, timeliness and accuracy. He also said that improvements in IT would be undertaken which in turn will lead to improvements in claims processing, mental health and transition from service member to veteran.

Secretary Peake also said that outreach to both veterans and veterans organizations needs to be improved as he considers them to be "part of VA." He also stated that care for "wounded warriors" needs to be revised to the extent that long term plans for care need to be in place so these brave men and women can be taken care of properly, in some cases for their lifetime.

In addition, the Secretary said he would be focusing on Veterans Centers. Veterans Centers were started after the Vietnam war and are places where veterans and in many cases family members can come and have discussions with counselors and their fellow veterans regarding to their experiences and how they feel. Veteran Centers have been a great success and many veterans organizations have advocated for many years for their expansion. It sounds like Secretary Peake has heard these appeals.

Also, the Secretary said that he had heard from the White House that the President would release the additional $3.7 billion in VA funding (See article above). Though the Secretary is still in the process of assessing where the additional funding would be allocated, one likely area NAUS sees is in the hiring of new personnel to assist in regional claims processing.

HEALTH CARE NEWS

New Program Assists Wounded Warriors in TRICARE South Region
(Excerpts from TMA Press Release) TRICARE Management Activity announced that start of the Warrior Navigation & Assistance Program (WNAP). This is a new advocacy unit, which provides guidance to Active Duty and Guard and Reserve Service Members in TRICARE's South Region as they transition through the Military Healthcare System (MHS).

Established by Humana Military Healthcare Services (HMHS), the managed care support contractor for TRICARE's Southern Region, the WNAP offers one-on-one assistance with many unique health care challenges service members may face. Issues may include access to care; or simply the need for information on all available resources – be it the MHS, Veterans Affairs (VA) or other community assets. "This is the kind of program that is a great enhancement to ongoing efforts within the MHS to help Wounded Warriors and their families," said Army Maj. Gen. Elder Granger, Deputy Director, TRICARE Management Activity.


A dedicated toll-free number can be used by Service Members transitioning through the health care system. Calling 888-4GO-WNAP provides direct access to a multi-disciplinary team with the mission to assist Service Members and/or their family members. Resources on the HMHS Web site at www.humana-military .com include the "Information and Resources for Combat Veterans" brochure. Health care providers can find tools and resources addressing the unique needs of Service Members returning home from deployment.

You can read the complete press release at http://www.tricare. mil/pressroom/ news.aspx? fid=358.

Additional Uniform Formulary Changes Coming
Users of medications designed to treat prostrate problems (Flomax, Cardura); certain types of arthritis (Enbrel, Kineret); high blood pressure (Exforge); attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (Vyvanse); and the contraceptive Lybrel need to be aware of impending changes pertaining to the DoD Uniform Formulary. Recently the DoD Pharmacy & Therapeutics (P&T) Committee recommended these medications be designated as non formulary, meaning out-of-pocket costs to their users would rise to $22. Afinal decision is expected within the next 60 days.

The P&T Committee also reviewed a series of medications commonly used to treat hypertension and acute myocardial infarction and recommended all 18 substances remain on DoD's Uniform Formulary. By law the committee is required to monitor changes in the clinical information, current costs, and utilization trends of medications previously designated as non-formulary. The prescription drug Norvasc and its generic equivalent Amlodipine were re-evaluated due to a significant decrease in cost to DoD, and the panel recommended that it be reclassified as a formulary medication.

Be sure to monitor future Weekly Updates or the TRICARE section in the Uniformed Services Journal for the final outcome on the P&T Committee's recommendations. For a complete list of medications, their formulary status and where they are available, go to www.tricareformular ysearch.org/ dod/medicationce nter/default. aspx.

ACTIVE DUTY NEWS

Army Clarifies Leave Policy (Stars & Stripes Newspaper)
Soldiers who combine regular or special passes with leave will now have the total block of time charged as annual leave, according to a new Army policy.

Until now, soldiers doing a back-to-back pass/leave combination usually got charged only for the personal leave, with the pass time counting as "free" days off. That was allowable under the Army's old leave policy, which included wording that said "both leaves" could be taken in conjunction. But those words conflicted with another section of the policy, which told commanders they were not allowed to approve back-to-back absences for soldiers without at least one duty day in between.

The conflicting passages were causing "major confusion, and some pretty creative interpretation, " Victor Bosko, the Army's staff policy proponent for leave and passes, told Stars and Stripes by phone Monday.

Faced with a large volume of inquiries from soldiers and their commanders, Army officials issued a military personnel message this week to clear up the matter.

Soldiers most affected by the change will be those who plan their leave around holiday periods such as Christmas, because there are so many "free" federal and unit training days off built in, Bosko said.

Now, if those soldiers are not physically present at their duty stations at the start and finish of the "free" days off -- the Army calls this "special pass" time -- the soldiers will forfeit them.
That time must be charged as annual leave, according to the new policy.

The issue, Bosko said, is readiness: Passes are designed to give soldiers short breaks from duty but still offer commanders the ability to quickly recall them if needed. That recall capability dissolves when soldiers use passes as a way to extend their personal leave, he said.

In the Army, a regular pass, also known as a "pass period," is a short, nonchargeable, authorized absence from duty during normal off-duty hours, like a weekend. A "special pass" is the Army's way of describing the three- or four-day period given to troops for national holidays and long weekends.

In the civilian world, workers often "piggyback" vacation time with time off granted by their employers, Bosko acknowledged. "But you can't treat the military like civilians."

Navy Officers Reminded to Update Records Before Board
With O-6 selection boards scheduled to begin Jan. 15, the Navy Personnel Command (NPC) is reminding officers to review their records before selection boards. See the complete press release at http://www.navy. mil/search/ display.asp? story_id= 34239.

VETERANS NEWS

Clarification of New IU Rules
Previously we reported that those who are being paid VA Disability Pay at the 100 percent level due to Individual Unemployability would start to be paid their total Concurrent Receipt when the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) went into effect. Though the legislation provides full Concurrent Receipt and back-pay to Oct. 1, 2004, for those affected, it unfortunately does not go into effect until Oct. 1, 2008.

IRS Tax Changes for 2007 Filing
Compensated work therapy payments received by some veterans, unable to work, are now tax-free. Because these are tax-free veterans' benefits, recipients will no longer receive Forms 1099, reporting these payments, from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Disabled veterans who paid tax on these benefits in 2004, 2005 and 2006 can claim a refund by filing an amended return using Form 1040X. See news release IR-2007-198 for details.

A retired public safety officer can exclude from income up to $3,000 in distributions from an eligible government retirement plan used to pay the premiums on accident and health insurance or long-term care insurance. Distributions must be made directly from the plan to the insurance provider. Retired law enforcement officers, firefighters, chaplains and members of rescue squads or ambulance crews qualify for this provision. Claim the exclusion on Form 1040 Line 16 or Form 1040A Line 12.

NAUS NEWS

NAUS Network Down This Weekend
In conjunction with our remodeling, our computer network will be worked on starting late Friday and throughout the entire weekend. This means that our email will be up and down for various periods. If you need to send us something, please wait until Monday when our network should be back to normal. Thanks.

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Our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen stand in harm's way around the globe to defend our nation and our cherished liberties. NAUS asks you to please pray for their continued strength and protection—and pray as well for their families, who daily stand in support of their spouses, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters.

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