Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Annual Christmas Party
The Sumner County Chapter of MOAA will hold its annual Christmas Party on Sunday, 13 December. We will meet at Larriviere's Restaurant on the Square at 102 South Water Street in Gallatin. We will gather for good cheer at 3:00PM and dinner will begin at 3:30PM.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
TRICARE H1N1 Immunization Policy
TRICARE Announces H1N1 Immunization Policy
October 30, 2009TRICARE Press Release
FALLS CHURCH, Va. – Immunizations against the H1N1 virus will soon be available, and people are eager to take precautions. Tricare Prime, Standard and Extra beneficiaries can get their shots from network and non-network providers without paying a deductible or making a co-payment. A temporary waiver allows retired Tricare Prime enrollees to get the H1N1 immunization from non-network providers without a referral or authorization, eliminating point-of-service charges. Prime enrollees will not be charged a co-payment or cost share. Tricare for Life beneficiaries must follow Medicare rules regarding H1N1 vaccine. Medicare will pay for administering the H1N1 vaccine, but not the H1N1 vaccine itself if it is supplied to providers free of charge. Payment will be subject to normal billing and payment rules that apply to influenza vaccine. Preventive medicine is a very important part of Tricare’s goal of keeping retirees and families healthy, said Rear Adm. Christine Hunter, deputy director of the Tricare Management Activity. “To that end, we make getting vaccinated as convenient and affordable as possible,” she said. “Beneficiaries should talk to their primary care manager if they have any questions about the H1N1 vaccine or other vaccines.”
October 30, 2009TRICARE Press Release
FALLS CHURCH, Va. – Immunizations against the H1N1 virus will soon be available, and people are eager to take precautions. Tricare Prime, Standard and Extra beneficiaries can get their shots from network and non-network providers without paying a deductible or making a co-payment. A temporary waiver allows retired Tricare Prime enrollees to get the H1N1 immunization from non-network providers without a referral or authorization, eliminating point-of-service charges. Prime enrollees will not be charged a co-payment or cost share. Tricare for Life beneficiaries must follow Medicare rules regarding H1N1 vaccine. Medicare will pay for administering the H1N1 vaccine, but not the H1N1 vaccine itself if it is supplied to providers free of charge. Payment will be subject to normal billing and payment rules that apply to influenza vaccine. Preventive medicine is a very important part of Tricare’s goal of keeping retirees and families healthy, said Rear Adm. Christine Hunter, deputy director of the Tricare Management Activity. “To that end, we make getting vaccinated as convenient and affordable as possible,” she said. “Beneficiaries should talk to their primary care manager if they have any questions about the H1N1 vaccine or other vaccines.”
Friday, October 23, 2009
Senate Punts on Medicare/TRICARE Fix
Despite a strong push from MOAA, the American Medical Association and others, the Senate failed to muster enough votes this week to repeal the flawed statutory formula that will impose a 21% cut in Medicare and TRICARE payments to doctors this coming January unless the law is changed.
Earlier this week on Oct 20, MOAA President VADM Norb Ryan Jr. (USN-Ret) was one of three major association leaders invited by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) to speak at a press conference to highlight the importance of passing Stabenow's "Medicare Physician Fairness Act" (S. 1776) to protect against repeated cuts in 2010 and subsequent years.
"The current flawed formula for Medicare doctor payments puts every military beneficiary at risk, because military TRICARE payments are tied to Medicare's," said Ryan, speaking at the press conference in the U.S. Capitol building.
"Access to health care already is the single biggest problem for military beneficiaries of all ages," Ryan asserted. "The 21% cut to Medicare and TRICARE payments called for under current law would make that problem exponentially worse by causing large numbers of doctors to stop seeing elderly and military patients. The last thing troops in combat should have to worry about is whether their sick spouse or child can find a doctor to treat them."
Ryan said MOAA members already had generated more than 16,000 messages in the space of four days urging their legislators to support Stabenow's legislation.
Stabenow said she introduced her bill to get Congress "to rethink how we look at physician care and physician payments." She said Congress has acted to stop such cuts seven times in the past, but most have only been one-year fixes that necessitated reversing even bigger cuts the following year. "We need to stop the band-aid approach, be honest about [future budgets], and lay a foundation for real physician payment reform."
"I want to thank the Military Officers Association of America for their strong support," said Dr. J. James Rohack, President of the American Medical Association, "to preserve access and choice for seniors and military beneficiaries, now and in the future. Current law requires not only a 21% payment cut in 2010, but a cumulative 40% cut over the next six years. With millions of baby boomers coming into Medicare eligibility in the next two years, we must repeal this broken formula."
Ryan signed MOAA letters to every senator on October 20, urging them to vote for S. 1776, but the vote failed after several senators expressed concern about how to pay for the bill, which would cost $250 billion over the next 10 years.
