RAO bulletin update 1 Feb 2008

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RAO Bulletin Update
1 February 2008


THIS BULLETIN CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES

== NDAA 2008 [14] ------------ --------- --------- (President Signs)
== Proposals to Aid Vets ------------ ----- (Democrats Take Issue)
== VDBC [24] ------------ --------- - (Disability Benefits Contract)
== VA Claim Backlog [14] ----------- (29 JAN HVAC Summary)
== VA Mileage Reimbursement [03] ----------- (28.5 cents/mile)
== Vet Benefit Expiration Dates ---- (MGIB/VEAP/Rehab/ SGLI)
== SBP Lawsuit ------------ --------- --------- --------- ----- (Full DIC)
== VA Voluntary Service (VAVS)] -------- (How to Participate)
== NDAA 2009 ------------ --------- --------- -- (CR/SBP Inequities)
== Veteran Grave Vandals ------------ ---- (Private Property Law)
== Mobilized Reserve 30 JAN 08 ------------ (Net Increase 1808)
== Texas Veteran Tuition ------------ --------- --------- -- (Overview)
== MTU Tuition Break ------------ ------- (Starting Summer 2008)
== Diabetes [04] ------------ --------- ------- (Obesity Surgery Cure)
== Shingles [05] ------------ --------- --------- -- (TFL Vaccine Cost)
== VA Estate Debt Collection ------------ --------- ---- (Bill to Stop)
== Cyberspace Command ------------ (Keesler AFB a Contender)
== Medicare News ------------ --------- --------- --------- --- (Various)
== Arizona Taxes ------------ --------- --------- ---- (New Tax Credit)
== Vet Cemetery Virginia ------------ --------- ----- (Study Results)
== Tax Audits ------------ --------- --------- ---- (Number to Increase)
== Tax Filing Obligations Overseas ----------- (Reporting Rqmts)
== Tax Changes 2007 ------------ --------- - (Increases / Decreases)
== Fluoridation ------------ --------- ------ (Southern CA Completed)
== Veteran Employment [02] ------------ ------ (2008 Top 25 Jobs)
== VA Burial Program Survey ----------- (3 JAN thru 28 FEB 08)
== GI Bill [17] ------------ --------- --------- ----- (2008 Goals)
== VA Budget 2008 [12] -------- (Emergency Funding Approved)
== WEP/GPO ------------ --------- -------- (Congressional Hearing)
== VA Performance [01] ------------ --------- --- (Future Concerns)
== Tricare Lap-Band Surgery ------------ --------- (Now Available)
== Veteran Charities [06] ------------ -------- (Hearings Scheduled)
== Veteran Charities [07] --------- (Congressional Hearing Held)
== Oklahoma Vet Insurance Plan ------------ --------- -- (Suggested)
== Gulf War Vet Advisory Committee ---- (Request to Establish)
== DOD Disability Evaluation System [09] ------- (Improvements)
== Tricare EOBs [03] ------------ --------- --------- - (On Line Access)
== Military Deaths ------------ --------- --------- ----- (By Year)
== CA & Federal Disabled Benefits (100% SC) ------------ - (List)
== CA & Federal Pension Benefits ----- (Non-service Connected)
== Veteran Legislation Status 30 JAN 08 ------ (Where We Stand)

NDAA 2008 UPDATE 14: The Senate passed a $696 billion 2008 Defense
Authorization Bill H.R. 4986 22 JAN and President Bush signed it
into law
on 28 JAN. The fiscal 2008 defense budget has been laden with
challenges, from Congress' inclusion of non-defense- related earmarks
to its
insertion of controversial language regarding Iraq. Bush announced
28 DEC
that he wouldn't sign the bill until it was revised. Instead, the
president signed an executive order authorizing a 3% military pay
raise. The
amount was 0.5 % lower than the 3.5% rate provided for in the
authorization act, but took effect 1 JAN 08. All pays and incentives
included
in the authorization act will be retroactive to 1 JAN, a defense
official said. The bill became law just a week before the next
budget cycle
begins as Bush sends his fiscal 2009 request to Capitol Hill. That
budget
proposal, along with a requested $70 billion in emergency war
spending, is expected to be delivered to Congress 4 FEB.

The NDAA contains provisions improving the transition from active
duty to veterans' status and improving VA health care for returning
service members, especially those with traumatic brain injury (TBI)
or
mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD).
Among the key provisions to improve care for veterans and their
families,
the NDAA:

• Provides an additional three years of access to free VA
health care
for returning service members from Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Improves and expands VA's ability to care for veterans
returning from
Iraq and Afghanistan with TBI, including research, screening, care
coordination, and working with non-VA providers to provide the care
needed
by our veterans;
• Requires a comprehensive policy to address mental health
conditions,
including PTSD;
• Requires DOD and VA to streamline the records transmission
process,
including moving forward with fully interoperable medical records;
• Provides for a more seamless transition between active duty
and
veterans' status, including a single physical exam for DOD and VA
benefits;
• Creates Wounded Warrior Resource Center to serve as a single
point of
contact for service members, their families, and primary caregivers
to
report issues with facilities, obtain health care, and receive
benefits information;
• Requires VA to provide age-appropriate nursing home care for
our
veterans;
• Allows members of the National Guard and Reserves that are
eligible
for Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) to use their
education
benefits for ten years after separation;
• Requires a study on the feasibility of streamlining statutory
provisions addressing GI Bill benefits for active duty and guard and
reserves.
[Source: AFPS Donna Miles article 28 Jan 08 ++]

PRESIDENTIAL PROPOSALS TO AID VETS: Democratic lawmakers reacted
with
skepticism 29 JAN to President Bush's new proposals to aid the
families of military personnel and veterans, noting that his
administration
has repeatedly underfunded the Veterans Affairs Department (VA). In
his
State of the Union address 28 JAN, Bush proposed a series of measures
intended to help military families, including the creation of hiring
preferences for the spouses of military personnel and legislation to
allow
servicemembers to pass on unused GI Bill educational benefits to
their
spouses and children. "They endure sleepless nights and the daily
struggle of providing for children while a loved one is serving far
from
home," Bush said of military families. "We have a responsibility to
provide for them." The president also called for expanding military
families'
access to child care. Democrats and some veterans' advocates sharply
criticized the proposals, which they said came after years of lean
administration budget requests for the VA and military
personnel. "The
difficulty . . . that we've had on this issue is that the budgets
for Iraq
have sucked out all the air," said Susan A. Davis (D-CA) chairwoman
of
the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee. "Families
have
not been nearly as high a priority as they should be. Maybe that'll
change. I doubt it."

Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan
Veterans of America, said the GI Bill proposal would come as "a slap
in the
face" to newly returning veterans if it is not accompanied by broader
improvements, which have proved difficult to advance in Congress
because
of administration opposition and tight budgets. Bush asserted that VA
funding had increased by more than 95% since he had taken office --
another suggestion met with barbs from Democrats. "He didn't tell
them that
his budget proposals have repeatedly cut funding for veterans, and
that
the only reason spending on veterans' programs has increased is
because Congress raised the level of spending," said Daniel K. Akaka
(D-HI),
chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. Bush is set to
unveil his 2009 budget proposal 4 FEB Lawmakers already have begun
to push
for funding of their priorities. Akaka and Bernard Sanders, (I-VA),
sent a letter on 25 JAN asking new VA Secretary James B. Peake for
increased funding for the VA's National Center for Post-traumatic
Stress
Disorder, which they said had to cut staff in recent years because of
insufficient resources. Bush also will have to include funding to
enact
proposed recommendations of a presidential commission on "wounded
warriors"
led by former Sen. Bob Dole (R-KS) (1969-96), and former Health and
Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala. In his address, Bush called
on
Congress to pass the remaining recommendations of the commission,
including a major overhaul of the veterans' disability benefits
system.
[Source: GQ Today Patrick Yoest article 29 Jan 08 ++]

VDBC UPDATE 24: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded
a
$3.2 million contract to Economic Systems Inc. of Falls Church, Va.,
to develop information relating to possible changes in the
composition
of disability payments to disabled veterans. The contact is based
upon
recommendations of the Dole-Shalala Commission, which issued its
final
report in July 2007, and the OCT 07 final report of the Veterans
Disability Benefits Commission. The contractor will provide its
findings in
AUG 08. Economic Systems Inc. will address three basic research
questions in two studies.
• 188,000 Chapter 61 medical disability retirees with less than
20
years denied CRDP.
• Examine the nature and feasibility of making "long-term
transition
payments" to service members separated from the military due to
disability while those veterans undergo rehabilitation.
• Provide information on the appropriate levels of compensation
necessary to compensate for any loss in earnings capacity caused by
service-incurred or service-aggravated conditions.
• Provide information on potential "quality of life" payments
called
for by both studies.
[Source: VA News Release 30 Jan 08 ++]

VA CLAIM BACKLOG UPDATE 14: Advanced technologies such as artificial
intelligence could help the Veterans Affairs Department reduce a
backlog of disability claims that has spiked past 1 million,
according to
computer experts and veterans advocates. The Veterans Benefits
Administration, which processes the claims, has a backlog of 650,000
pending
claims and another 147,000 that are under appeal and working their
way
through a process that "is paper intensive, complex to understand,
difficult
to manage and takes years to learn," Chairman of the Veterans Affairs
Subcommittee on Disability and Memorial Affairs Rep. John Hall (D-NY)
said at a 29 JAN hearing of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
Training an employee to rate VBA claims can take two to three years
and many
leave within five years, Hall said. Experienced raters can adjudicate
only about three claims a day, spending two to three hours on each
claim. He said the VA should consider the use of artificial
intelligence
technologies, such as automated decision-support tools that can
determine
disability payments, which would speed up claims processing.

