Measure approved on bipartisan vote Bill to help veterans and their families passes Legislature, heads to guv SACRAMENTO – A plan to help returning veterans and their families adjust to life after combat passed the Senate today and now goes to Gov. Schwarzenegger. Sponsored by Sen. Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach, Senate Bill 1127 would provide veterans, and especially their families, more information about what’s available to support their transition from military service to civilian life. “A majority of resources available for veterans in helping them readjust to civilian life are targeted solely to them,” Oropeza said. “Most of the time, however, a veteran’s immediate family is the first line of support. It is important for us to provide families with tools that will help them help our veterans.” Specifically, SB 1127 directs the state Department of Veteran’s Affairs to increase public awareness through greater publicity and Web site presence about existing services. These include ways to file compensation or pension claims; find care for and diagnosis of traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress; obtain employment; find housing; and information on financial aid for school.
The governor has until the end of September to sign SB 1127, veto it or allow it to become law without his signature.

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From: p38bob@comcast.net p38bob@comcast.net

Date: Friday, August 20, 2010 3:32 PM

17 August a significant piece of legislation was signed into law by Governor Arnold Swartzennegger of California,

It was Assembly Bill 2386 authored by Assemblyman Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley) Chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee …and  Assemblyman Danny Gilmore (R-Hanford)

The bill, until January 1, 2016, would authorize a hospital to enter into an agreement with the Armed Forces of the United States to authorize a physician and surgeon, physician assistant, or registered nurse to provide medical care in the hospital to promote the combat readiness of the health care professional covered under this law.

In essence what we are talking about is saving the lives of our military men and women.

Behind all of this when it was first proposed by Colonel Lee Payne, former Commander of David Grant Medical Center and now Air Force Space Command Surgeon, and later  by Colonel Brian  Hayes , Commander 60^th MDG,  was  Colonel Art Krause USAF ret.

Colonel Krause is an old SAC guy and upon retiring he became a lobbyist in the State of California. For 35 years, and highly respected in the California Legislature, he has practiced his profession and built a tremendous reputation as one who gets bills legislated into law. It was this reputation that led to AB 2386 being written and moved through the legislature with no dissenting votes in both the Assembly and the Senate.

There was a lot of vibrant, expert professional  testimony given by Colonel Hayes before the Senate Committee proceeding the final floor vote and tremendous backing by some of the VSOs and particularly that of Colonel Lorna Griess, USA NC, ret of CAL MOAA.

So Art, on behalf of some fortunate young military men and women, whom you will never know , thanks for getting this bill moved into law that will save the lives of many by allowing military doctors of all the services to upgrade their skills through appropriate training opportunities  offered under this law.

People can make a difference ..they just have to have the will to do it.

Art.. you are  a phenomenal example of this.

You still, with pride, dignity, and love for your military family, continue to serve your country..

Chk6

bob

http://e-lobbyist.com/gaits/text/58818

“The struggle to do what is  right for

those who serve is unending.”

Admiral Bud Edney, USN ret

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An Excellent article about the status of the active force, military retiree population. Well worth reading.

By Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF-Ret.

When it comes to military personnel readiness, history shows we’re a nation of slow learners.

We tend to demobilize after wars and then must rebuild our military when each successive generation relearns the world isn’t getting any less dangerous.

In every periodic budget crisis, we whack “unsustainable” military compensation programs — from pay raises to health care and retirement. And once started down that road, we keep whacking them until the cuts hurt retention and readiness, and then we scramble — again — to repair the damage.

It happened in the 1940s, 1970s, and 1990s. So it should be no surprise it’s happening again now.

Many Americans (and many in the government), weary of nearly 10 years of war, are asking hard questions about what the nation still stands to gain from its tremendous investment in that war and the Defense Department that’s conducting it.

Faced with huge annual deficits and projections of unacceptable growth in the national debt, various budget panels are issuing calls for military pay freezes, retirement and health care spending cutbacks, force cuts, and much more.

In all honesty, doing nothing isn’t an option, and changes almost certainly are coming.