After the failed vote, Senate leaders pledged to find a way to approve and fund at least a one-year fix before the end of December to ensure the 21% cut in Medicare and TRICARE payments won't go into effect.
The problem with this approach is that current law requires compounding annual cuts - forcing a 26% payment cut in January 2011 - so putting off a permanent fix only increases the cost of doing that later.
MOAA will continue to press for action, not only to reverse the scheduled cut for 2010 but to change the underlying law that causes this annually recurring threat to seniors' and military beneficiaries' health care access.
Earlier this week on Oct 20, MOAA President VADM Norb Ryan Jr. (USN-Ret) was one of three major association leaders invited by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) to speak at a press conference to highlight the importance of passing Stabenow's "Medicare Physician Fairness Act" (S. 1776) to protect against repeated cuts in 2010 and subsequent years.
"The current flawed formula for Medicare doctor payments puts every military beneficiary at risk, because military TRICARE payments are tied to Medicare's," said Ryan, speaking at the press conference in the U.S. Capitol building.
"Access to health care already is the single biggest problem for military beneficiaries of all ages," Ryan asserted. "The 21% cut to Medicare and TRICARE payments called for under current law would make that problem exponentially worse by causing large numbers of doctors to stop seeing elderly and military patients. The last thing troops in combat should have to worry about is whether their sick spouse or child can find a doctor to treat them."
Ryan said MOAA members already had generated more than 16,000 messages in the space of four days urging their legislators to support Stabenow's legislation.
Stabenow said she introduced her bill to get Congress "to rethink how we look at physician care and physician payments." She said Congress has acted to stop such cuts seven times in the past, but most have only been one-year fixes that necessitated reversing even bigger cuts the following year. "We need to stop the band-aid approach, be honest about [future budgets], and lay a foundation for real physician payment reform."
"I want to thank the Military Officers Association of America for their strong support," said Dr. J. James Rohack, President of the American Medical Association, "to preserve access and choice for seniors and military beneficiaries, now and in the future. Current law requires not only a 21% payment cut in 2010, but a cumulative 40% cut over the next six years. With millions of baby boomers coming into Medicare eligibility in the next two years, we must repeal this broken formula."
Ryan signed MOAA letters to every senator on October 20, urging them to vote for S. 1776, but the vote failed after several senators expressed concern about how to pay for the bill, which would cost $250 billion over the next 10 years.
After the failed vote, Senate leaders pledged to find a way to approve and fund at least a one-year fix before the end of December to ensure the 21% cut in Medicare and TRICARE payments won't go into effect.
The problem with this approach is that current law requires compounding annual cuts - forcing a 26% payment cut in January 2011 - so putting off a permanent fix only increases the cost of doing that later.
MOAA will continue to press for action, not only to reverse the scheduled cut for 2010 but to change the underlying law that causes this annually recurring threat to seniors' and military beneficiaries' health care access.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
October Meeting Information
Our October Chapter meeting will be held on Thursday, October 22nd, at Latham’s lighthouse in Hendersonville, TN. We will meet at 6:00 PM and have dinner at 6:30 PM. The cost of the meal will be $24.00 per person.
Menu
The choices for this month's buffet dinner are:
Prime Rib
Grilled Chicken
Mashed Potatoes
Broccoli
Two Desserts (one sweet and one fruit)
Coffee
Tea
Menu
The choices for this month's buffet dinner are:
Prime Rib
Grilled Chicken
Mashed Potatoes
Broccoli
Two Desserts (one sweet and one fruit)
Coffee
Tea
Monday, September 21, 2009
September Meeting
Our September meeting will be held at the Gallatin Country Club on 24 September. Cocktails start at 6:00 PM and dinner will be served at 6:30 PM. See you there.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
August Meeting Information
When and Where
Our August Chapter meeting will be held on Thursday, August 27th, at Lathams Lighthouse in Hendersonville, TN. We will meet at 6:00 PM and have dinner at 6:30 PM. The cost of the meal will be $17.00 per person.
Menu
Hamburgers, bratwurst, grilled chicken, and hot dogs
Baked beans
Potato salad
Condiments including chili
Tea and Coffee
NOTE: If coming to the dinner on short notice, please call Fran McNutt at 672-7713-3005.
Our August Chapter meeting will be held on Thursday, August 27th, at Lathams Lighthouse in Hendersonville, TN. We will meet at 6:00 PM and have dinner at 6:30 PM. The cost of the meal will be $17.00 per person.
Menu
Hamburgers, bratwurst, grilled chicken, and hot dogs
Baked beans
Potato salad
Condiments including chili
Tea and Coffee
NOTE: If coming to the dinner on short notice, please call Fran McNutt at 672-7713-3005.
