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LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRSVA sees another funding boost in 2017 budgetFrank Kepley. CAPT USN (Ret)The Department of Veterans Affairs would receive anotherbig boost in discretionary spending in fiscal 2017 under the 4.1 trillion federal budget unveiled by the White House onTuesday.The spending plan calls for 75.1 billion in nonmandatoryfunds for VA programs next fiscal year, an increase of nearly 5 percent from the fiscal 2016 level.If approved, VA’s annual discretionary funding will haveVeteran’s Choice program fixgrown more than 57 percent, a dramatic increase at a timeof fierce fiscal fighting on Capitol Hill.Editors comments:The VA total fiscal 2017 request tops 177.6 billion, anThe Veterans Administration has finally proposed actionincrease of almost 9 percent. The plan also sets aside 104that will probably save the Veterans Choice program. That billion more in advance appropriations for fiscal 2018, toprogram allows the veterans that have to wait over 30 days ensure that potential congressional funding battles won’tfor a VA appointment or lived over 40 miles from the nearest disrupt critical department operations.VA facility, to seek care by their community doctors. Currently, the administrators of the program, Health Net andFollow-up actions subsequent to reversal ofTriWest, contracted by the VA, were requiring the communiemployee dismissalsty physicians to submit the patient’s medical record beforethey could be paid for the treatment they rendered. ThisVeterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald recently disusually took well over 30 days and the providers would becusseda budget proposal designed to make it easier to discome upset and turn the veterans bill over to a collectioncipline senior executive service employees (SES) for wrongagency.doing.They were also no longer accepting patients in the proThe bid to place medical center directors and other SESgram. Besides the aggressive nature of the collection agenlevelemployees under Title 38 -- the same job category ascies the veterans had to put up with, their credit ratings weredoctors and nurses -- was spurred by recent administrativeoften negatively affected as well. The VA now recognizesjudges' decisions vacating VA disciplinary actions againstthat this problem has led to the failure of the Choice program as the veterans have understandably stopped using it two senior executives."It seemed to us that [the Merit System Protection Board]and are continuing to wait an inordinate length of time forjudges didn't understand the intent of Congress" in givingappointments.the department greater power to discipline employees,"Now, finally, it has been determined that the communityproviders no longer will have to submit the patient’s medical McDonald told lawmakers.A Title 38 employee demoted or fired for cause by the VArecord before payment can be rendered. Subsequent to thetreatment the record will still have to be submitted to the VA secretary would not be able to appeal to the board.VA is also asking Congress for legislation to end afor continuity of care considerations, but the veterans canlongstandingappeals process that allows veterans to conbe treated as soon as they can obtain an appointment. Thischange is long overdue and may result in the success of the tinue pushing claims for years after they have been denied,McDonald said. In one case, he said, the Board of Appealsprogram, which is badly needed.has been working on a case continuously appealed for 25years.Under the current law, a veteran may appeal any numberLawmakers may overhaul Tricare piece byof times if not satisfied with a VA ruling.piece(Editors Note: We might get this accomplished yet).WASHINGTON – A renewed push to overhaul the military’sTricare health insurance system is underway in Congress,but it remains a daunting task for lawmakers.Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., who is leading the effort in theHouse, said fixing the troubled benefit might take numerouspieces of legislation that play out for years.His military personnel Armed Services subcommittee hasalready held hearings and sent staff to military facilities togauge the various problems facing Tricare, an insurer with9.5 million beneficiaries, and such activity is set to ramp upas Congress focuses on reform in 2016.The system has been veering toward less options for careand shrinking access for two decades. It is now far behindother networks in its number of providers and ability to incorporate new types of medical care, according to the Military Retirement and Compensation Modernization Commission, which also made recommendations to lawmakers.Florida Council of Chapters CommuniquéFebruary 2016 IssueSee what the other Chapters are doing. The Florida Council of Chapter’s newsletter, the “Communiqué” can be accessed by clicking on the link below. After you click thelink and then click Allow, it may take a minute or so for thenewsletter to pop up. It is worth the or—Marty Brown. Send articles and photos to:wayne.and.marty.brown@gmail.com5