Computer experts who testified at the hearing said technology
exists today that can automate the claims process and eliminate the
backlog. Tom Mitchell, chairman of the Machine Learning Department
at the
School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University in
Pittsburgh said
the VBA needs to emulate health insurers such as Highmark Inc., a
Pittsburgh-based company that uses computers to process 90% of its
claims.
Mitchell said the computer system automatically determines payments
because it contains a large collection of rules, each one specifying
the
payment to be made in some very specific case, defined by the
details of
the patient's policy, treatment and history. The complex policy for
determining what payment is due under which condition is encoded in
these
rules inside the computer." While the type of claims processed by
Highmark are not identical to the kinds of claims processed by the
VBA,
Mitchell said they are similar enough to "conclude online processing
will
be of considerable value to the VA." Mitchell said other AI
techniques
that could work for VBA include case-based reasoning systems, which
tap
into a database of historical data to compare past cases with a
current case, and machine learning and data-mining, which could
discover
patterns in a current claim that indicate more information is needed
to
process the claim.

The VBA could automate its processes by developing a document
naming system for paper documents, which are then electronically
scanned
into a database to make it easier to retrieve, said Ronald Miller,
professor of biomedical informatics at Vanderbilt University. VBA
repeatedly
loses paper records submitted by claimants. Robin Cleveland, wife of
retired Marine Gunnery Sgt. Tai Cleveland, told the hearing that
since
November 2005, she has submitted multiple copies of Tai's medical
record
and was told that the VBA could not find the records and she needed
to
resubmit them. She said her husband, a paraplegic after injuries
incurred in AUG 03 during a hand-to-hand training exercise in
Kuwait, only
started to receive benefit payments this month after Congress
intervened. Dr. Marjie Shahani, senior vice president of operations
at QTC
Medical Services, which conducts medical examinations on veterans
and active
duty personnel seeking VBA compensation, said her company has
developed
an application called the Evidence Organizer, which creates an
electronic file for a claim, which can include multiple medical
conditions and
is accessible at the click of a mouse. Shahani said the organizer
cuts
the time to rate an individual claim from 3.5 hours to 2.2 hours. The
time savings should allow a VBA ratings specialist to review 711
claims
compared with the 533 a specialist processes today, he said.

Kim Graves, director of business process integration for the VBA
said the VBA already has begun to develop technologies to increase
the
number of claims that specialists can process. The agency has a
comprehensive strategy to develop the Paperless Delivery of Veterans
Benefits
initiative, which will employ a variety of enhanced technologies to
support end-to-end claims processing, Graves said. In addition to
imaging
and computable data, it will also incorporate enhanced electronic
workflow capabilities, enterprise content and correspondence
management
services. Graves said VBA also is considering the use of
business-rules- engine software for workflow management, which could
improve processors'
decision-making. Stephen Warren, principal deputy assistant
secretary for
the VA Office of Information and Technology, said the department is
preparing a statement of work to engage the services of a lead
systems
integrator to develop strategy and business requirements for
Paperless
Delivery of Veterans Benefits, though he did not provide a timeline.
Gary
Christopherson, who served as chief information officer for the
Veterans Health Administration in 2000 and principal deputy assistant
secretary for Health Affairs in the Defense Department, said "using
artificial
intelligence or electronic decision support tools is nothing new."
Government and corporations routinely use those tools, and VBA claims
processing is no more difficult than any other application of AI. He
also
called for a radical policy change in how VBA provides benefits. He
said
that it should presume that a veteran has a valid claim and is
entitled to benefits for a period of a year until it completes the
processing
of that claim, with payment starting in 30 days of the date the claim
is filed. [Source: GOVExec.com Bob Berwin article 30 Jan 08++]

VA MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENT UPDATE 03: In the FY2008 Omnibus
Appropriations $125 million was allocated to pay for an increase in
the travel
reimbursement rate for disabled veterans to go to VA hospitals for
care.
The present 11 cents a mile was set in 1977. The increase is 17.5
cents
per mile. However, it could not go into effect until VA Secretary
Peake
announced the change and directed the VA to put it into effect. In
JAN
12 bi-partisan rural Senators wrote the Secretary asking him to put
the change in effect as soon as possible. The Secretary of Veterans
Affairs has now made the decision to increase VA's beneficiary travel
mileage reimbursement rate effective 1 FEB 08, to 28.5 cents per
mile for
travel related to health care per VHA Dir 2008-006 . This would
include
travel for recalls due to a deficient lab, electrocardiogram (EKG),
and
x-ray in relation to a Compensation and Pension (C&P) examination
(convenience of the Government). Mileage reimbursement claims for
travel
prior to 1 FEB 08, may still be submitted. Such claims will be
processed
using the previous rates and deductibles.

Title 38 U.S.C. § 111(c)(5) requires VA to adjust proportionately
the beneficiary travel mileage reimbursement rate deductibles for
travel in relation to examination, treatment or care (currently $3
one way;
$6 round trip; with a maximum of $18 per calendar month) effective on
the date of a beneficiary travel mileage reimbursement rate change.
Therefore, based on the increase of the beneficiary travel mileage
reimbursement rate, the deductible is adjusted proportionately to
$7.77 per
one way trip; $15.54 for a round trip; with a maximum deductible of
$46.62 per calendar month. These deductibles may be waived in
accordance
with Title 38 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §17.144(b) when their
imposition would cause severe financial hardship. Mileage
reimbursement
claims for travel prior to February 1, 2008, may still be received.
Such
claims will be processed using the previous rates and deductibles.
[Source: TREA Washington Update 25 JAN 08 ++]

VET BENEFIT EXPIRATION DATES: Many of your benefits have an
expiration date. Below are a few important ones to remember so you
don't lose
out.

• Montgomery GI Bill for Active-Duty (MGIB): 10 years from date
of last
discharge or release from active duty.
• Veterans Education Assistance Program (VEAP): 10 years from
date of
last discharge or release from active duty.
• Montgomery GI Bill for Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR): 14 years
from the
date of eligibility for the program, or until released from the
Selected Reserve or National Guard. Some extensions available if
activated.
• Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VocRehab):
Generally, 12
years of separation from service or within 12 years of being awarded
service-connected VA disability compensation.
• Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI): Coverage ends
120 days
after separation or can be extended up to 1 year for totally disabled
veterans.
[Source: Military.com
http://www.military .com/benefits/ veteran-benefits /veterans- benefit-
expiration-dates
28 Jan 08 ++]

SBP LAWSUIT: On 30 JAN 08 a group of military widows will get their
day in federal court, pressing their case that a DEC 04 law change
should have awarded them full payment of military SBP annuities in
addition
to the Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) they receive from
the VA because military service caused their husbands' deaths. At
the
time, the House Veterans Affairs Committee believed its language
would
not only restore DIC benefits to previously eligible survivors who
remarried after age 57, but would also end the deduction of DIC from
SBP
annuities. Subsequent government legal review indicated the 2004 law
didn't, in fact, make the latter change, but the difference of
opinion
hasn't entirely gone away. And now three widows are taking the
government to
court. When the case was filed in SEP 07, the Department of Defense
responded with a motion to dismiss the case. The widows' lawyers
filed a
rebuttal, and now there will be a hearing before the US Court of
Federal Claims, 717 Madison Street, NW in Washington, DC so the
judge can
make a decision on the DoD motion to dismiss. The oral arguments in
the
case will be open to the public at 9:30 am. A specific court room
won't
be assigned until the morning of the 30th. Past efforts to sue the
government in this way have rarely been fruitful, but one never
knows how
the courts might rule when legislative language is murky. [Source:
MOAA Leg UP 25 Jan 08 ++]

VA VOLUNTARY SERVICE (VAVS): VAVS was founded in 1946 to provide for
our nation's veterans while they are cared for by VA health care
facilities. It is a volunteer organization run by the VA which helps
veterans
in VA facilities throughout the country. Volunteers assist in routine
administrative functions to help free VA employees to concentrate
more
on health care. There are also several VA cemeteries that have VAVS
volunteers assisting in maintenance chores. It is one of the largest
centralized volunteer programs in the Federal government. Over 350
organizations support it and. volunteers have provided over 676
million hours of
service since its conception. As a community service volunteers
assist veteran patients by augmenting staff with end of life care
programs,
foster care, community-based volunteer programs, hospital wards,
nursing homes, and veteran outreach centers. The program receives
annual
contributions of over $50 million in gifts and donations. There are
two
convenient ways to sign up to be a VAVS volunteer:

1) Contact the Department of Veterans Affairs facility nearest you,
ask
for Voluntary Service, and tell their staff of your interest in
becoming a VAVS Volunteer. The staff will take care of everything
else
including your interview, orientation, and assignment! To locate
the VA
facility is nearest you refer to
http://www1. va.gov/directory /guide/home. asp?isFlash= 1
2) Volunteer now by filling out and submitting the form located at
http://www1. va.gov/volunteer /volnowDB. cfm. Someone from your local
VAVS office will contact you with additional information.
[Source: NAUS Weekly Update 25 JAN 08 ++]

NDAA 2009: The previous National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAA)
of
2006, 2007, 2008, did not address or correct the following issues --
• 188,000 Chapter 61 medical disability retirees with less than
20
years denied CRDP.
• 375,000 military retirees with less than 50% disability
denied CRDP
(Concurrent Retirement Disability Pay, 10 US Code 1414)
• 327,000 military retirees age 70 and 30 have paid up to an
excess of
6 years' premiums for the Survivor's Benefits Program (SBP).
• 61,000 widows denied full relief from SBP/DIC

The 2008 NDAA did extend CRSC (Combat Related Special Compensation) to
a yet to be determined number of Chapter 61 retirees (possibly as
many
as 40,000) with less than 20 years of service. It also did authorize
$50/month "special allowance" to be incremented $10/year for 5 years.
This is not much help to restore an offset that approximates
$900-$1000/month. Further, it is a shallow gesture as it is valid
from 1 OCT 08, and
expires 1 MAR 16.