Monday, August 10, 2009
MOAA and National Healthcare Reform
Dear Commander Moomy,
As Congress enters its month-long August recess, I want to clarify MOAA’s perspective on national health care reform and its possible implications for you and all members of the military and veterans' community and their families and survivors.
Many MOAA members have strong opinions on the politicians involved, strong preferences for one political party or the other, and strong views on both the principle and the specific details of national health care reform.
From MOAA’s standpoint, our tax-exempt, nonprofit status precludes us from taking partisan stands for or against any politician or political party. We take positions on issues. And in the interest of delivering our members the most bang for their membership buck, we devote our limited resources to addressing issues that directly affect our national defense and the military and veterans' community. For these reasons, our primary focus is on the aspects of the draft health care legislation that will affect you and the military community - military and VA health care, TRICARE, Medicare, and TRICARE For Life.
Our research and advocacy efforts on national health care reform are targeted at six primary goals:
Safeguarding military and VA beneficiaries’ health benefits;
Ensuring military and VA beneficiaries can choose other insurance;
Ensuring military and VA beneficiaries aren’t taxed on the value of those health benefits;
Preserving and improving military and VA beneficiaries’ access to providers of quality health care;
Ensuring long-term sustainment of Medicare (and TRICARE For Life) - and a fix for the broken Medicare payment formula that now poses annual threats of significant cuts that would erode providers’ willingness to see Medicare and TRICARE beneficiaries; and
Keeping our members apprised of how pending legislation could affect them and encouraging grassroots communications to their elected representatives to protect their interests.
We've sent a Military Coalition letter to every member of Congress, and thus far MOAA members have generated over 35,000 e-mails to their legislators using our alert. Every indication we've received from the Administration and congressional leaders of both political parties is that they share the goals listed above (read MOAA’s Aug. 7 legislative update for the latest specifics).
But there's a long way to go in the legislative process, and hard experience tells us severe budget pressures can undermine the best intentions. The bottom line: The entire MOAA staff and I are here to serve you. We will continue communicating with you, so we can let you know what we are working on and you can tell us what your concerns are. Please make sure you are signed up for our weekly Legislative Update and check our Health Care Happenings blog for the most up-to-date information.
I want to assure you MOAA will continue to be extraordinarily vigilant on this front. I encourage you to use MOAA’s national health reform alert to keep pressure on Congress to protect your interests. And please visit with your elected officials during this August recess.
Thank you for your continuing support and membership in MOAA.
All the best,
VADM Norb Ryan Jr., USN (Ret)President
As Congress enters its month-long August recess, I want to clarify MOAA’s perspective on national health care reform and its possible implications for you and all members of the military and veterans' community and their families and survivors.
Many MOAA members have strong opinions on the politicians involved, strong preferences for one political party or the other, and strong views on both the principle and the specific details of national health care reform.
From MOAA’s standpoint, our tax-exempt, nonprofit status precludes us from taking partisan stands for or against any politician or political party. We take positions on issues. And in the interest of delivering our members the most bang for their membership buck, we devote our limited resources to addressing issues that directly affect our national defense and the military and veterans' community. For these reasons, our primary focus is on the aspects of the draft health care legislation that will affect you and the military community - military and VA health care, TRICARE, Medicare, and TRICARE For Life.
Our research and advocacy efforts on national health care reform are targeted at six primary goals:
Safeguarding military and VA beneficiaries’ health benefits;
Ensuring military and VA beneficiaries can choose other insurance;
Ensuring military and VA beneficiaries aren’t taxed on the value of those health benefits;
Preserving and improving military and VA beneficiaries’ access to providers of quality health care;
Ensuring long-term sustainment of Medicare (and TRICARE For Life) - and a fix for the broken Medicare payment formula that now poses annual threats of significant cuts that would erode providers’ willingness to see Medicare and TRICARE beneficiaries; and
Keeping our members apprised of how pending legislation could affect them and encouraging grassroots communications to their elected representatives to protect their interests.
We've sent a Military Coalition letter to every member of Congress, and thus far MOAA members have generated over 35,000 e-mails to their legislators using our alert. Every indication we've received from the Administration and congressional leaders of both political parties is that they share the goals listed above (read MOAA’s Aug. 7 legislative update for the latest specifics).
But there's a long way to go in the legislative process, and hard experience tells us severe budget pressures can undermine the best intentions. The bottom line: The entire MOAA staff and I are here to serve you. We will continue communicating with you, so we can let you know what we are working on and you can tell us what your concerns are. Please make sure you are signed up for our weekly Legislative Update and check our Health Care Happenings blog for the most up-to-date information.
I want to assure you MOAA will continue to be extraordinarily vigilant on this front. I encourage you to use MOAA’s national health reform alert to keep pressure on Congress to protect your interests. And please visit with your elected officials during this August recess.
Thank you for your continuing support and membership in MOAA.
All the best,
VADM Norb Ryan Jr., USN (Ret)President
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
