P r e s i d e n t ’ s M e s s a g e

O F F I C E R SO F F I C E R SO F F I C E R SO F F I C E R S

♦ President

LTC Bobbie Williams

USA, (Ret)

540-429-2057

♦ 1st VP

Col David Rubinstein

(772) 463-1607

USAAF (Ret)

♦ 2nd VP

CDR Dayne Clemmer

USNR, (Ret)

772-225-6491

Secretary

Sally Clemmer

Marjorie Armstrong,

Treasurer

CDR Anthony DePaul USN, (Ret)

772-341-0205

Board of Directors

MAJ Hal Davis

USA (Ret)

LT O’neil Estrala

USN (Ret)

CWO2 Jack Irvin

USA (Former)

Immediate Past President

CWO2 William Armstrong

USA (Ret)

772-464-8532

T R E A S U R E C O A S T C H A P T E RT R E A S U R E C O A S T C H A P T E RT R E A S U R E C O A S T C H A P T E RT R E A S U R E C O A S T C H A P T E R

AAAA 5 S T A R C H A P T E RS T A R C H A P T E RS T A R C H A P T E RS T A R C H A P T E R

May 2017

MOAA and the

Treasure Coast Chapter are independent, nonprofit and

politically nonpartisan organiza-tions.

Upfront, I would like to thank the Indian River Chapter for accepting our invitation to join us

for a Mets Spring Baseball game at First Data Stadium. A special thanks to Robert and

Maggie Albrecht; Robert is the new 1st VIce President for the Indian River Chapter. I ap-

preciate Robert's leadership, and I look forward to conducting future joint events. Everyone

enjoyed a beautiful spring day for baseball, entertainment, fun, kids and grandkids!

I would also like to take this opportunity to recognize a number of JROTC Cadets that partici-

pated and were the recipients of the MOAA Medal and Scholarship during their annual Award

Ceremonies for the month of April: Cadet/LTC Vanessa Cruz Fort Pierce Westwood; Cadets

Nicholas Torres and Alexander Kennedy Jensen Beach and Cadet/MSGT Stephanie Marine

and Cadet/MAJ Christopher Roesch Treasure Coast High School.

I would like to publicly thank the Senior Army, Air Force and Navy Instructors for support-

ing our A Community Thrives (ACT) grant contest! Without their support, we will not have a

chance to win the grant contest.

Again, A Community Thrives (ACT) USA Today grant contest Voting started on April 12,

and ends on May 12. Again, we need every member, family members, friends, JROTC pro-

grams and the entire student body to be committed voters daily! You can vote at the following

Website: act.usatoday.com/submit-an-idea.

Finally, save the date, our next general membership meeting is May 18, 6:00 PM. Our guest

speaker is our past president Bill Armstrong. If you are planning to attend; please RSVP to

CDR Tony DePaul at 772-336-6854 NLT May 15! I am encouraging our members to invite a

non-member, family member or friend to our meeting.

Bobbie

Upcoming EventsUpcoming EventsUpcoming EventsUpcoming Events MayMayMayMay

9999 Board Meeting 6:00Board Meeting 6:00Board Meeting 6:00Board Meeting 6:00

14 14 14 14 Mothers Day Mothers Day Mothers Day Mothers Day

18181818 Evening Meeting 6:00 PMEvening Meeting 6:00 PMEvening Meeting 6:00 PMEvening Meeting 6:00 PM

Program Korean POWProgram Korean POWProgram Korean POWProgram Korean POW

20 20 20 20 Armed Forces DayArmed Forces DayArmed Forces DayArmed Forces Day

29292929 Memorial Day Memorial Day Memorial Day Memorial Day

JuneJuneJuneJune

13131313 Board Meeting 6:00 PMBoard Meeting 6:00 PMBoard Meeting 6:00 PMBoard Meeting 6:00 PM

11115555 DDDDiiiinnnnnnnneeeerrrr MMMMeeeeeeeettttiiiinnnngggg 6666::::00000000PPPPMMMM

Military Health System Reform

It is often said that the only constant in health care is change. Dur-ing the next few months, beneficiaries will move forward with the Military Health System's (MHS) most sweeping changes in dec-ades. The MHS, to be sure, faces many of the same challenges that exist in civilian health systems including rising costs, pressure to meet consumer demand, and making the transition from paying for the volume of care to paying for the value of care.