TFL proposals for 2018Pentagon Loosens Rules of EngagementAgainst ISIS in AfghanistanTFL beneficiaries would be subjected to a means-testedenrollment fee, based on a percentage of retired pay.Means testing TFL beneficiaries is unprecedented and inappropriate for service-earned health coverage. It imposesfinancial penalties for longer and more successful serviceon a population that is already paying the highest fees ofany military beneficiaries.Current TFL beneficiaries would be grandfathered. MeansThe Obama administration has loosened the rules of entested enrollment fees would be applied only to those atgagement for U.S. forces striking the Islamic State and aftaining age 65 on or after January 1, 2017.filiated groups in Afghanistan, allowing them to target militants just for being associated with the terror network, asenior defense official confirmed to Fox News.The new authorization now puts ISIS in the same category as al-Qaida in Afghanistan.Previously, the militants could be targeted only if theyshowed what's known as hostile intent."Now," a U.S. official told Fox News, "we can kill ISIS inAfghanistan just for wearing the T-shirt or waving theirflag."The Wall Street Journal first reported the change.Report: Wounded Warrior Project overspendson its staff, ex-employees sayEstablishing new annual “participation fees” for all retiredmembers and families, under which those who didn't paythe fee would be denied coverage for the year 350/ 700 (single/family) for TRICARE Prime 450/900 for TRICARE Standard .5 percent to 2 percent of retired pay for a TFL-eligiblecouple, phased in over 5 years, with a complicated systemof separate caps for flag officers and lower gradesThe Wounded Warrior Project, a national nonprofit organization that supports service members wounded in theline of duty, has been accused of blowing millions of dollarsin donation money on spoils for its staff, according to a newtwo-part CBS News investigation."According to the charity's tax forms, spending on conferences and meetings went from 1.7 million in 2010, to 26million in 2014," the report reads. "That's about the sameamount the group spends on combat stress recovery — itstop program."Ryan Kules, a spokesman, defended the organization'sspending, telling CBS that the conferences and meetingsenhanced team-building, organizational alignment and service quality. He refuted accusations, made by former employees, of excessive spending outside of WWP conferences and that WWP used donation money to purchasealcohol, the report says.CBS News says it interviewed more than 40 disillusionedex-employees for the report. Their allegations of excessivespending include claims that: WWP employees were directed to stay in an expensivehotel during a conference, despite living locally. The CEO, Nardizzi, spent money on extreme entrancesto events — once even rappelling off of a building. The organization paid 3 million for its employees toattend a three-day WWP conference.The New York Times released a similar special report about the charity's spending.New veterans ID cards won't be available until2017Congress passed legislation for a new veterans ID cardlast summer, but it will likely be another year before anyare issued.The Department of Veterans Affairs has begun draftingregulations for production and issuing of the ID cards, designed to give veterans easy proof of their military servicefor non-federal activities.Legislation authorizing the cards, sponsored by Rep.Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., passed through Congress withoutobjection last July. He argued that veterans needed theoption for a veterans ID to help individuals who have tocarry around copies of their discharge paperwork to getdiscounts or services at a host of private businesses.Veterans requesting the IDs would have to pay a small,yet-to-be-determined fee, to cover production costs.6

