health benefits for retirees: tricare, eyeglasses and ...health benefits for retirees: tricare,...
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OWRC-MOAA Briefing BoardA Publication of The Ohio Western Reserve Chapter–Military Officers Association of America
November 2013 • Volume 13 Issue 11 • www.owrc.net and moaa.org P.O. Box 4272 Copley, OH 44321
Health Benefits for Retirees: TRICARE, Eyeglasses and Hearing Aids
Mr. Douglas Bonner (right) from the TRICARE Support Office at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton accepts the OWRC flag set from MG Dan Hahn at recent dinner meeting where more than 40 members were in attendance. Mr. Bonner graciously provided his presentation for print.Under The Affordable Care Act: you have minimum es-sential coverage as long as you maintain your TRICARE program option. Minimum essential coverage is the type of healthcare coverage you need to have to meet the individual responsibility requirement under the ACA.
The IRS will use information from the Defense Enroll-ment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) to verify your coverage. Keep your information up to date via;•Any Military ID card issuing facility• http://milconnect.dmdc.mil•MTF Patient Administration Office• Phone: 1-800-538-9552 • Fax: 1-831-655-8371
For more information, visit www.tricare.mil/acaUnmarried children, including stepchildren, are eligible for TRICARE under their sponsors until reaching age 21 or age 23 if enrolled in a full-time course of study at an approved in-stitution of higher learning and if the sponsor provides more than 50 percent of the financial support.
Unmarried children who have aged out of regular TRI-CARE coverage may be eligible to purchase TRICARE Young Adult until reaching age 26.•TYA Prime: $176.00 TYA Standard: $152.00
Biological/Adopted children are eligible for benefits even if their parents divorce or remarry. Stepchildren must be adopted to retain benefits following divorce.
TRICARE Prime: A managed care option, meaning most of your care is provided by a PCM dedicated to your care.
Available to ADSM, Retired members, and their families living near a military treatment facility. Not available in our area now.
TRICARE Prime Remote: Only available to ADSM who live and work in remote locations more than 50 miles or a one-hour drive from an MTF.TRICARE Standard/Extra: Option for everyone except ADSM who are not eligible for Prime based on location or prefers additional freedom to choose their provider. No en-rollment or enrollment fees are required but annual deduct-ibles and cost-shares apply
Extra: offers a 5 % cost-share discount for using a TRI-CARE-network provider.
TRICARE for Life: A Medicare-wraparound coverage for beneficiaries who are entitled to premium-free Medicare Part A and have Medicare Part B
Medicare is primary, TRICARE is secondary. No enrollment feesIf you attempt use TFL at VA for non-service connected care you will incur significant out-of-pocket expenses due to VA facilities cannot bill Medicare and Medicare can-not pay for services received from the VA.Bonner suggested that you use the VA for service related issues and use TRICARE for other health issues, “TRI-CARE and VA don’t play well together.”
TRICARE Pharmacy benefit is available to you regardless of which TRICARE program option you choose.
Pharmacies are legally permitted to copy military and dependent ID cards to verify TRICARE eligibility
TRICARE Dental: ADFM and Guard/Reserve members: MetLife. Retired: Delta Dental.
