NAUS Weekly Update for November 21, 2007

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.National Association
for Uniformed Services®Weekly UpdateNovember 21, 2007


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"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy ~

WASHINGTON REPORT

NAUS President Urges Action
This week NAUS President MG Matz sent a letter to the Chairmen and Ranking members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees encouraging their bipartisan cooperation and requesting they take immediate action to remove the non-germane addition of "hate-crimes legislation" to the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

In his letter President Matz noted:

"This provision (Hate-Crimes) does not belong in the NDAA Conference Report. It is non-germane to Defense issues and its consideration needlessly politicizes the Defense bill and unnecessarily delays its timely enactment. NAUS urges you to take whatever steps necessary to remove this divisive, non-defense matter and move the NDAA as soon as possible."

Read the entire letter on the NAUS website at http://www.naus. org/news/ news.html.

We urge you to contact your elected officials and let them know how you feel about this unnecessary delay in finalizing the NDAA.

Secretary's Blog
Last week we reported that Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. S. Ward Casscells was the keynote speaker at our Annual Membership Meeting. We also want to pass on that Dr. Casscells maintains a Blog on the DoD Healhcare website where he passes on many interesting pieces of information that you should find very informative. You can read the Blog at http://mhs.osd. mil/mhsblog. jsp .

FTC Warns of Cell-phone Scares
The Federal Trade Commission has reiterated that, despite claims made in e-mails circulating on the Internet, consumers should not be concerned about their cell phone numbers being released to telemarketers in the near future, and they do not have to register their cell phone numbers on the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry. The FTC listed the following "truths."

• <LI class=MsoNormal>Cell phone numbers are NOT being released to telemarketers, and you will NOT soon be getting telemarketing calls on your cell phone. <LI class=MsoNormal>There is NO deadline to register your cell phone number on the registry.
• Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations prohibit telemarketers from using automated dialers to call cell phone numbers.

The national associations representing telemarketers have stated that their members do not intend to start calling consumers' cell phones.

The National DNC Registry is for both cell phones and landlines. You must call from the phone number that you want to register.

Even if a wireless 411 directory were established, most telemarketing calls to cell phones would still be illegal. Furthermore, you would have to opt in for such calls.

For further information, visit http://www.ftc. gov/opa/2007/ 10/dnccellphones .shtm.

HEALTH CARE NEWS

Non-Formulary Medications
TRICARE provides prescription medication for all eligible TRICARE beneficiaries. Costs for prescriptions are based on the category under which the drug is classified—formulary or non-formulary and generic or brand name—and where the prescription is filled—MTF pharmacy, TRICARE Mail Order Pharmacy (TMOP), TRICARE Retail Pharmacy (TRRx) network, or a non-network pharmacy.

At $22 apiece, the co-payment for non-formulary medications can be a costly option for TRICARE beneficiaries. Beneficiaries taking these medications may want to consult with their health care providers about changing to first- or second-tier alternatives.

Whenever providers prescribe medications, beneficiaries should ask if a generic alternative is available that would provide the same clinical results in that drug class. Beneficiaries can also ask providers if establishing medical necessity for the third-tier medication is appropriate. If medical necessity is established for a third-tier medication, the co-payment is reduced to the brand name (2nd tier) price of $9.

Non-formulary medications are not available at military treatment facility (MTF) pharmacies unless an MTF provider establishes medical necessity and writes the prescription. Medical necessity forms and criteria are available at www.tricare. mil/pharmacy/ medical-nonformu lary.cfm.

For a complete list of medications, their formulary status and where they are available, beneficiaries may visit www.tricareformular ysearch.org/ dod/medicationce nter/default. aspx.

Beneficiaries may find more information on the TRICARE Retail Pharmacy and locations, and the TRICARE Mail Order Pharmacy at www.express- scripts.com/ TRICARE.

ACTIVE DUTY NEWS

Deployed Troops' "Calls Home Program" Expected to "Surge" Closer to Holidays
(AAFES Press Release)
Deployed troops know there's no better sound than a loved one's voice during the holidays. In fact, when the holidays came last year Soldiers, Airmen, Marines and Sailors deployed in support of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom responded, scooping up almost 80,000 Military Exchange Global Prepaid Phone cards in November and December alone, ultimately spending some 23 million minutes on the phone at telecommunication centers throughout Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait.

"Troops really ratchet up the communication once the calendar flips to November," said AAFES' Senior Enlisted Advisor Chief Master Sgt. Bryan Eaton. "Even with the technological advances of email and text messages, a phone call is still the most personal way to bridge the gap between the front lines and the home front."

To help keep telecommunication costs low for troops far from home and provide an affordable avenue for every American to make a tangible impact on deployed troops' morale this holiday season, AAFES' "Help Our Troops Call Home" program continues to improve military Families' quality of life.

"This initiative goes far beyond a service member soldiering in the desert," said Eaton. "Phone calls home during this time of year can also impact how a child is doing in school or even a spouse's ability to manage the hectic season. Add it all up and it becomes pretty clear that phone calls home aren't just a luxury, they're a quality of life issue for the entire Armed Forces community."