Tricare beneficiaries who use their prescription drugbenefit to obtain certain over-the-counter medications willbe able to continue doing so, officials with the DefenseHealth Agency announced Thursday.Defense Department enacts new limits ontroop, civilian emailsStarting Feb. 1, Tricare's over-the-counter drug coverage benefit will become permanent, allowing beneficiariesto receive some medications at pharmacies or by mail forthe same price they pay for a generic medication.Under the program, patients must have a doctor's prescription for the over-the-counter drug and will pay 10 fora 30-day prescription at a retail store or nothing for a 90day prescription through the home-delivery program.The medications also are available at no cost to patientsat military pharmacies.Trimmed budgets has the Defense Department's IToverlords telling service members to trim their email inboxes.“Since February 2015, the number of Defense EnterpriseEmail mailboxes [with] more than four gigabytes had beenincreasing at a rate of approximately 4,000 accounts permonth,” said John Howell, Army product director for enterprise content collaboration and messaging.That growth has been deemed too costly and unsustainable.“Prior to creating any local storage files and moving oldest (rarely/never accessed) mail into those files, the usercan perform some easy ‘house cleaning’ by doing the following tasks":Remove attachments from your calendar (view as alist, then sort by size for maximum efficiency).Empty the Sent Items, Junk E-Mail, and DeletedItems folders.Sort your Inbox by size, and clean up the largestitems.These activities in-and-of themselves may provide a significant change in folder size, especially if they containlarge attachments.Editors note: I would urge the members to reduce thesize of their mailboxes as I often run into this problemwhen sending out the newsletter. They bounce back because of a full mail box.No Antibiotics for Common Respiratory Infections: ExpertsAntibiotics are not needed for adults who have the common cold, bronchitis, sore throat or sinus infections.That's the advice from the American College of Physicians and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which just issued guidelines for prescribing antibiotics for acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) inadults.These types of infections are the most common reasonfor visits to the doctor and for outpatient antibiotic prescriptions for adults, the researchers said.The advice, published Jan. 18 in Annals of InternalMedicine, is designed to combat what the two organizations see as overuse of such treatments.According to an ACP news release, unpublished CDCdata estimates "50 percent of antibiotic prescriptions maybe unnecessary or inappropriate in the outpatient setting,which equates to over 3 billion in excess costs.""Inappropriate use of antibiotics for ARTIs is an important factor contributing to the spread of antibioticresistant infections, which is a public health threat," ACPPresident Dr. Wayne Riley said in the news release.Vet helps community after converting hiswheelchair into a snowplowWith much of the East Coast hunkered down this weekend for a snowstorm, Iraq War veteran Justin Anderson isdoing his part to help his Nebraska community recoverfrom a recent storm there. He converted his wheelchairinto a snowplow, according to WOWT in Omaha.TRICARE News: Nurse Advice LineThe Nurse Advice Line (NAL) is an evaluation tool forthose seeking care or who have medical questions. Thetelephone hotline provides instant access to a team ofregistered nurses who can answer urgent and acutehealthcare questions. The NAL provides TRICARE beneficiaries an assessment of their symptoms and what nextsteps they should take.Tricare to maintain over-the-counter drugprogramCall the NAL, toll-free and 24/7 for your urgent medicalneeds at 1-800-TRICARE (874-2273) Option# (1). Beneficiaries can still call their PCM or clinic for medical adviceand appointments. For more information, visit the TRICARE Nurse Advice Line webpage.7

Can Coffee KO Cancer's Return?Confederate flag tattoo stops man from joining MarinesIt is known that the recurrence of colon cancer is relatedto relative hyperinsulinemia. Patients who have a sedentarylifestyle, who sit on their bottoms, who have an increasedglycemic load, and who eat too much carbohydrates tend tohave higher rates of recurrence. We know that caffeine canincrease insulin sensitivity and reduce glycemic load. Therefore, they proposed a hypothesis that coffee drinkers wouldbe at less risk of recurrence than those who don't drink coffee.It was a large study of initially about 1600 patients.Throughout adjuvant therapy and for 6 months afterwards,they did a detailed prospective study in which they collecteda compendium of dietary input, exercise, etc. In this particular study, they looked at intake of caffeinated coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and herbal tea.What they showed was that patients with colon cancerwho took more than four cups of caffeinated coffee/day hada very significant reduction in mortality and recurrencerates. This was not seen in those poor souls who drink decaffeinated coffee or in those who like the odd cup of herbaltea.VA blood biobank to play major role in conquering diseasesThe Marine Corps confirmed that a man was told his tattoo of a Confederate flag made him ineligible to join the Marines because it violates the service’s policy on body ink.