HR 333 would extend the benefits of CRDP to some 375,000 retired
career veterans who are rated less than 50% disabled by the VA and
repeal the 10 year phase in of CRDP for those 180,000 retired career
veterans who are rated 50 to 90% disabled. While other relevant
bills in the
Senate and House would correct either deficiency, none of those bills
would correct both deficiencies. Veterans who would like to see this
bill enacted and correct the above inequities are urged to contact
their
legislators to request cosponsorship and inclusion of relevant
portions
of HR 333 in the 2009 National Defense Authorization Act. USDR has
provided sample messages at
http://capwiz. com/usdr/ issues/alert/ ?alertid= 10871981& queueid=
[capwiz:queue_ id]
and
http://capwiz. com/usdr/ issues/alert/ ?alertid= 10869241& queueid=
[capwiz:queue_ id] for your use to facilitate doing this. [Source:
USDR
Action Alert 27 Jan 08 ++]

VETERAN GRAVE VANDALS: A Texas lawmaker has introduced a bill that
would make vandalizing the grave of a service member or veteran a
federal
crime, even if the grave is on private property. The bill sponsored
by
Rep. Ted Poe R-TX) comes after the grave of a Marine killed in Iraq
was vandalized just two days after his burial in Liberty, Texas. "The
person responsible has since been arrested and charged with a state
felony, but no federal provision exists," Poe said. Federal laws
making it a
crime to damage or destroy a memorial, headstone or gravesite apply
only to public land, not to gravesites in private cemeteries. This
is not
the first time the federal government has had to stand by when a
veterans' grave was damaged. Last year, American flags were replaced
with
Nazi flags on Memorial Day weekend at the gravesites of veterans in
Orcas
Island WA, but the federal government could do nothing because the
graves were in a private cemetery. Poe's bill, HR 4973, was referred
to the
House Judiciary Committee for consideration. If enacted into law, it
would apply the same penalty for the destruction of graves on public
lands — a fine of up to $10,000 and up to 10 years imprisonment — to
graves on private property. [Source: MarineTimes Rick Maze article
25 Jan 08
++]

MOBILIZED RESERVE 30 JAN 08: .The Army, Air Force and Marine Corps
announced the current number of reservists on active duty as of 2
JAN 08
in support of the partial mobilization. The net collective result is
1808 more reservists mobilized than last reported in the Bulletin
for 9
JAN 08. At any given time, services may mobilize some units and
individuals while demobilizing others, making it possible for these
figures to
either increase or decrease. The total number currently on active
duty
in support of the partial mobilization of the Army National Guard and
Army Reserve is 73,197; Navy Reserve, 5,024; Air National Guard and
Air
Force Reserve, 7,231; Marine Corps Reserve, 8,695; and the Coast
Guard
Reserve, 334. This brings the total National Guard and Reserve
personnel
who have been mobilized to 94,481, including both units and
individual
augmentees. A cumulative roster of all National Guard and Reserve
personnel, who are currently mobilized, can be found at
http://www.defensel ink.mil/news/ Jan2008/d2008013 0ngr.pdf. [Source:
DoD
News Release 30 Jan 08 ++]

TEXAS VETERAN TUITION: Tuition waivers are available to Veterans
honorably discharged who served at least 180 days of active duty
military
service, were Bonafide Texas resident at time of entry into service,
and
who have exhausted all Federal educational benefits. Veterans will
receive exemption for payment of tuition and some fees at public
colleges
and universities. Exemptions from charges for continuing education
courses are optional on the part of the institution. Application
should be
made to the financial aid officer of the state-supported institution
of
choice. The Texas State Attorney General has ruled that Texas
veterans
who are legal residents but not U.S. citizens are entitled to free
college tuition at Texas public colleges. This ruling reverses an
earlier
policy that had prompted a federal lawsuit. The Mexican American
Legal
Defense and Educational Fund sued the State of Texas in 2007 on
behalf
of six Hispanic veterans who were legal permanent residents when they
entered the military. They had applied for benefits under the
Hazlewood
Act, which waives tuition at Texas public colleges for honorably
discharged veterans who served on active-duty. Texas also offers the
following education benefits to:

• Dependent children of MIA / POWs: Dependent children of Texas
military personnel, MIA, or POW. Exemption for payment of tuition
and some
fees at public colleges and universities. Exemptions from charges for
continuing education courses are optional on the part of the
institution.
Application should be made to the financial aid officer of the
state-supported institution of choice.
• Children of Deceased Veterans: Children of veterans killed
or died
as a result of service in WWI, WWII, and Korea or since 2/1/55.
Exemption for payment of tuition and some fees at public colleges and
universities. Exemptions from charges for continuing education
courses are
optional on the part of the institution. Application should be made
to the
High school guidance counselor, or financial aid officer of the
state-supported institution of choice.
• Orphans of National Guard and Texas Air National Guard:
Exemption of
certain orphans of National Guard and Texas Air National Guard.
Exemption for payment of tuition and some fees at public colleges and
universities. Exemptions from charges for continuing education
courses are
optional on the part of the institution. Application should be made
to the
financial aid officer of the state-supported institution of choice
[Source: Military.com Benefits 28 Jan 08 ++]

MTU TUITION BREAK: Starting with the first summer term of 2008,
Michigan Technological University will offer in-state tuition to
out-of-state students who are the offspring or spouse of a person on
active U.S.
military duty. Students will be eligible for a Military Family
Education
Award if a parent or spouse is on active military duty or has been on
full-time duty with the National Guard for more than a year. If a
parent or spouse goes on active-duty after a student is admitted, the
student will be eligible for a Military Service Award at the
beginning of the
next semester. Once a student receives the award, he or she will
continue to receive it until graduation. To learn more call the MTU
Admissions office at 888-688-1888. [Source: Military.com 28 Jan 08
++]

DIABETES UPDATE 04: A new study gives the strongest evidence yet
that
obesity surgery can cure diabetes. Patients who had surgery to reduce
the size of their stomachs were five times more likely to see their
diabetes disappear over the next two years than were patients who had
standard diabetes care, according to Australian researchers. Most of
the
surgery patients were able to stop taking diabetes drugs and achieve
normal blood tests. The patients had stomach band surgery, a
procedure more
common in Australia than in the United States, where gastric bypass
surgery, or stomach stapling, predominates.
Gastric bypass is even more effective against diabetes, achieving
remission in a matter of days or a month, said Dr. David Cummings,
who wrote
an accompanying editorial in the journal but was not involved in the
study. "We have traditionally considered diabetes to be a chronic,
progressive disease," said Cummings of the University of Washington
in
Seattle. "But these operations really do represent a realistic hope
for
curing most patients."

Diabetes experts who read the study said surgery should be
considered for some obese patients, but more research is needed to
see how
long results last and which patients benefit most. Surgery risks
should be
weighed against diabetes drug side effects and the long-term risks of
diabetes itself, they said. Experts generally agree that weight-loss
surgery would never be appropriate for diabetics who are not obese,
and
current federal guidelines restrict the surgery to obese people. The
diabetes benefits of weight-loss surgery were known, but the
Australian
study in the JAN Journal of the American Medical Association is the
first
of its kind to compare diabetes in patients randomly assigned to
surgery or standard care. Scientists consider randomized studies to
yield
the highest-quality evidence. The study involved 55 patients, so
experts
will be looking for results of larger experiments under way. "Few
studies really qualify as being a landmark study. This one is," said
Dr.
Philip Schauer, who was not involved in the Australian research but
leads
a Cleveland Clinic study that is recruiting 150 obese people with
diabetes to compare two types of surgery and standard medical
care. "This
opens an entirely new way of thinking about diabetes."

Obesity is a major risk factor for diabetes, and researchers are
furiously pursuing reasons for the link as rates for both climb.
What's
known is that excess fat can cause the body's normal response to
insulin to go haywire. Researchers are investigating insulin-
regulating
hormones released by fat and the role of fatty acids in the blood.
In the
Australian study, all the patients were obese and had been diagnosed
with
type 2 diabetes during the past two years. Their average age was 47.
Half the patients underwent a type of surgery called laparoscopic
gastric banding, where an adjustable silicone cuff is installed
around the
upper stomach, limiting how much a person can eat. Both groups lost
weight over two years; the surgery patients lost 46 pounds on
average, while
the standard-care patients lost an average of 3 pounds. Blood tests
showed diabetes remission in 22 of the 29 surgery patients after two
years. In the standard-care group, only four of the 26 patients
achieved
that goal. The patients who lost the most weight were the most
likely to
eliminate their diabetes.