The question is whether we (again) will go too far in letting budget pressures override the hard lessons of history.

One lesson we should have learned is America must be prepared for war at any time. No one expected Dec. 6, 1941, or Sept. 10, 2001, our country would be embarking on massive armed struggles within the next 24 hours. Those who project there will be no need for large forces delude themselves. Those who argue we’ll resort to a draft if that happens ignore the experience of the past 10 years, when no serious consideration has been given to a draft despite the terrible mismatch between military requirements and force levels.

Another lesson we should have learned is military readiness is utterly dependent on our capacity to sustain a strong career force of top-quality personnel. Failing at that renders the most advanced weaponry useless.

A final lesson we should have learned is military service is fundamentally different from civilian employment, and a unique package of powerful incentives is essential to induce top-quality people to serve for 20 to 30 years under conditions the majority of Americans are unwilling to endure even for one term of service. continue reading

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Please note the comments from MOAA National in regard to National Defense issues. We need to remind our elected representatives to continue to support a strong national defense.

Panel Calls for Personnel Commission On Tuesday the Senate Armed Services Committee heard testimony from former Secretary of Defense William Perry and former National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, chairmen of the Quadrennial Defense Review Independent Panel. Congress created the panel last year to provide a bipartisan assessment of the Pentagon’s 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). Overall, the panel’s findings call for an increase in defense spending. It concludes that the military currently does not possess enough capabilities to meet national strategic goals. The recommendation to increase spending was well received by the more “hawkish” members of the Committee. Senator Liebermann commented “I think perhaps the most important contribution of the panel will have been to highlight the need for continued, sustained, strong defense funding, if we are to maintain the forces we need to protect our security.” Recommendations include improving the overall security capabilities of the federal government, changes in military force structure, recapitalizing and modernizing weapons and equipment, acquisition reform, and changes to the QDR process. The Panel also concluded that “while the volunteer military has been an unqualified success, there are trends that threaten its sustainability” citing “recent and dramatic growth in cost”. The Panel recommends establishing a National Commission on Military Personnel, similar to the 1970 Gates Commission, which proposed the all-volunteer force, to map out compensation and retirement benefit reforms. We certainly acknowledge the need to control costs, but we take exception to some of the panel’s claims. Once again the late 90’s were used as a base to project personnel cost growth. This baseline is disingenuous at best. Personnel spending hit rock bottom in the late 90’s before a recruiting and retention crisis prompted Congress to plus up personnel spending (including the creation of TRICARE For Life). We firmly believe the period of rapid growth on personnel spending is behind us. Congress must remain prudent when considering compensation and benefit reform. The all-volunteer force has remained resilient in the midst of almost 10 years of war, and defense reforms must preserve the most precious resource in our nation’s arsenal, its people in uniform.

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As you all know by now, the 21% Medicare cutback has been fixed again until December.

Tax increases are coming next year, count on it. The Bush tax cuts are going away. The Obama care package reads like there would be a tax on health benefits next year. According to the Senate Finance Committee and National MOAA, that is not true. There isn’t any tax on health benefits value before 2018 and then only the “Cadillac” plans will be taxed. “Cadillac” plans are those costing more than $10,200 for an individual or $27,500 for a family. It is true that the new law requires an entry on the W-2 showing the cost of employer-provided care. The purpose of including it on the W-2 is to show employees what the benefit value is (much as the military services provide an annual statement of military benefits value to currently serving personnel). Insurers will be assessed 40% of whatever share of the value exceeds the $27,500 threshold. If the value of a plan is $30,000, the insurer will be taxed 40% of $2,500= $1,000. It’s not the employees, but the insurance companies providing those plans (and employers that self-insure) that could be subject to taxation on part of such value - several years downstream. (I will let you think about who actually pays those taxes.)

HR 4887 - “The TRICARE Affermation Act” passed the House ensuring Medicare, TRICARE, TFL and the VA healthcare systems are going to be deemed acceptable coverage and not taxed. Senator Webb has introduced a companion bill in the Senate that will have similar language to HR 4887.