Any American can help keep military Families connected this holiday season by logging on to www.aafes.org or calling 800-527-2345. From there, Global Prepaid Phone cards can be sent to individual service members (designated by the sender) or even directed to "any service member" through various charitable partners.

Since "Help Our Troops Call Home" began in April 2004, the American public has placed 131,503 individual orders for more than 222,000 Military Exchange Global Prepaid phone cards. More than 24,000 of these orders have been earmarked for "any service member" and distributed via charities such as the American Red Cross, Air Force Aid Society, Fisher House Foundation, Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, Soldier & Family Assistance Center and USO.

Transition Support for Separating Service Members
Turbo TAP is an easy to use, interactive Web portal that provides life-long support to separating military service members (Active Duty, Guard and Reserve) and their families. It is a single source starting point for accessing key resources available for service members transitioning out of the military at any point in their military career – these include Department of Defense, Department of Labor, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Education, Small Business Administration, the National Veterans Corporation and the National Guard Bureau. Their website is located at www.TurboTap. org.

CCAF Officials Launch Web-based Research Tool
The Community College of the Air Force has established a new Web-based program that provides students education and national certification information related to Air Force occupational specialties. The Credentialing and Education Research Tool (CERT) is an online research tool that links CCAF degree programs with nationally-recogniz ed professional certifications relevant to specific career fields. Go to http://www.maxwell. af.mil/au/ ccaf/certificati ons.asp for more information.

Free Music
13 of today's most popular recording artists including Billy Joel, Brooks & Dunn and Five for Fighting recently banded together to offer free music downloads for the troops. "CD for the Troops" is available for anyone with a valid military identification card and can be downloaded at no cost from the Army and Air Force Exchange Service Web site, http://www.aafes. com/. 200,000 hard copies of the CD will be distributed to service members in combat zones, military hospitals and Fisher Houses. You can read a DoD press release regarding this worthwhile project at http://www.defensel ink.mil// news/newsarticle .aspx?id= 48162 .

VETERANS NEWS

VA Loses Some More Records
The Department of Veterans Affairs is individually notifying about 12,000 veterans treated at the VA hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana, that they may be at risk for identity theft because of records inadvertently stored on a computer stolen last week.

The VA will offer credit protection and financial protection to everyone whose names, Social Security numbers and birthdates were stored on the stolen computer, said a VA spokesman.

Three computers, printers and other computer equipment were taken from the Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis. The VA inspector general and federal, state and local law enforcement are investigating, she said.

One of the stolen computers contained personal information on about 12,000 patients that was being used for billing purposes. Both inpatients and outpatients are affected.

Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), ranking member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee said sensitive information on veterans is supposed to be kept on servers, not on personal computers, to reduce the chances of a security breach.

The civilian employee who had the data on her computer's hard drive appeared to be unaware that it was even there until meeting with VA security employees to talk about what records might be missing.

The hard drive containing the personal data was password-protected, but she did not know if the information was encrypted. VA security policies call for personal information stored on laptop computers and in portable storage devices to be encrypted. VA servers also have security to prevent intrusion and unauthorized use, but that did not appear to help in this case, where information pulled from the hospital's computer network was automatically saved on the desktop computer.

Social Security Improves Service to Wounded Veterans
Social Security officials recently announced a series of initiatives the department has undertaken to improve service and expand outreach to wounded veterans and their families. This includes expedited processing of disability claims for service members become disabled while on active duty on, or after October 1, 2001. The preferential claims process is applicable regardless of where the disability occurs, and applies to survivor claims as well.

Other improvements include an agreement with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to electronically provide Social Security with the medical records of veterans applying for disability benefits, assigning liaisons throughout the country to work closely with VA's Transition Patient Advocates, providing more training for disability examiners on veterans disabilities, and placement of Social Security staff at key Military Treatment Facilities.

The department has created an easy-to-use website that provides information about Social Security and military service. It is located at www.socialsecurity. gov/woundedwarri ors and includes a link to apply for disability benefits online.

NAUS NEWS

Early Update
This edition of the NAUS Weekly Update is being sent today, Wednesday, November 21, due to the Thanksgiving Day Holiday. NAUS Headquarters will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 22 and 23 and will re-open at 8:00 a.m. Monday, November 26.

NAUS President MG Matz and the entire Headquarters Staff wish you and your families a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

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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.

GODBLESSAMERICANational Association for Uniformed Services®
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1-800-842-3451
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Remind your Representatives and Senators of the following
failures of the 2006 & 2007 National Defense Authorization Acts
-375,000 retirees with less than 50% disability denied CRDP
-327,000 retirees age 70 & 30 years still paying SBP premiums
-188,000 Chapter 61 with less than 20 years denied CRDP
- 55,000 widows denied relief from SBP/DIC
- 28,000 IU denied 100% benefit under CRDP
- 17,000 POW who died in captivity denied the Purple Heart
All of this legislation has bills held hostage in committee.

Visit http://usdr.org
USDR Action Alerts http://capwiz.com/usdr/

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