The death rate for stomach band surgery, which can cost $17,000
to
$20,000, is about 1 in 1,000. There were only minor complications in
the study. Stomach stapling has a 2% death rate and costs $20,000 to
$30,000. In the United States, surgeons perform more than 100,000
obesity
surgeries each year. The American Diabetes Association is interested
in
the findings. The group revises its recommendations each fall, taking
new research into account. Sixty million Americans are unaware they
have diabetes or are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Your
risk for
type 2 diabetes increases as your get older, gain too much weight, or
if you do not stay active. Diabetes is more common in African
Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders.
Risk factors for type 2 diabetes include:
- Having high blood pressure (at or above 130/80)
- Having a family history of diabetes.
- Having diabetes during pregnancy or having a baby weighing
more than
nine pounds at birth.
[Source: Associated Press Carla K. Johnson article 23 Jan 08 ++]

VA ESTATE DEBT COLLECTION: A bill that would block the Department of
Veterans Affairs from trying to collect money from the estates of
service members who die in combat was introduced Tuesday by Sen. Kay
Bailey
Hutchison (R-TX). Her bill, S 2536, applies only to debts to the VA,
and not to money owed to private-sector creditors or other federal
agencies, such as the Internal Revenue Service. Hutchison is asking
Senate
leaders for quick passage of the bill, hoping to bypass the normal
process in which new bills are sent to committee for consideration.
She could
get high-level support. VA Secretary Dr. James Peake is expected to
write a letter to the Senate endorsing her call for expedited
passage of
the bill, according to Senate sources. VA officials said they
supported
the bill but did not confirm that Peake would write a letter. Waiving
normal procedures would require the Senate Veterans' Affairs
Committee,
on which Hutchison serves, to allow the bill to proceed without its
involvement. Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) the veterans' affairs committee
chairman, would have to approve the move. Akaka aides said the
committee
staff would study the measure first.
Few people die owing VA money, but Hutchison aides found that VA
has collected more than $56,000 from the families of 22 deceased
soldiers, mostly National Guard and reserve members called to active
duty who
received overpayments of GI Bill education benefits. Her bill would
be
retroactive to Sept. 11, 2001, allowing families or estates that
paid a
debt to VA to receive a refund of any payment made since that date.
Hutchison spokesman Matt Mackowiak said few people may be affected,
but
Hutchison considers it improper for any family of a service member
who
dies in combat to be contacted with a demand for money. Current law
requires contacting a family or estate if there is any outstanding
debt to
VA at the time of death. A family has 180 days to file a grievance,
with the VA secretary permitted to waive the debts. Three of the 22
cases
involved constituents of Hutchinson in Texas. One was an Army
soldier
killed by a sniper while on his third tour to Iraq whose family
repaid
the government for a $389 overpayment of GI Bill benefits. The family
of another Army soldier was billed for $2,282 in outstanding loans
after the sergeant, who was married with four children, was killed
in an
explosion on his second tour in Iraq. Another case involved a Marine
Reservist killed by an explosion in Iraq who owed VA $845. Hutchison
aides
said their review found similar cases in California, Colorado,
Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska,
New York,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington and Wisconsin. [Source:
NavyTimes Rick Maze article 23 Jan 08 ++]

SHINGLES UPDATE 05: Some people are still having problems
understanding Tricare coverage for the shingles immunization. The
problems are
occurring primarily in the area of getting reimbursed for the
expensive
vaccine (Zostavax.). Basic rules published by Tricare for
reimbursement
eligibility are:

• Tricare cannot pay for any immunization received before it
became a
Tricare benefit on 19 OCT 07.
• The beneficiary must be at least 60 years old for Tricare to
cover
the immunization.
• The shot must be given in the provider's office.
• The vaccine is not a Tricare Pharmacy Program benefit.

The beneficiary cannot buy the vaccine and be reimbursed by filing a
pharmacy claim. The doctor should provide the shingles vaccine as he
would any other. To be reimbursed by Tricare, he must include its
price on
the bill for the office visit. Tricare advises all beneficiaries who
plan to get the shingles immunization to call their Tricare Service
Center first so they can be fully informed. Some beneficiaries and
doctors
have complained that claims processor Wisconsin Physician Service was
unable to tell them how much it would allow for the vaccine. Tricare
indicated on 28 DEC that this problem had been resolved.
Beneficiaries and
providers can call WPS to confirm the amount allowable for the
vaccine.


According to the Tricare the Red Book (a national pharmacy price
guide), the average wholesale price for Zostavax is $196. WPS will
allow
95%of that amount, or $186.20. You or the provider should file a
claim
for the shingles vaccination exactly as you would any other Tricare
claim (or Medicare claim, for Tricare for Life beneficiaries) . The
provider should bill for an office visit, but he must include the
price of
the vaccine as an item on the bill. The vaccine will be reimbursed
as a
medical supply item on the provider's bill. It cannot be covered as a
prescription drug through the Tricare Pharmacy Program. That's the
standard operating procedure for vaccines. Providers should know all
this.
Most who balked did so because they were unable to figure out how
much
Tricare would allow for the cost of the vaccine. Now they can get
that
information, officially, by calling WPS. If the above rules are
followed,
Tricare claims for the shingles shot will be processed and paid in
the
usual way for beneficiaries who don't have Tricare for Life.

There is some not-so-good news for Tricare for Life members since
federal law requires Medicare and Tricare to process their claims
separately. When your original Medicare provider files a claim for
the
office visit, which includes the price for Zostavax, Medicare will
pay its
share for the visit only. Medicare will deny payment for the vaccine
because, by federal law, it is not a covered service under Medicare.
As
usual for TFL beneficiaries, Medicare will pay the provider its
share for
a covered office visit and automatically forward the claim to
Tricare.
As usual, Tricare Standard will pay the balance on the Medicare claim
for the office visit. You should have no out-of-pocket expense for
the
visit but there's still the cost of the Zostavax. Because Medicare
paid
nothing for the vaccine, Tricare is your only insurance for that part
of the claim. All Tricare claims processing rules will apply to that
part of the claim. You would file a Tricare claim, which would be
subject
to a deductible and cost share for which you would have to pay
out-of-pocket. Tricare will allow $186.20 for the vaccine. Thus,
after your
$150 deductible and 25% cost share, Tricare will pay the provider
only
$27.15. So out-of-pocket costs for the shingles immunization for
Tricare
for Life members are likely to be $159.05. Questions about any of
this
should be directed to your Tricare Service Center. (Note: If you are
enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan or a Medicare Part D Pharmacy
Plan,
the aforementioned may apply differently or not at all to you. Call
your plan's carrier for more details). [Source: NavyTimes James E.
Hamby
article 21 Jan 08 ++]

CYBERSPACE COMMAND: Keesler Air Force Base is one of 16 finalists to
become the nation's headquarters in the fight against cyberterrorism.
The first national command to fight in cyberspace, its location there
would be a major coup for Biloxi and Mississippi - "as big as any
Nissan
plant, Toyota plant, or large casino project", said Ret. Air Force
Lt.
Gen. Clark Griffith. He presented the proposal to the Biloxi City
Council on 22 JAN and said the Cyberspace Command Headquarters would
bring up
to 10,000 jobs to the city. That includes several generals, about 500
high-salary, high-ranking Air Force personnel and thousands of
civilian
employees. The average command comprises about 12,000 people,
Griffith
said, and contractors, industry and possibly a Mississippi State
University engineering- technology center would follow the Cyberspace
Command
to the Coast. Every 18 seconds the nation's computers, cell phones,
radios and other electronics are being hacked. And increasingly, the
attacks are coming from China and Islamic extremists, said Griffith.
These
cyberterrorists have forced shutdowns of computers at the CIA, FBI
and
other top federal agencies and they have stolen classified
information.
The command would protect military cyberspace and homeland security.
The field of candidates narrowed from 56 to 16 and Griffith considers
Keesler among the top five contenders.

Biloxi's chief competition is Langley Air Force Base in Virginia;
Offutt in Nebraska; Colorado Springs, Col.; and Barksdale in
Shreveport, La. All the others except the Shreveport base already
have major
commands. "Keesler is already the electronics- training headquarters
for the
Air Force and the home to the second-largest medical facility in the
Air Force," said Mayor A.J. Holloway, who is working with Griffith to
bring the command to Biloxi. If Biloxi is chosen as the site of the
Cyberspace Command, "this will solidify Keesler plus Keesler Medical
Center
as a major base forever because the Air Force has never closed a
major
command headquarters. ", he said. A meeting should take place at the
Pentagon or Sen. Thad Cochran's office in Washington on 13 or 14
FEB. The
decision on where to locate the Cyberspace Command is expected by
early March; by fall, work should begin to establish the
headquarters.
Wherever the new Cyberspace Headquarters is located, Keesler will
get a
piece of the pie. Air Force personnel who staff the center will be
trained
at Keesler. [Source: SunHerald Mary Perez article 23 Jan 08 ++]

MEDICARE NEWS:
1. Emergency Room Waiting Times: The average wait time for heart
attack
patients at American emergency rooms rose 150%, from 8 to 20 minutes,
between 1997 and 2004, according to a recent study published in
Health
Affairs. Researchers attributed the increase to an overall rise in
emergency room visits, emergency room closures and barriers to
routine or
outpatient care.