MetLife: https://employeedental.metlife.com/dental/Delta Dental: www.trdp.org
Annual Catastrophic Cap: Limits the amount of out-of-pocket expenses a family will pay for TRICARE-covered medical services
Applies to all covered services, including annual deduct-ibles, pharmacy copayments, TRICARE Prime enrollment fees, and other cost-shares, based on TRICARE-allowable charges.ADSM: $1000 Retirees: $3000
Major Changes: Prime Service Area Reductions, SSN removed from ID cards
continue on page 2
OWRC–Briefing Board November 2013
President’s Notes
Page 2 A MOAA Chapter in Action
We have just two more events for the year. Our November Meeting is at Prime 93 and I have invited Len Proper, Executive Direc-tor of the Military Veterans Resource Center, a dynamic and growing organization that operates throughout Ohio to support Veter-ans and specifically to help them get jobs. You will enjoy his presentation. Our final meeting will be the Christmas Party at the Galaxy Restaurant. We will have some entertainment, install our officers and trustees, hopefully enjoy ourselves and get into the Christmas Spirit.Last month I handed out our Chapter Purpose at the meet-ing. I am including it in my notes this month. I would like every member to embrace this purpose and help make it real-ity for the Chapter. Support the purposes and objectives of the Military Officers Association of America; promote camaraderie among the of-ficers (retired, active and former) within the OWRC region and relationships with other veteran organizations; and support projects for those pursuing military service (ROTC programs) and assisting veterans (wounded/homeless).This is meant to be flexible, so it can grow and change over time but our purpose will always include support to the Na-tional MOAA objectives. We will work to grow our Chapter in support of ROTC and Veteran Support organizations this year. I also want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support of me as your President and specifically to OWRC and the goals of our National MOAA organization. The Chapter has done well this year and the comments I re-ceived from other chapter leaders about the high standard that OWRC set in conducting the State Convention is a credit to every member in the chapter. Many thought it was the best State convention they had attended. I especially want to thank all of those members and spouses who helped the Chapter in organizing and hosting the convention. I am especially proud to be a member of the Chapter and your President. Don’t forget that Nov. 11th is Veteran’s Day! I want to thank all of you for your service to our great nation. Your contribu-tions and sacrifices will not be forgotten. I encourage every-one to seek out and attend an activity commemorating Vet-eran’s Day. This will give you an opportunity to support those organizations, which make the effort to remember and thank our veterans. It will also give you and your family members the opportunity to reflect on your own service to our nation. I look forward to meeting new challenges next year with all of you. I hope that next year will be a great year for both recruit-ing new members and supporting ROTC and veterans. Most importantly, I hope all of you find both support and enjoy-ment in being a member of OWRC
Dan Hahn
PSA Reductions: The Department of Defense (DoD) has planned to make PSA reductions since 2007, when proposals were requested for the next generation of TRI-CARE contracts (known as T-3). Bidders for the three U.S. regional contracts were only required to establish PSAs around military hospitals or clinics and in areas that lost military hospitals or clinics due to BRAC decisions.• In recognition of the need for beneficiaries to plan for
critical health care decisions, PSAs were continued in all regions until October 1, 2013, to coincide with the deadline for annual TRICARE Prime enrollments and fee adjustments
• Reducing the number of PSAs under the T-3 contracts allows TRICARE to continue the commitment to making high-quality health care available, as well as supporting DoD efforts to control the rising cost of health care for its 9.6 million beneficiaries. By eliminat-ing PSAs that do not support military readiness, costs to the TRICARE system will be reduced by $45–$56 million per year.
SSN Removal from ID cards: The DoD is removing SSN’s from ID cards as part of the continued efforts to protect the privacy and security of its beneficiaries. • Ten-digit DoD numbers replace SSN’s. If you have
DoD benefits (health care, commissary/exchange privi-leges) an 11- digit DoD benefits number is also
1. TRICARE still uses the SSN internallyFuture of TRICARE: Many rumors, suggestions, and issues have been discussed and/or circulated regarding potential and/or possible changes to TRICARE. It is advised if you have any questions/concerns to please contact 1-877-TRICARE or visit your local TSC. Major topics that have been circulated are:
TSC Closures: It has been discussed that closing all TSC’s to Walk-In Customer Service is a possibility in order to reduce government expense and streamline services. If this happens, then all customer service would be available by phone or internet.Congress has continually addressed TRICARE costs and looked closely at ways to help reduce government expense. Two areas that have been debated are establishing a pre-mium for TRICARE Standard and TFL. At this time, this has not been approved.
Information & Assistance:TRICARE North Region: Health Net Federal Services 1-877-TRICARE (1-877-874-2273). www.hnfs.comwww.tricare.milwww.tricare.mil/securelogin • Enroll online, update contact info in DEERS, make
a premium payment, check claim status, review EOB statements, change your PCM, view referrals, manage prescriptions, and more
Social Media OutletsTRICARE Mobile Applications
TRICARE, from page 1
November 2013 OWRC–Briefing Board
A MOAA Chapter in Action Page 3
If you are retired military, and eligible for other medical services, you are authorized to receive up to 3 pair of Standard Issue spectacles per year. 1 clear pair of •S-9/male,•S-8/female,or•S91A/maleorfemale
1 tinted pair of •S-9/male,•S-8/female,or•S91A/maleorfemale
1 clear pair of half-eye in lieu of 1 clear pair of bi-focals [you may have 1 clear pair of distance glasses in conjunc-tion with your half-eye glasses]
If you are less than 50 miles from a military health clinic with optometry services, you should take your prescription for spectacles to them so that they may measure you for proper fit. They will order your spectacles from the appropriate facility. If you are more that 50 miles from a military health clinic with optometry services, you may follow these instructions to order your glasses. 1. Open the form DD771 found at our web site, http://
www.med.navy.mil/SITES/NOSTRA/Pages/default.aspx and save it to your computer. [this form is created to save the information you type into it]
2. Please fill out the top section with your “name, “retiree”, and last 4”, along with your shipping and contact informa-tion. About halfway down the form, please indicate which standard issue frame you desire. Make sure to save the form with the information you added.