HR 3787 will accord veteran status to Guard and Reserve retirees who were never called to active federal service during their military careers. Non-federal service such as 911, or Katrina did not count. At age 60, they are entitled to military retired pay, TRICARE and a number of veteran’s benefits, but they were not veterans under the law.

If you are a retiree with a combat-related disability and not receiving CRSC (Combat-Related Special Compensation), check with your parent service. Just over 2 years ago CRSC eligibility was extended to all combat/combat related disabled retirees, regardless of their years of service or VA disability rating percentage.

Special note: There is a difference between a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) and a Nursing Home. Medicare/TRICARE pay for one and not the other. Sometimes they are in the same building. According to Medicare: admission to a SNF must follow a minimum 3-day impatient hospital stay for a related illness or injury, and a doctor must certify that you need skilled nursing and rehabilitative services. Medicare fully covers the first 20 days, days 21 through 100 are partially covered. Then come the unlimited days allowed by TFL with the TRICARE catastrophic cap kicking in. As long as the Doctor prescribes “skilled” nursing facilities, the cost to families will be low.

Medicare currently covers Hospice care. Medicare cuts for dialysis and hospice care will begin in 2012 under Obamacare.

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Golden Empire Scuttlebutt -MOAA Bakersfield August 31, 2005

YOU MAKE A DIFFERNCE- President’s Message! As I sat this year in my (part-time Navy job) office at Marine Forces Pacific, it occurred to me that many of us may feel little connection between what we do in MOAA and what is happening at the tip of the spear in our contemporary military. It is from this desk that I see the unequal relationship in size of the business end of that spear to its shaft. ONE Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, or Coast Guardsman requires many more individuals “in the rear” to ensure that beans, bullets, blankets and bombs get to the “front.” One of those little recognized logistic parts on the shaft is Family, Retiree and Veteran care. Men and Women go to the fight because they believe they are called to that act, but TRUSTING THEY AND THEIR FAMILIES WILL BE CARED FOR! It may be that we think we are “old” and “retired” and therefore on the sidelines. Nothing could be further from the truth. MOAA is NO LONGER TROA! The RETIRED Officer’s Association. We are all now ACTIVE and Auxiliary members of a vital and significant shaft of that marital spear at work around the world to ensure that people of all races and creeds can live in freedom, no matter the cost. We are that part of the shaft, which is CURRENTLY active in ensuring our veterans and their families are safe and will not be forgotten. As an active Chaplain (the reserves aren’t very “reserve” any more) I see first hand the result of the commitment of our nation to project peace around the world. It is seen most profoundly in the additional white stones that appear each day on verdant memorial lawns around our nation. We all hear clearly the media reporting those “losses.” But what about the gains? It is not just in new free governments in previously totalitarian repressed areas. It is in the lives of those who have served to make this magnificent metamorphosis a reality. They are not just those under arms today, but also us who in our organization intend on supporting those who are and have served, determined to protect or increase the benefits they rightly deserve. MOAA (read the word “YOU”) is a significant force multiplier through the lobby we represent in Washington. We “MOAAites” have continued the “battle” for concurrent receipt, and we are winning the “war” to bring equality of benefits to reserve components (most recently with Tricare Reserve Select – offering recalled reservists Tricare for up to 4 years following release from active duty, a huge benefit to thousands of families). We ensure young men and women have an opportunity for college education through our student loan program, and our chapter gives FIVE scholarships each year. So, remember, when you pay your dues, you are not just providing a place for fellowship among our local comrades and friends. YOU are ACTING on behalf of all those who have and are and will some day serve. YOU are making a difference by INVESTING in HEROES. Gregory Curtis Horn, CDR USNR, President, Bakersfield Chapter, MOAA E-mail: phone: 661-395-1197; August 28th, 2005 REMEMBER: It is the Soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.

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20, 2010 (202) 225-8220

HARMAN INTRODUCES BIPARTISAN RESOLUTION Honoring members of the Armed Forces from l.a. County and their families ~ Lawmaker says: “They answered a call for service in the midst of two brutal wars. We owe them and their families a great debt. Our resolution today is but a small testament to their dedication and valor.” ~

Washington, DC – Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), Chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence, today issued the following statement introducing H.Res.1535 to honor the members of the United States Armed Forces from Los Angeles County and their families.