2. Complaints: New York state residents with Medicare filed only
343
complaints with the state's Medicare Quality Improvement Organization
between 2005 and 2007, a statewide response rate of .01% for the
state's
three million people with Medicare, according to a 18 DEC report by
IPRO, which contracts with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services
(CMS) to resolve quality-of-care complaints. While the .01%
complaint rate
is the second highest in the nation, the response rate is viewed as
inadequate by state officials. By comparison, the New York State
Department of Health had received 4,856 general complaints about
hospitals and
21,481 about nursing homes during the same period. The IPRO complaint
process differs from that of the Department of Health. Although
people
with Medicare can use either organization to report substandard care,
complaints to IPRO must be submitted in writing and do not result in
financial penalties. Instead, if IPRO determines a provider or
institution
provided a substandard quality of care, it will develop and monitor a
quality improvement plan.

3. Health Insurance Impact on Deaths: Recent studies by a
government
advisory group underestimated the number of Americans who die because
they lack health insurance, according to a recent report by the Urban
Institute. According to their recently released study, Uninsured
and Dying
Because of It, estimates by the Institute of Medicine that 18,000
Americans died in 2001 due to a lack of health care coverage may be
off by
as much as 20%. The Urban Institute instead estimates that 21,000
people died in 2001 because they lacked health insurance, amounting
to one
death every 24 minutes. Between 2000 and 2006, the Urban Institute
believes that 165,000 people died because they were uninsured.
Researchers
at both the Institute of Medicine and the Urban Institute say
Americans
face an average 25% increase in the likelihood of death when
uninsured.
Uninsured Americans are at greater risk of death because they do not
receive diagnoses, chronic disease checkups or essential medications
as
quickly or as often as those with coverage, according to the Urban
Institute. With life-threatening diagnoses like cancer, stroke or
hypertension, the lack of frequent or timely treatment can lead to
premature
death. The Institute came up with higher mortality rates because it
estimated that older Americans without insurance face higher
mortality rates
than their younger counterparts.

4. Physician Access: New research suggests the percentage of
doctors
accepting new Medicare patients has remained stable since 2004.
Researchers for Congress' Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
recently
presented data showing that 80%of office-based doctors surveyed
accepted new
Medicare patients in 2006. Data for 2006 also shows that 93% of
doctors
who depend on Medicare for 10% or more of their revenue accepted new
Medicare patients, a figure that has remained unchanged since 2004.
Patient surveys yielded similar findings. A survey of 2,036 people
with
Medicare and 2,025 commercially insured Americans between 50 and 64
found
that people with Medicare often have an easier time finding
providers for
specialty care. Eighty-five percent of respondents with Medicare
reported no trouble locating a specialist in 2007, compared to 79% of
privately insured Americans. Data on the search for a primary care
provider
was less encouraging, but has remained relatively constant since
2005.
Seventy percent of Medicare patients surveyed had no problem finding
a
new primary care physician, a drop from 75% in 2005. In contrast, 82%
of privately insured patients had no problem finding a new primary
care
physician, an increase of 7% since 2005. In addition to locating
providers, survey data shows stable rates in accessing and receiving
care.
Three-fourths of respondents with Medicare who have a primary or
routine
care provider had never experienced care delays. In contrast, only 67
percent of privately insured Americans gave a similar response.
[Source: Medicare Watch www.medicarerights. org 22 Jan 08 ++]

ARIZONA TAXES: Arizonans interested in providing financial help to
military families now can reap a state tax break in the process.
Starting
JAN 08, donations made to a new fund that assists the families of
Arizonans injured or killed in the line of duty can qualify for a
state tax
credit worth up to $200 for singles and $400 for married couples
filing joint income-tax returns. Credits are dollar-for-dollar
reductions in
a person's tax bill and thus are more valuable than deductions, which
reduce taxable income. The new state tax break, which is applicable
for
the 2008 through 2012 tax years, is designed to encourage donations
to
the Military Family Relief Fund. Gov. Janet Napolitano signed the
legislation in December. The fund has started to receive donations
and will
begin to provide assistance in coming months. The fund will help meet
costs incurred by relatives in the event of the death or injury of a
member of the armed forces. Arizonans who give more than the $200/
$400
credit limits can receive federal and state deductions for excess
amounts, as would normally apply on itemized charity donations.
However,
taxpayers won't have to itemize to receive the credit on their state
tax
forms. As it stands now, credits for the program will be capped at $1
million, raising the possibility that the tax break might not last
the full
five years if a lot of people take advantage of it. The Arizona
Department of Revenue doesn't yet have forms for the new credit and
won't
have them until it prepares 2008 tax-filing documents later this
year,
said Dan Zemke, an agency spokesman. The credits won't be
refundable, he
added, meaning they can be used only to whittle down a person's tax
liability to the state. Robert Hockensmith, a Phoenix certified
public
accountant, certified financial planner and colonel in the Arizona
National
Guard, called the credit an "amazing" benefit that complements other
efforts by the state to ease the tax burden on military families.
Specifically, he referred to a new Arizona policy under which the
state no
longer taxes military pay received by Arizonans, including members
of the
National Guard and reservists. That began in 2007 and builds on a
tax-free military-pay rule that has applied for active-duty
personnel since
2006. [Source: The Arizona Republic Russ Wilues article 20 Jan 08
++]

VET CEMETERY VIRGINIA: A University of Virginia study says a new
veterans cemetery in Nelson County may be needed to serve the tens of
thousands of veterans living in the area. The study, commissioned by
the
state Department of Veterans Services, said the cemetery would serve
the
area including Lynchburg, Buena Vista, Lexington, Waynesboro and
Charlottesville. "The most important finding is the location and
need of
another cemetery," said Terance Rephann, an economist with
University of
Virginia's Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, who conducted the
study. The study also found that veterans cemeteries should have a
50-mile
service-area boundary to properly serve the veteran population,
though
the current service area is 75 miles. "Veterans have a strong
preference for the burial site to be close to their family," Rephann
said. The
Nelson cemetery would be mandatory if the state adopts a 50-mile
service
area as the study recommends, especially if the veterans cemetery in
Culpeper Virginia closes as expected in about 15 years. There are
three
national cemeteries in Arlington County, Quantico and Culpeper
County,
and two state veterans' cemeteries in Amelia County and Suffolk. An
additional state veteran's cemetery will be built in Dublin in
Pulaski
County within a few years. The study also found that many veterans
are not
aware of their cemetery veteran benefits and recommended that the
department improve its outreach. [Source: AP article 19 Jan 08 ++]

TAX AUDITS: The Internal Revenue Service is increasing its audit
presence. A new Act has been passed that penalizes preparers who take
unacceptable positions on tax returns. IRS is turning its attention
to
auditing Form 2555 - Foreign Earned Income Exclusion - and Form
1116 -
Foreign Tax Credit. And the national debt, funded by income taxes,
has
exceeded $9 trillion. So with the taxman increasing his presence in
the
lives of American taxpayers, both at home and abroad, tax compliance
this
year will have to be more carefully orchestrated to avoid problems
with
the IRS. Approximately 6.6 million Americans live outside the United
States excluding military. Beginning in 2008, the Internal Revenue
Service in its Form 1040 National Research Program will increase
audits of
American expatriate tax returns claiming the Foreign Earned Income
Exclusion and the Foreign Tax Credit. The Service will also be
improving its
use of Forms 1042-S information documents as well as information
provided by US treaty partners via the Exchange of Information
provisions.
Audits will be conducted for the purpose of assessing penalties for
understated tax liabilities, particularly where the Foreign Tax
Credit
applies when the taxpayer's tax rate is below 30%. [Source: Tax
Barron
Report Jan 08 ++]

TAX FILING OBLIGATIONS OVERSEAS: Residents of foreign countries
generally have to report and pay taxes on their world-wide income to
the tax
authority of the country wherein they reside. But US citizens or
deemed US residents are also obliged to report world-wide income to
the
Internal Revenue Service (IRS). And without due diligence in how to
go
about reporting that income, they could in certain circumstances end
up
paying taxes stateside in spite of double taxation treaties.
Understanding
whether there is a filing requirement is therefore essential - since
anyone receiving earnings below a threshold is not obliged to file.
This
threshold is merely the combination of two categories: exemption(s)
and standard deduction (or itemized deductions). Anyone receiving
income
below the following combined category amounts need not file:

- Single: $8,750 / Over 65 $10,050
- Head of Household: 11,250 / Over 65 12,550
- Qualifying widow(er): 14,100 / Over 65 15,150
- Married filing jointly: 17,500 / 1 spouse over 65 18,550 / both
spouses over 65 19,600
- Married filing separately: 3,400

So any taxpayer whose earnings exceed an applicable threshold amount
must file a tax return. Foreign earned income (wages, salaries, self-
employment) must also be included in the calculation of total income
even
if excluded by the foreign earned income exclusion (FEIE). To reduce
the chances of double taxation, IRS allows that FEIE be applied
against
foreign earnings; $87,500 in 2007. Foreign earnings above this
$87,500
excludable amount are taxable stateside, but the US tax may be
offset by
a foreign tax credit (FTC) applied against taxes paid to the foreign
country of residence. In fact, the FTC is available on any income
taxes
paid abroad. A problem is that the FTC does not always fully offset
US
taxes.