“These Confederate flag tattoos have been denied in thepast,” said Capt. Dustin Pratico, a spokesman for the 8thRecruiting District. “It’s not a new thing. This isn’t the firsttime that it’s ever happened. This is just one of the times ithappened to catch media attention.”The Marine Corps’ tattoo policy bans “anything that canbe viewed as prejudice, racist, sexist or offensive.” PraticosaidMCRC looks at the size, location and content of tattoos,as well as applicants’ backgrounds, when determiningwhether to issue a waiver for a Confederate flag tattoo,Garn said.In this case, the staff NCO in charge at the recruiting station did not recommend issuing a waiver for Bauswell’s tattoo, officials said. Bauswell’s tattoo is on his torso.Pratico suggested that anyone interested in joining themilitary talk to a recruiter about what tattoos are permissiblebefore getting inked.Military BallSave the date.November 12, 2016IN MEMORIAMNearly a half million veterans have rolled up their sleevesfor science as the Veterans Affairs Department shoots tobuild the largest blood repository in the world.The VA's Boston-based Million Veterans Program is advancing the research on DNA mapping to better understandgenetic markers linked to illnesses such as cancers, heartdisease, post-traumatic stress and mental health conditions.According to VA officials, the department is collecting theblood samples and medical histories of donors and feedingthe information into a vast database to be used by civilian,academic and government researchers across the globe.More than 440,000 veterans already have furnished bloodto the program. Earlier this month, VA Secretary BobMcDonald, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at WestPoint, New York, who served in the Army for five years, became the 441,196th.Precision medicine is the field of medical treatment tailored to a patient’s condition, DNA makeup, environmentand overall health. Experts believe advances in such personalized care will lead to more effective treatments for disease.8Rita Gray, spouse of Maj. Robert Gray, RoyalCanadian Army. Honorary Member, 1995—200819 February, Lt. Col. Clayton Mullins, USAF— MOAAMember; not Chapter memberMonthly Member and Board MeetingsLuncheon: Wednesday Apr 6. 2016 11:00 amFlorida RoomBoard Meeting: Wednesday Apr 13, 2016 10:00 amSunTrust BankMembership Committee Mtg. Trinity Baptist Church3rd Wed at 10:00 am (Apr. 20)

These Vets Stormed The Capitol To Fight ForService Members The Pentagon Left BehindPrivacy concerns can lead to costly medicalerrorsPreventable adverse events contribute to the deaths ofsome 400,000 US residents every year, and some of thosemedical errors could be prevented if personal electronichealth records were properly used, write Joy Hwang andPeter Levin. However, fear of privacy breaches preventsfull utilization of EHRs, Hwang and Levin write. EHRs "thatrecord a patient's encounters, medicines, immunizations,Task & Purpose met up with a young group of veteranssurgeries, hospitalizations, appointments, and even costsas they visited House and Senate offices on the Hill in early and covered services would enable doctors to better coorJanuary to discuss their cause: those considered less than dinate care and avoid mistakes," they write.honorable.The initiative, led by Kristofer Goldsmith, is aimed atIt’s Time to Have Your Eyes Checkedpushing forward legislation that’s been stagnant in the Senate since it was dropped from the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act last year. The S.1567bill, which was just named Fairness For Veterans bill, willreform the review board process and help veterans repealtheir other-than-honorable or general discharges due tomental-health diso

from North Georgia College in 2005. After obtaining his Master's Degree, he was an adjunct instructor at the col-lege level teaching courses in Law Enforcement, Criminol-ogy, Juvenile Justice, and Criminal Justice. He began his career with Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office in 2011. While with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's