“Madam Speaker. I rise to introduce H.RES. 1535 with my California colleague Rep. McKeon and members of the Los Angeles delegation to honor the service and sacrifice of Los Angeles County soldiers and their families.

“In the midst of two of the longest engagements of US forces in American history, our troops are enduring some of the most challenging and dangerous conditions imaginable.

“More than 6,000 Angelenos are now deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, serving with honor while enduring hardships and lengthy separations from their loved ones. Since the two wars began, more than 100 county residents have been killed in battle. More than 1,200 have suffered physical wounds, and many more suffer from PTSD.

“They fight a war unlike those of their predecessors, against an enemy who targets and brutalizes its own citizens – innocent women and children — to advance its agenda.

“While the enemy is cruel, our troops practice restraint. Where the enemy levels schools, clinics and businesses to demonstrate its power, our troops show even greater strength by helping to rebuild them. They do this to build trust and win the confidence of the people of Iraq and Afghanistan – the people who must ultimately stand up and lead this fight for their own countries.

“This generation of troops shows a level of bravery and discipline every day few of us possess in the face of grave danger, and they face those risks to protect their fellow Americans.

“Thousands have returned home with physical and emotional wounds. Some heal, but other wounds remain with them and their families for a lifetime.

“We declare our support for providing veterans and their families with the best medical care, and our support for veterans’ continuing education, vocational training, and opportunities to enter new careers as civilians.

“We support efforts to break the cycle of homelessness that haunts so many veterans, and to prevent more from suffering the same fate.

“We encourage all Americans to show their support and enduring gratitude for our returning troops, many of whom face a difficult adjustment to a life not at war. They answered a call for service in the midst of two brutal wars. We owe them and their families a great debt. Our resolution today is but a small testament to their dedication and valor.”

#

Kim Menaster Staff Assistant Office of Congresswoman Jane Harman (CA-36) 2321 Rosecrans Avenue, Suite 3270 El Segundo, CA 90245 (310)643-3636 www.house.gov/harman Subscribe to Rep. Harman’s e-newsletter

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MOAA’s Member Service Center Dear Colonel Griess, Thank you for contacting MOAA. We’ve received this message from many of our readers and have double-checked with the Senate Finance Committee staff to ensure we’re reading the law correctly. It’s true that the new law requires an entry on the W-2 showing the cost of employer-provided care. But employees won’t be taxed on it. The purpose of including it on the W-2 is to show employees what the benefit value is (much as the military services provide an annual statement of military benefits value to currently serving personnel).
· It’s not the employees, but the insurance companies providing those plans (and employers that self-insure) that could be subject to taxation on part of such value – several years downstream.
· There isn’t any tax on health benefits value before 2018.
· There won’t be any taxes imposed on plans that aren’t deemed “Cadillac” plans (which are defined as costing more than $10,200 for individual coverage or $27,500 for a family plan).
[In addition to that information, the House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) released a statement regarding his intent to introduce legislation to explicitly state in law that TRICARE and the DOD nonappropriated fund (NAF) health plans meet all of the health care requirements currently under consideration by Congress for individual health insurance. These programs provide health coverage to members of the military and their families, military retirees and their families, and employees of U.S. military post/base exchanges and other nonappropriated fund activities. HR 4887 “The TRICARE Affirmation Act”, passed the House unanimously (403 – 0) ensuring Medicare, TRICARE, TFL and the VA healthcare systems are going to be deemed acceptable coverage and not taxed. Senator Webb has introduced a companion bill in the Senate that will have similar language to HR 4887.]
· The tax won’t be on the total value of the plan. Insurers will be assessed 40% of whatever share of the value exceeds the $27,500 threshold. (i.e., if the value of a plan is $30,000, the insurer will be taxed 40% of $2,500 = $1,000). I hope this helps clarify. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Sincerely, Lindsy Gundrum

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