Certain penalties apply for failing to comply with US tax laws.
IRS assesses penalties at 5% a month against any unpaid taxes up to
25%.
In cases where fraud is deemed to have been committed - for instance,
in failing to report foreign earned income - IRS can assess 75% while
denying the taxpayer the foreign earned income exclusion. It may also
seek criminal penalties for not reporting foreign earnings, in which
case
the taxpayer could face jail time. Americans are also obliged to file
information returns on investments in foreign corporations, foreign
partnerships and foreign accounts, or risk very severe penalties.
The due
date for filing tax and certain information returns is 16 JUN 08 (15
OCT
by filing Form 4868). However any taxes due for 2007 must be paid by
15 APR along with first quarter 2008 estimated taxes. Any US citizen
or
deemed resident living abroad who has not filed a tax return for some
years should promptly do so as an offensive position is always better
than a defensive one. IRS is actively increasing its powers of audit
in
order to catch non-compliers. Generally the revenue service will only
require the last three years tax returns be filed. [Source: Tax
Barron
Report www.taxbarron. com Jan 08 ++]

TAX CHANGES 2007: The following changes are applicable to your 2007
Federal tax:

• Standard Deduction: MFJ $10,700
• Head of Household: $7,850 / Single $5,350 / MFS $5,350. The
additional deduction for the aged is $1,050 if married or $1,300 if
Single or
Head of Household.
• Tax Rates Single: $0 - $7,825, 10%; $7,826 - $31,850, 15%;
$31,851 -
$77,100, 25%; $77,101 - $160,850, 28%; $160,851 - $349,700, 33%;
$349,700, 35%.
• Tax Rates MFJ: $0 - $15,650, 10%; $15,651 - $63,700, 15%;
$63,701 -
$128,500, 25%; $128,501 - $195,850, 28%; $195,851 - $349,700, 33%;
$349,700, 35%.
• Tax Rates MFS: $0 - $7,825, 10%; $7,826 - $31,850, 15%;
$31,851 -
$64,250, 25%; $64,251 - $97,925, 28%; $97,926 - $174,850, 33%;
$174,850,
35%.
• HH: $0 - $11,200, 10%; $11,201 - $42,650, 15%; $42,651 -
$110,100,
25%; $110,101 - $178,350, 28%; $178,351 - $349,700, 33%; $349,700,
35%.
• The Capital Gains Tax Rates are 5% for taxpayers in the 10%
and 15%
tax brackets and 15% if they are in the upper 25% - 35% brackets.

On 17 DEC 07 Representative Gregory Meeks introduced the Working
American Competitiveness Act. The proposed legislation stipulates:
At the
election of a qualified individual, there shall be excluded from the
gross
income of such individual, and exempt from taxation under this
subtitle, for any taxable year, the foreign earned income of such
individual.
The bill has been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. If
this legislation passes both houses of Congress, the foreign earned
income exclusion will be unlimited. [Source: Tax Barron Report Jan
08 ++]

FLUORIDATION: California's largest water agency, the Metropolitan
Water District (MWD) of Southern California, has completed its
efforts to
fluoridate the water that reaches some 18 million residents in
Southern
California. The MWD serves 26 cities and water systems in Los
Angeles,
Orange, Riverside, San Diego, and Ventura counties. The California
Dental Association Foundation subsidized the effort with $5.5
million to
design and construct fluoridation facilities at MWD's five treatment
facilities. Since 1995, California state law has required
fluoridation of
any public water supply with at least 10,000 customers, provided
funding is available. Los Angeles and Santa Monica proceeded without
outside
funding. Long Beach, Beverly Hills, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach
had fluoridated water prior to passage of the law. The U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that
approximately 67%
of Americans who receive water from a public water supply now drink
water with optimal fluoride levels for preventing decay. [Source:
Consumer Health Digest 15 Jan 08 ++]

VETERAN EMPLOYMENT UPDATE 02: This New Year brings new job
opportunities for transitioning servicemembers and veterans
interested in careers
in health care, technology and consulting. The Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) predicts that these industries will have the largest
employment, salary and wage growth into 2016. If clicking on the
below items
does not open a website for further details refer to
http://www.military .com/NL_MR/ 1,14852,5391, 00.html. Here are the top
jobs for 2008:

1) Network systems and data communications analyst
2) Personal and home care aides
3) Home health aides
4) Computer software engineers, applications
5) Veterinary technologists and technicians
6) Personal financial advisors
7) Medical assistants
8) Veterinarians
9) Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors
10) Financial analysts
11) Social and human service assistants
12) Gaming surveillance officers and gaming investigators
13) Physical therapist assistants
14) Forensic science technicians
15) Dental hygienists
16) Mental health counselors
17) Mental health and substance abuse social workers
18) Dental assistants
19) Computer systems analysts
20) Database administrators
21) Computer software engineers, systems software
22) Gaming and Sports book writers and runners
23)- Environmental science and protection technicians, including
health
24) Physical therapists
25) Physician assistants
[Source: Military.com article 14 Jan 08 ++

VA BURIAL PROGRAM SURVEY: The VA is conducting a program evaluation
of the Burial Benefits program. VA will use information gathered
from
the evaluation to ascertain how well it has reached its goals and the
impact of its burial program on the lives of veterans and their
families.
This information will enable VA to evaluate current and potential
burial benefits, consider new policies and set priorities for the
future.
As part of the evaluation, a national survey on burial preferences
will
be conducted with veterans. Focus groups with veteran next of kin
and
funeral directors will also be conducted. Data collection from the
survey and focus groups will take place from 3 JAN thru 28 FEB 08.
Approximately 38,000 veterans and 1,000 next of kin and funeral
directors
have already been randomly selected from VA administrative databases
to
participate in the evaluation. A notification letter was mailed to
these
participants on 3 JAN, informing them of their selection to
participate in either the survey or a focus group. Sites selected
for focus
groups include Springfield VA; Tampa FL; Minneapolis MN; Denver CO;
and Los
Angeles CA. Participation of veterans, veteran next of kin, and
funeral directors in this evaluation is voluntary. Respondents will
be
assured that their answers will be kept confidential under the
Privacy Act,
will be used for research purposes only, and will be reported at the
group-level only. If you have questions about the survey or focus
groups, call an ICF International Caliber representative at 1(888)
556-6355
09-1700 EST. [Source: NAUS Weekly update 18 Jan 08 ++]

GI BILL UPDATE 17: At a hearing before the House Veterans Affairs
Economic Opportunity Subcommittee on 17 JAN the MOAA and others
presented
their recommendations for upgrading the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB).
Vic
Snyder (D-AR), a member of the Subcommittee and former Chairman of
the
Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee, was thanked by the
Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) representative COL
Bob
Norton, USA (Ret) for his pivotal role in winning a 10-year post-
service
readjustment benefit for reservists who earn MGIB benefits for
service on
active duty. That change will take effect when the FY2008 National
Defense Authorization Act is signed into law. MOAA endorsed the seven
legislative proposals under consideration at the hearing, especially
bills
such as H.R. 2702 that would raise MGIB reimbursement rates. The bill
also would allow 15 years (vice 10) of post-service use eligibility
and
extend eligibility to all entering recruits, without the current
$1,200
fee. MOAA believes strongly that
• GI Bill benefits should be raised to cover the average cost
of a
four-year public college or university. They now cover about 75% of
that
amount.
• Reservists should be entitled to full active-duty MGIB
benefits if
they complete a cumulative 36 months on active duty. At present, that
only earns them 80% of the full benefit.

Rep. John Hall (D-NY), whose district includes West Point, asked about
educational incentives to retain military academy graduates. Norton
noted that the Army already has lost more than half of the West Point
class of 2002 and has growing shortages of mid-grade officers. He
urged
making service academy graduates and ROTC scholarship recipients
(who are
excluded on the rationale that the military funded their
undergraduate
degrees) eligible for the MGIB if they agree to extend their initial
service commitment. [Source: MOAA Leg Up 18 Jan 08 ++]

VA BUDGET 2008 UPDATE 12: In a White House conference call on 17 JAN
the President announced he had approved the $3.7 billion in emergency
supplemental appropriations passed by Congress in the waning days of
2007. VA needs the additional $3.7 billion in emergency funding to
help
reduce the unacceptable claims backlog and hire PTSD counselors and
claims adjudicators to work with returning OEF/OIF veterans. Under
the
strange rules of appropriations, Congress authorized the extra
money, over
and above the President's budget request. But because it exceeded the
budget authority, Congress designated it as "emergency" supplemental
spending. Under the budget rules, the President has the discretion
to
decide whether or not to spend that extra money. In this particular
case,
the extra $3.7 billion to meet VA health care and other needs would
only be available if the President sent a special budget notice to
Congress by 18 JAN. [Source: MOAA Leg Up 18 Jan 08 ++]

WEP/GPO: On 16 JAN the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social
Security conducted a hearing on the impact of the Government Pension
Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), taking
testimony
from Social Security and Congressional Research Service officials as
well as a diverse group of advocates for state government employees
and
teachers. Social Security covers approximately 96% of U.S. workers.
But 25% of public sector employees (federal, state, and municipal)
have
unique retirement systems that aren't covered by Social Security.
Federal civilian employees who were hired before 1984 also fall
under an
independent retirement system. In all, about 6.5 million federal,
state and
local workers aren't covered by Social Security. If people in this
category also held at least one job during their working lives that
was
covered by Social Security, they find in retirement that they suffer
a
statutory penalty called the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP).
This
entails a complicated formula that reduces their Social Security
benefit by up to $340 per month.