3. Print the partially completed form, and take this with you to your eye exam. Ensure that the examining facility writes the prescription, and includes your pupillary distance (PD) on the form.
4. If your examining facility needs eyesize, bridge or temple information, they may find this on our web site
5. If you currently have Standard Issue frames please provide the frame size and temple length. (found inside the frame)
6. There must be a DD771 for each request for eyewear. 7. Send the following information to NOSTRA:
•OnecopyofthecompletedDD771form,•AphotocopyorscannedimageofyoumilitaryIDcard•Yourmailingaddressandadaytimephonenumberand
email address if available. 8. You may submit your order for eyewear by email, fax or
standard mail.•Emailyourorderto:NOSTRA-CustomerService@med.
navy.mil ---or---
•Faxyourorderto:757-887-4647.Makesureyouwrite:“Retiree Order” on the fax. Please call NOSTRA Cus-tomer Service at 757-887-7611 / 7152 / 7299 / 7476 right after you send your fax to insure we received it and that all the information is included to fabricate your orders. ---or---
•StandardMailto:NOSTRA 160 Main Road, Ste 350 Yorktown, VA 23691-9984
9. You may also call NOSTRA Customer Service Depart-ment if you have any problems or questions. You may email us at: [email protected]
Our Customer Service hours are M–F, regular business days, from 0630 to 1700, Eastern Time.
Eye Glasses and Hearing Aids Information for Retired Military
Hearing AidsThe DoD sponsored Retiree-At-Cost Hearing Aid Program (RACHAP) http://militaryaudiology.org/site/aids/ is designed to help retirees purchase hearing aids through the Audiology Clinic at a special government negotiated cost. The hearing aids available through this program are the same state-of-the art technologies available to active duty service members. De-pending on what you need, around $350 to $375 per hearing aid. Accessories are available at additional cost.You don’t have to go to Wright Patterson Air Force Base for hear-ing aids anymore. Eligibility: The program is open to all military retirees who have hearing loss or tinnitus (ringing in the ears). You have to be 65 or older and retired from active duty. Dependents of military retirees are not eligible for this program. You must do these steps in order.1. Call Joe Olalde at WPAFB 937-904-8399 or email
[email protected] so he can go over the program with you and verify your eligibility via DEERS .
2. You need a referral from your doctor/audio3. For local service, make an appointment at:
Family Hearing & Balance Center 2800 South Arlington Road Suite 102 Akron, OH 44312 (330) 644-1932The Rehab Center 270 Sterkel Blvd Mansfield, OH 44907 (419) 756-1133Dr. Roberts & Associates, Inc. 1680 Cooper Foster Park Road W. Lorain, OH 44053 (440) 989-1133 / (419) 625-7339
4. You will be given a local hearing exam that should be cov-ered by Medicare. Verify with your provider’s office staff as to their diagnostic billing procedures.
