Austin, Texas Chapter

The Association for all Military Officers
Companion Bulletin-February 2006

Commander's Comments February is upon us and Valentine Day cometh. We are honored to have as our speaker this month Brig. Gen. Ezell Ware Jr. who served 42 years in the military .He was a helicopter pilot during the Viet Nam War, and for fifteen years was the Commander of the California Army National Guard. He now resides in Austin and is the author of "By Duty Bound". An evening you will definitely not want to miss. We should be aware that the junior and senior ROTC award program will be the Chapter's next patriotic outreach venture and each of us should give consideration to its support. We will again need presenters and award sponsors. It is personally rewarding to support the outstanding youth in the greater Austin community. It only costs $ 10.00 to sponsor each of our ROTC recipients with medals, certificates and presentation folders. See Companion Mary Kelso for details.                          COL Charles Szendrey   Meeting. 9 Feb. 2006   Holiday Inn Northwest (Mopac & Hwy 183) The cost for the evening is $18.00. If you are not called by 5 Feb., contact COL Szendrey(388-1005).

Schedule:  1830-1900-Social  1900-1905 - Invocation & Salutes  1905-1945-Dinner  1945-2000-Break  2000-2015 - Awards & Festivities 2015-2045-Speaker  2045-2100-Adjourn  Menu Old Fashioned Meatloaf with Mushroom Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans  Speaker  Brig. Gen. Ezell Ware Jr. Chaplain's Selection My business is not to remake myself.  But make it the absolute best of what God made.          --Robert Browning Quotes to Ponder "War is not nice." - Barbara Bush  "Sometime they'll give a war and nobody will come." - Carl Sandburg .

Item of Interest  *The Defense Department is looking to cut its fiscal year 2007 budget request by up to $15 billion. They originally planned to seek a 5.7-percent increase in spending over the FY2006 request, but are now eyeing only a 2-percent boost. The cuts are being prompted by the mounting costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, higher-than-expected fuel costs, and the concern that Congress will be unwilling to approve more massive supplemental funding. All military services will absorb these spending cuts most likely by curtailing or eliminating some major hardware programs.  *Five of the military's 10 active duty. Reserve and National Guard components failed to meet their recruiting goals for fiscal year 2005. The active Army recruited 92% of its goal of 80,000 soldiers; Navy Reserve, 88%; Air National Guard, 86%; Army Reserve, 84%; and Army National Guard, 80%. It was the third consecutive year the Army National Guard, which historically receives its new members from the active forces, failed to meet its recruiting goal.  *The Defense Finance & Accounting Service has a new e-mail newsletter for retirees and annuitants entitled the DFAS Retired Pay Newsletter. It provides up-to-date retired pay news, changes and information. To sign up for the newsletter, visit https://mypay.dfas.mil/mypay.aspx

Legislation Members on Medicare should be aware of changes to the program with passage of the Medicare Modernization Act last year. Here are the most important changes: Medicare recipients can purchase alternative plans- called Medicare Advantage-that are offered by private insurance companies. These plans cover all services provided through Part A and Part B, in addition to many of the services and benefits currently available through the purchase of a Medicare Supplemental program.    o Under the Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare recipients are free to choose their own Medicare-approved doctors and hospitals.    o All Medicare beneficiaries are now eligible for Part D Prescription Drug. Part D is offered through private insurance companies, and many of the plans cover brand name, generic drugs and out-of-pocket deductibles.  Those who wait to purchase a prescription drug plan after May 15, 2006, could pay a higher monthly premium, unless they currently have a drug plan that covers at least as much as a Medicare prescription drug plan.. Costs vary among private insurance companies

 

DoD Official Presents Case for Changes in Military Health Care The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, addressed members of The Military Coalition (TMC) regarding military health care costs and what the Department believes must be done to sustain the benefit. Many in the room expected to hear an outline of DoD's proposed fee increases, which have been widely reported in the media. However, he merely set the stage for next month's release of the President's FY 2007 budget request, emphasizing the challenges facing military health care and implying that raising fees was the best way to overcome many of these challenges. He stated the military has an outstanding health benefit and said DoD's foremost goal is to sustain this great benefit for many years to come. While several efficiencies have or will be implemented, health costs continue to rise at a rate faster than the DoD budget as a whole, he said, thus creating a significant fiscal, policy and management challenge for the Department. The principal factors driving this increase are:    *New and expanded benefits authorized by Congress, including the elimination of Prime co-payments for active duty families, TRICARE for Life, TRICARE Reserve Select, TRICARE Prime Remote.

*Increased use by previously "non-reliant" beneficiaries, primarily military retirees with employer-sponsored insurance, who in the past elected not to use the benefit. Many are now coming back to TRICARE because their other plans have become more costly or because their employers are paying them to use TRICARE instead of their own plans.  *High utilization of services by DoD beneficiaries.    *Rapid growth of DoD pharmacy program.   *Increases in general health care inflation. When discussing the major benefit expansions, he noted there has been no change in TRICARE Prime annual fee for retirees since the launch of TRICARE in 1995. He noted that DoD retirees' average annual out-of-pocket health costs were $680 in 2004, versus $3,700 for retirees covered by private employers. He expressed concern about future medical cost growth, stating that projected increased health care expenditures cannot be funded without dramatic incursions into Service line budgets, or significant DoD  "top line" increases. When asked exactly what changes to beneficiary costs he was anticipating, he would not go into details.