They may also suffer a penalty if they themselves held Social
Security-exempt jobs that provide an independent retirement annuity,
but
are married to someone who spent a working career under Social
Security.
If the Social Security-covered spouse dies and the remaining spouse
draws a Social Security benefit as a survivor, the spouse runs into a
separate penalty called the Government Pension Offset (GPO).
The GPO reduces the survivor's Social Security benefit by an amount
equal to two-thirds of the survivor's federal
civilian/state/ teacher's
retirement pension. According to the National Active and Retired
Federal
Employees Association (NARFE), the GPO affects 400,000 people, and
causes the vast majority to lose their entire Social Security
benefit. When
WEP and GPO offsets were enacted decades ago, their intent was to
mitigate the progressive nature of Social Security benefits, which
were
seen as providing disproportional rewards for people who spent a
relatively small part of their careers paying into Social Security.

MOAA and NARFE believe the WEP and GPO impose disproportional
penalties, and actively discourage public service just when there's a
crying need for more teachers and experienced personnel in state and
municipal governments. Also that GPO and WEP significantly undermine
important
programs like Troops to Teachers. But changing the law will be a
major
challenge, to say the least. Repeal would cost $80 billion over ten
years, and more modest reforms would still carry daunting price tags
for
Congress at a time when long-term financing of Social Security is
already a major national issue. Those who believe that something
needs to be
done to ease the current inequity can support this effort by asking
your legislators to cosponsor H.R.82 and S.206. An easy way to
accomplish
this is to enter your ZIP code in the indicated box at
http://capwiz. com/moaa/ issues/bills/ ?bill=9286191 for H.R.82 &
http://capwiz. com/moaa/ issues/bills/ ?bill=9287906 for S.206 to send
them a MOAA-suggested message. [Source: MOAA Leg Up 18 Jan 08 ++]

VA PERFORMANCE UPDATE 01: Few federal programs have seen the kind of
turnaround experienced by the Veterans Affairs Department's health
care
system in the late 1990s. Formerly a poster child for substandard
medical care and incompetent management, VA's health care system now
is
considered by many to be the best in the country. Its ratings for
quality
of care and customer satisfaction have risen even as the patient load
has increased. Major media outlets have credited the agency's use of
electronic medical records, unprecedented even in the private
sector, with
improving medical care, and Democratic presidential contenders
Hillary
Clinton and Barack Obama have held up VA's system as a model for
nationwide health care reform. But the department's success is in
jeopardy,
according to Dr. Kenneth Kizer, undersecretary for health at Veterans
Affairs from 1994 to 1999 and the man many credit with leading the
management reforms that ultimately fixed the broken health care
system.
Kizer now serves on the independent Commission on the Future of
America's
Veterans, which is examining demographic and budgetary trends, as
well
as changes in both warfare and health care, with an eye to providing
the
most effective programs and services to veterans. "We see a future
that is not particularly bright for the VA," said Kizer, speaking at
a
forum in Washington sponsored by the New America Foundation, a
nonprofit
public policy institute. Rising medical costs, aging infrastructure
and
an increase in patients with serious, and expensive, medical needs
all
are contributing to growing concern that medical care for veterans
will
deteriorate under the current system. "Economics are going to be
driving some very difficult decision-making down the road," Kizer
said. For
that reason, the commission is planning to recommend later this year
that Congress create a government-chartere d entity, structured
somewhat
like the U.S. Postal Service, to manage health care for veterans, he
said. The entity's charter would detail its mission, funding,
governance
and assets, as well as requirements that senior managers hold
specific
skill sets and areas of expertise.

As a federal agency dependent on congressional appropriations,
Veterans Affairs is increasingly ill-suited to manage health care for
veterans, Kizer said. The annual appropriations process creates
program
instability and prevents strategic planning. In addition, the agency
cannot exercise the kind of management judgment that corporations
routinely
exercise. For example, VA has found it extraordinarily difficult to
close underused or outdated hospitals since no member of Congress
wants to
lose a medical facility in his or her district. As a result, the
agency can't close hospitals in areas where they're not needed or
build new
ones in areas where they are needed. "The average age of VA hospitals
is 50 years old," said William Diefenderfer, former deputy director
of
the Office of Management and Budget and now a commissioner. We
haven't
built a new hospital in 20 years. A government-chartere d
entity "would
have the authority to buy and sell assets and borrow money against
them," Diefenderfer said. It also would be able to create new
sources of
revenue. For example, it could provide health care to all veterans
and
their families who have the ability to pay - something the VA cannot
do
currently. Arthur Hamerschlag, former chief of staff at the Veterans
Health Administration, the health care arm of Veterans Affairs, said
he
was not necessarily opposed to the creation of a government-chartere d
health system for veterans, but that a number of issues would first
need
to be resolved, including how the new entity would negotiate drug
prices
and whether or not it would accept Medicare - something VHA does not
do now. Veterans Affairs has been able to hold down drug costs
because
federal law allows the agency to negotiate below-market prices from
pharmaceutical companies, something private health care systems would
likely protest if a new quasi-private entity were created that could
compete
for patients, as the commission envisions. "I think VA will find
itself in the medical marketplace in a way it does not now," said
Hamerschlag. "That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it will
require a different
skill set." [Source: GOVExec.com Katherine McIntire Peters 16 Jan 08
++

TRICARE LAP-BAND SURGERY: Tricare beneficiaries whose weight poses a
serious health risk now have available a new surgical alternative.
For
those who medically qualify, Tricare now covers laparoscopic
adjustable gastric banding, also commonly called Lap-Band surgery.
Although the
TRICARE policy change has only recently been made, coverage is
retroactive to 1 FEB 07. Maj. Gen. Elder Granger, deputy director of
the
Tricare Management Activity said, "We at Tricare are careful to only
cover
procedures that have been proven safe and effective, and are
accepted by
the medical community. We've added this procedure because, for some
beneficiaries, it may be the right course of action to preserve their
health." Granger added that, like gastric bypass, gastric stapling or
gastroplasty, Lap-Band surgery is only for those suffering morbid
obesity.
In medical terms, that means their body weight is 100 pounds over
ideal weight for their height and bone structure, and their weight is
associated with severe medical conditions known to have higher
mortality
rates. Body weight that is more than twice the ideal weight for the
person's height and bone structure may also indicate morbid obesity.
In
addition, Tricare will cover the surgery if a patient has had an
intestinal bypass or other surgery for obesity and, because of
complications,
requires a second surgery. Details of the coverage are available in
the
Tricare Policy Manual, which beneficiaries can view online at
http://manuals. tricare.osd. mil/index. cfm?
fuseaction=TMAManua ls.DisplayManual SeriesInfo& ManualSeries= POLICY&TP02
=67#TP02.
A search for "morbid obesity" goes directly to the correct section.
[Source: TMA News Release 16 Jan 08 ++]

VETERAN CHARITIES UPDATE 06: With scores of U.S. soldiers returning
home from Vietnam, California businessman and Army veteran Roger
Chapin
founded a charity in 1971 dedicated to those troops recuperating in
hospitals. Over the next three decades, Help Hospitalized Veterans
would
distribute millions of therapeutic craft kits to make moccasins,
wooden
wind chimes and other trinkets and would win accolades from
presidents
and Hollywood celebrities alike. Yet, as the nonprofit enterprise
has
ballooned into one of the country's largest veterans charities,
reporting $71.3 million in donations during the past fiscal year, its
spending practices have drawn sharp criticism from charity
watchdogs. Between
1997 and 2005, the charity paid $3.8 million in salary and benefits
to
Chapin and his wife and spent more than $200 million on fundraising
and
public education campaigns, according to a Washington Post analysis
of
federal tax filings. The public records also show that the charity
awarded at least $19 million in contracts during that period to
companies
owned by Richard A. Viguerie, a prominent conservative political
commentator and advertising consultant based in Virginia.

Help Hospitalized Veterans is one of several military-oriented
charities whose spending practices are the subject of a congressional
investigation. Chapin evaded U.S. marshals trying to serve him with a
subpoena last month, said Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA.), chairman of
the
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Chapin, who has
since
been served, is expected to testify today before the committee.
Chapin, who has founded more than 20 nonprofit organizations over
three
decades, also is president and founder of the Coalition to Salute
America's Heroes, a smaller charity that provides emergency financial
assistance to veterans and their families. That group is also under
investigation by Congress, according to committee staff members, and
is
expected to be a subject of the hearing. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-
MD), a
committee member, said in an interview the committee wants to find a
way to
distinguish between charities that truly serve veterans and those
"committing fraud against the public."

Chapin, reached at his San Diego home last month, said watchdogs
and members of Congress are misrepresenting his charities. No laws at
the federal or state level regulate the amount of money charities
spend
on overhead, fundraising or charitable causes. The American
Institute of
Philanthropy, a leading charity watchdog, issued a report last month
suggesting that Help Hospitalized Veterans and 19 other veterans'
charities manage their resources poorly, paying high overhead costs
and
direct-mail fundraising fees. Help Hospitalized Veterans spends 31%
of its
funds on charitable causes according to Daniel Borochoff, president
of
the American Institute of Philanthropy. The institute recommends that
charities spend at least 60% of their funds on charitable programs.
Critics have not contended that all veterans' charities manage their
funds
poorly. Some charities, including the Fisher House Foundation and the
Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust, consistently
have
received high marks from watchdogs.