Page 4 A MOAA Chapter in Action
November 2013 OWRC–Briefing Board
It would be refreshing to look at positive changes accrued for our Military, Veterans, and Retired since Congress returned from the Summer break, if we could indeed iden-tify any changes that survived the partisan infighting which brought us Sequester, a Shutdown, and efforts to raise the debt limit to a last-minute agreement to “Kick the Can Down the Road”. Instead, we have moved the issues (at least the Budget and the Raising of the Debt Limit) to early 2014 and haven’t really dug into the issues raised by Sequester.However, the President on August 30th declaring that he would cap Military pay at 1% vice the 1.8% authorized by the House of Representatives. On Sept 12th, President Obama issued instructions to The Military Compensation and Modernization Commission to begin a study to overhaul the current military pay and benefits system. And, on Sept 4th, military benefits, including survivor benefits (including SBP) have been added to military retirees with same-sex marriages. So there have been significant changes.In other changes, The Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) has come on-board and the Government has told us that if you have care under TRICARE, the Veterans Administration, or Medicare you have met the requirement under the law. And, efforts continue to modify the Sequester to give relief in the cuts brought upon Active and Guard/Reserve forces.The current Military Officer magazine rates all 50 states on their policies benefitting current, former, retired military and their families, and their analysis of Ohio include:Positives on Tax exemptions of Military Retired Pay and Survivor Benefit Plans; Veterans Preference in Hiring and In-State Tuition for Ohio Colleges and Universities; Recognizing Veteran Status on Licenses, as well as Recognizing Military Licenses and Credentialing.Goals MOAA believes should be sought in Ohio include Portability or Recognition of Licenses for spouses in those occupation that require them; Spouse Unemployment Com-pensation for those spouses who must quit jobs to follow their AD partners; and Allowing Property Tax or Homestead exemptions for Veteran homeowners (which might be a diffi-cult turn as Ohio just eliminated new Homestead exemptions after June 2014). It should be an interesting end of 2013, and a turning of the corner into 2014. Stay tuned…
Larry Ashbaugh
“Talk to TRICARE, talk to the VA, then call MOAA.” This statement came from the MOAA Shane Ostrom, Dep Dir, Financial and Benefits Information. If you want con-firmation or further explanations there is a knowledgeable
staff to help you at MOAA.Military Officers Association of America
Financial and Benefits Information201 N. Washington Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-25391 800 234-6622
Email: [email protected]: www.moaa.org
5. The audiologist will discuss with you what kind of hear-ing aid you could use and if you need ear molds. If you need ear molds, it will be done right there.
6. Your selected audiologist will complete the order forms provided by WPAFB and fax it to the WPAFB Audiology clinic. WPAFB will telephone you and get your charge card data.
7. The manufacturer will ship the hearing aid to WPAFB Audiology clinic. Copies of invoices and serial numbers will be made by WPAFB prior to mailing the hearing aids to your provider’s clinic.
8. WPAFB will telephone you prior to mailing so you can contact your provider’s clinic to schedule your fitting and programing appointment.
9. The hearing aid manufacture gives you up to 90 day to return them to WPAFB if you are dissatisfied.
10. Each local clinic varies on what services it provides. It is beneficial for the patient to shop around and ask what future services are provided when funds are expected “up front” or “pay as you go”.
If you find or prefer another audiologist have them call Joe at WPAFB and he will work with them. If there are other local providers interested in increasing their patient count and participating with the RACHAPP, please pass this email or phone number to them. Joe Olalde at WPAFB 937-904-8399 or email [email protected], all veterans may be eligible for hearing aids from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and receive hearing aids from the VA free of charge – in most cases there is no costs to the patient. The Audiology Department can provide you with more information about VA services or you may contact the VA directly at 1-877-222-8387 or 1-800-827-1000.
Hearing Aids From Page 3 Legislative Update for October 13
Articles in this newsletter, OWRC–MOAA Briefing Board are the opinions solely of the individual authors and do not necessarily express the policy or opinions of the newsletter’s editor or publisher. Also, the individual opinions do not reflect an endorsement by the Ohio Western Reserve Chap-ter or the national organization of the Military Officers Association of America, unless so indicated [Copyright 2011 Military Officers Association of American All rights reserved.] For the benefit of the members. Questions or comments should be directed to: MG Dan Hahn, USA, Ret. • P.O. Box 4272 • Copley, OH 44321 • E-mail: [email protected]
November 2013 OWRC–Briefing Board
November OWRC-MOAA General Membership MeetingWhere: Prime 93
4315 Manchester Road Akron, OH 44319-2697
When: Thursday, 21 November 2013Social: 1800 hrs (6:00 p.m.)Attire: Casual Business Dress Call to Order: 1830 hrs (6:30 p.m.)
Order from early bird or regular menus Announcements Dinner Speaker 1915 hrs (7:15 p.m.) Annaul Business Meeting 50/50 drawing
Speaker: Mr. Len Proper, Executive Director at the Military Veterans Resource Center in Columbus, Ohio. This center provides personalized career services to veterans who served honorably. They help veterans identify how life events affect their employability and how to address those issues so they can provide for their families and enjoy long and productive careers by creating pathways that lead to self-reliance.
RSVP: By one of the following methods below, no later than Nov. 19th. This is important for the restaurant manager to staff the establishment accordingly. It also enables the board to have name tags available.