High overhead costs can be expected for start-up charities, Rep.
Thomas M. Davis III (R-VA) said in an interview. But he said it is
important to determine whether some veteran's charities have been "a
serial
swindler in terms of taking people's money and not spending it." Help
Hospitalized Veterans paid Chapin $426,434 in salary and benefits in
the
past fiscal year, The Post's review of a tax filing showed. His wife,
Elizabeth, received $113,623 in salary and benefits as "newsletter
editor," the filing shows. In the filing, the charity reports that
the
Chapins each worked 40 hours per week. In a separate tax filing, the
Coalition to Salute America's Heroes reported that Roger Chapin
worked
another 40 hours per week for his job there but did not collect pay.
Mike
Lynch, executive director of Help Hospitalized Veterans, said the
charity's board considers Chapin's wages "proper compensation. " Help
Hospitalized Veterans has spent some of its donations in the real
estate market.
The charity purchased a condominium unit in Fairfax County in May
2006
for $444,600, according to property records reviewed by The Post.
Chapin said the charity purchased the Falls Church apartment because
of his
frequent travel to Washington. The charity also purchased at least
nine
properties in the past decade in California, where the group has its
headquarters, records reviewed by The Post show. The charity has long
had ties to Viguerie. Richard Viguerie has been dubbed the "funding
father" of modern conservative strategy, having pioneered important
tactics
in computerized direct mail strategy in the 1970s and 1980s. He is
considered the direct mail titan of the right. In the past fiscal
year,
Viguerie's companies received $3.9 million from the charity,
according to
its filings with the Internal Revenue Service. Viguerie has been
asked
to testify at the hearing. Reached at his office in Manassas this
week,
an assistant said Viguerie would not answer questions from a Post
reporter, citing a policy against commenting on clients. [Source:
Washington Post Philip Rucker article17 Jan 08 ++]

VETERAN CHARITIES UPDATE 07: A congressional investigation 16 JAN
uncovered new allegations of questionable spending practices at two
veterans charities, including one that paid retired Army Gen. Tommy
Franks
$100,000 to appear in its solicitation letters using money the
nonprofit
raised to help soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. At a
raucous three-hour hearing House members questioned California
entrepreneur
Roger Chapin about his management of two charities. One charity, Help
Hospitalized Veterans, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in
donations that were to help wounded soldiers on personal expenses
for Chapin,
executive director Mike Lynch and Richard A. Viguerie, to whom the
charity has awarded millions of dollars in fundraising- consulting
contracts, the hearing found. The expenses included at least
$340,000 in meals,
hotels and entertainment; a $135,000 loan to Lynch for a divorce
settlement with his former wife; a $17,000 country club membership;
three
airplane tickets to Hawaii; and a $1 million loan to Viguerie for a
start-up initiative at his firm, several members of the committee
said.
Chapin said he later repaid the charity for the flights and said the
golf
club membership was a "perk" for board members. The second charity,
the
Coalition to Support America `s Heroes, used Franks in its
solicitation
letters, the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform
found.


Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) chairman of the committee said Help
Hospitalized Veterans raised more than $168 million from 2004 to
2006.
The charity spent a quarter of those donations on the veterans, with
the
rest going to direct-mail fundraising, salaries and other expenses.
Republicans and Democrats voiced outrage over what Waxman called an
intolerable fraud. "Most of the millions they receive never reach
veterans
or their families," Waxman said. "Instead, the groups waste those
contributions on bloated overhead costs and self-enrichment. " There
are no
laws that regulate how much charities spend on fundraising and
overhead
costs. There also are no requirements that nonprofit groups disclose
such breakdowns in their solicitations. Several lawmakers signaled
yesterday that they may introduce legislation aimed at helping
donors better
understand the finances of nonprofit groups. Rep. Christopher Shays
(R-CT.) asked Chapin what would happen if his charities told donors
how
their donations were spent.
"If we disclose, which I'm more than happy to do, we'd all be out of
business," Chapin said. "Nobody would donate. It would dry up."

A spokesman for Franks said the retired general made several
speeches for the charity in 2004 and 2005, as well as allowing his
name to
appear on direct mailings for about a year. He ended his
support "when
he learned that the percentage of money raised that was going to the
troops was less than 85%, a figure which was then and remains today,
his
criteria for supporting charitable organizations, " said retired Col.
Michael Hayes, Franks's chief of staff. Lynch told The Post this
week
that Help Hospitalized Veterans meets the Better Business Bureau's
standards, but bureau President H. Art Taylor said yesterday that
both Chapin
charities do not. A committee member, Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT),
expressed anger over his colleagues' harsh scrutiny of Chapin's
charities.
"I am deeply concerned that we're whacking on groups that are
supporting
the military," Cannon said. Chapin's nonprofit groups are two of
several veterans' charities under scrutiny for their spending
practices. The
American Institute of Philanthropy, a leading watchdog group, has
suggested that Chapin's groups are among 19 military-oriented
charities
that manage their resources poorly. Some other veteran's charities
consistently received high marks from the institute and other
watchdog
groups... [Source: Washington Post Philip Rucker article 18 Jan 08
++]

OKLAHOMA VET INSURANCE PLAN: Saying one out of eight veterans is
uninsured, Sen. Andrew Rice (D-Oklahoma city) proposed 15 JAN
creating an
Oklahoma Veterans Health Insurance program. He said many people
think
all veterans qualify for free health care through the U.S. Veterans
affairs Department. "Sadly, that's not true, and when the
Legislature sets
our priorities at the beginning of this session, Oklahoma's military
veterans deserve to be at or near the top," said Rice. The proposed
insurance program would not be free. Veterans would be required to
pay
premiums and co-payments based on their household income. According
to the
latest census information, Oklahoma has 340,000 veterans. Under his
proposal, the veterans' health insurance program would be
administered by
the Oklahoma Veterans Affairs Department. [Source: NewsOK.com 16
Jan
08 ++]

GULF WAR VETERAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE: A U.S. congressman is asking
the
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a committee that
would give Persian Gulf War veterans a better and simpler way to
access VA
resources. In a 3 JAN letter to VA Secretary James Peake, U.S. Rep.
Chet Edwards (D-TX) requested the formation of a Gulf War Veteran
Advisory
Committee, writing that the current setup does not adequately address
the range of issues facing those who fought in that 1991 war. Edwards
also chairs the U.S. House Military Appropriations Subcommittee.
Currently, the VA's Research Advisory Committee (RAC) is the
only "Gulf
War-focused entity" within the department, Edwards writes, and that
committee's charter is focused on medical research recommendations.
Kirt Love, a
Gulf War veteran who served with the 1st Armored Division, asked for
Edwards' help in an effort to better communicate the needs of
veterans
from his war, which he feels are neglected. Love said in an e-mail
that
he became "deathly ill" after the war and has struggled for answers.
"Currently VA pretends that Gulf War veterans do not exist and is
non-responsive to any request made of them," Love wrote in an e-
mail. "Things
are worse than ever before and VA doesn't seem to care about that
fact.
So veterans like myself struggle with inferior care and minimal
benefits, forgotten by the country we served faithfully in 1991." VA
representatives have not yet responded to requests for comment. But
Josh
Taylor, an Edwards spokesman, wrote in an e-mail that "In general,
Chairman
Edwards felt this was an important issue to bring to the attention of
the Secretary." And as the legislative session gets under way, there
will
be opportunities to discuss the committee further, Taylor said.

Excerpts from the letter include, "As you know, many of these
veterans have felt neglected by the government — both the VA and the
Defense Department — and while there are a wide range of issues they
would
like to raise, there is no common venue within the VA for them to
raise
their concerns…While these issues are brought to the RAC, simply
because
its charter deals with Gulf War Illness, the RAC is not equipped or
authorized to address them. A committee focusing on Gulf War veterans
would help identify and prioritize unmet needs while consolidating
improvements to care and services for those veterans… In May the VA
established the Advisory Committee on OIF/OEF Veterans and Families,
which
provides support for veterans of those wars. A similar entity should
be
available for Gulf War veterans …Including veterans of the conflict
in the
committee would be "critical. I would hope the committee would have
some
autonomy, its own staff, and some members of the committee from
outside the government. I believe this would help the committee
build trust
with Gulf War veterans and therefore improve the committee's ability
to
succeed from the outset." [Source: Stars and Stripes George
Ziezulewicz
article 15 Jan 08 ++]

DOD DISABILITY EVALUATION SYSTEM UPDATE 09: The Army's new Warrior
Transition Unit led by Lt. Col. Chip Pierce is a brigade designed
specifically to address the administrative needs of injured
soldiers. In
February, Army Times reported that soldiers languished for months —
even
years — in the medical hold system, facing bureaucratic tangles as
they
worked their way toward the physical evaluation board to determine
their
disability rating for retirement pay. The stories, as well as reports
from the Pentagon Inspector's General and Government Accountability
Office and testimony of injured soldiers before Congress, brought
about a
series of investigations and planned changes. And the new Warrior
Transition Unit meant officials could immediately put some of those
changes
into effect. Since then, the Army has added staff, improved training
for
counselors and lawyers, and ensured every soldier has someone
overseeing his or her progress through the system. And Building 18,
Walter
Reed's dilapidated symbol of the breakdown in the system, no longer
houses
wounded soldiers.

While the number of soldiers medically retired — meaning they
received a disability rating of 30% or higher or had at least 18
years of
service when they went through the disability process — declined from
2005 to 2006, it increased by several hundred in 2007, according to
figures provide by Col. Carlton Buchanan, deputy commander of the
Army's
Physical Disability Agency. Moreover, Buchanan said, while 270 fewer
soldiers were medically retired in 2006 than in 2005, the percentage
of
those completing the evaluation process that were medically retired
went up
over th