1. Call LTC Dave Riegler at 330-666-2257 2. Email your reservation to: [email protected] 3. Go to OWRC web site. www.owr.net
Join OWRC Members Every
Wednesday1130 hours
1562 Akron Peninsula Rd.
Akron, OH 44313
As our year begins to come to a close we want to say welcome to our new members for the year. A few of them have already begun to contribute and make a difference in our Chapter. Several of them attended our State Convention in September and we want to thank them for their participation. As we head into the New Year we are looking to do even more to re-cruit new members. As everyone knows, we need to continue to reach out to those potential members. New members are necessary to continue to remain viable and grow in support of our Chapter purpose. Our new members are: 1LT Bill Albright, Active Duty, US ArmyCPT Don and Roberta Bratton, former CPT, US ArmyMAJ Chad DeBos, Active Duty, US ArmyLTC Bradley Harvey, Active Duty, US ArmyLTC Kurt Kosmatka, Retired, US ArmyCPT David Nesline, Retired, US Army ReserveCWO4 Kenneth and Joyce Romansky, Retired, US NavyLTC Deborah Stephenson, Retired, US ArmyLTC Roy Stephenson, Retired, US Army1LT Daniel Titus, Active Duty, US ArmyWelcome to all of our new members!
Welcome To 2013 OWRC Members
A MOAA Chapter in Action Page 5
When we are thankful for all that we have been given, we are given more to be thankful for…Happy Thanksgiving
OWRC Christmas PartyWhere: The Galaxy RestaurantWhen: Thursday, 5 Dec. 2013Social: 1800 (6:00 p.m.) with hors d’oeuvresCall to Order 1830 (6:30 p.m.) Music preludeDinner: 1850Program: 1930 (7:30 p.m.) Installation of Officers
Cookie ExchangeEntrée Selections Each entrée includes: salad, roll, po-tato, beverage, tax and gratuity.House Prime Filet of Sirloin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $30Chicken Piccata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $28Parmesan Crusted Tilapia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $26RSVP: No later than Monday, December 1st or call LTC
Dave Riegler at 330-666-2257or email [email protected] or go to the web site owrc.net and events tab.
OWRC Slate of Officers for 2014President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MG Dan Hahn, USA, Ret. [email protected] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330-313-1465First Vice President . . . . . . . . . . Col Dick Calta, USAF, Ret. [email protected] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330-576-6404Second Vice Pres . . . . . LTC Larry M. Ashbaugh, USA, Ret. [email protected] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330-990-1361Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .LTC Bart Oldenburg, USA, Ret. [email protected] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330-786-2147Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .LTC Dave Riegler, USA, Ret. [email protected] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330-666-2257Trustee (3 year) . . . . . . . . . . .Lt Col Tom Menza, USAF, Ret. [email protected] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330-929-3734Trustee (2 year) . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAJ David Sears, USA, Ret. [email protected] . . . . . . . .CELL 330-242-3739Trustee (1 year) . . . . . . . . . . . . LTC Ron Smetana, USA, Ret. [email protected] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330-836-5423
OWRC–MOAA Briefing Board Ohio Western Reserve ChapterP.O. Box 4272Copley, OH 44321
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Return Service Requested
A heartwarming documentary about four living World War II Veterans and a Midwest community coming together to give them the trip of a lifetime. Volunteers race against the clock to fly thousands of WWII Veterans to Washington, DC to see the memorial constructed for them in 2004, nearly 60 years after their epic struggle.
Presented by
To RSVP: 330.800.2264 or hospicewr.org/honorflight
Honor Flight: The Movie Wednesday, November 13 at 1:00 p.m.
Akron Public Library Main Branch
Free and open to the community.
Save The Dates 21 Nov. 2013 Dinner MeetingChristmas Party 5 Dec. 2013 more information in the December Newsletter
An Evening with the Generals Join VFW Post 349 in Recognizing Four Northeast Ohio Generals
November 15, 2013 6:00 pm
Tangier Party Center West Market St
Akron, Ohio
General Donn A Starry, USA (posthumous)
Major General Dan Hahn, USA
Major General Donald Jenkins, USAF
Brigadier General Thomas Lucynski, USA
Please RSVP To: [email protected]
Recognizing outstanding military officers who have chosen to make a home in our area.
Tickets: $30.00