However, the primary difference between the MHS and civilian systems is the MHS is built first and foremost for readiness. Un-like civilian health care delivery, the MHS is consistently under pressure to deliver a range of services from providing trauma care for combat troops on the battlefield, to providing humanitarian care around the globe, not to mention delivering health care for more than 9 million other beneficiaries. This complex enterprise, with an annual budget of $50 billion, must also continue to adapt to and evolve into new technologies. It must embrace establishing a modern electronic health records system and instituting quality and access standards that the increasingly savvy beneficiary de-mands. It is within this environment that Congress placed into law the extensive provisions contained in last year's defense bill. Now is the time for the military to put these major changes into action.

Looking to the Future: All Eyes Will Be On Performance

The MHS health care changes go a long way toward achieving many of MOAA's goals from the past several years. Specifically, they addressed the systemic and problematic issues chronically associated with access, quality of care, and the efficiency and con-sistency of beneficiary care. It also modernizes the TRICARE program as Congress intended. In general, the new changes are geared to strengthen military hos-pitals and enhance readiness through requirements aimed at opti-mizing health care delivery and MHS organizational and structural reforms. Another key event on the horizon is the changing of two managed care support contractors, which will occur in each of TRICARE's West and East regions. The current South region will be combined into the East region.

Of particular importance to beneficiaries are the details and the timelines of these changes. Based on input from MOAA and other organizations, the start of the TRICARE regional contract changes will coincide with implementation of the new TRICARE benefit option, TRICARE Select, and will commence on Jan. 1, 2018. With regard to changes in the TRICARE program, early benefi-ciary engagement is important. While we continue to work with the DHA on specifics, full details of the changes are still forth-coming. One of the first things beneficiaries can and should do is update both their personal and their family's information in the DEERS system (https://tricare.mil/changes). This is important because the new TRICARE Select benefit option will require an enrollment process. At this early stage, we anticipate current TRI-CARE Standard beneficiaries will be automatically enrolled with an opt-out feature (at least initially). Those already in TRICARE rime will be automatically enrolled.

There will be many more details released over the next few months. MOAA appreciates DHA's willingness to form a joint working group between DHA officials and association representa-tives to pool institutional and beneficiary perspectives in the im-plementation process of the broad array of fundamental changes in the MHS. A similar joint working group helped ensure the smooth implementation of the TRICARE for Life program, and we are hopeful for a similarly productive outcome on this new package of reforms

PAGE 2

Congress Mulls Changes to Post-9/11 GI Bill Congress is considering a proposal to require all new servicemem-bers to contribute $100 per month for 24 months in order to take advantage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Reservists would be required to pay $67 per active duty month until reaching $2,400 in contri-butions.

Currently, the Post-9/11 GI Bill is free for any veteran who served at least 90 days on active duty after Sept. 10, 2001, providing re-cipients with a prorated benefit of up to 36 months of tuition and allowances for housing and books. Qualified servicemembers can transfer their GI Bill benefits to a spouse or dependent.

Last year, in an effort to cut costs, Congress attempted to tweak the amount of money given to GI Bill beneficiaries using trans-ferred benefits. After a political outcry, the proposal was dropped.

Proponents of the move to begin charging for the benefit state the money generated can allow lawmakers to expand GI Bill benefits to student veterans, such as giving them up to 48 months of tuition for degrees in STEM fields.

Opponents of the move to begin charging say it's inappropriate to change the benefit while the country is still at war. The Post-9/11 GI Bill was intended to serve as a wartime benefit. Any changes at this point would not be in line with the original intent of the benefit.

“On the surface, charging for the GI Bill is still a great return on investment: $2,400 for a college degree for you, your spouse, or kid,” says MOAA's Director of Government Relations for Nation-al Guard and Reserve and VA Benefits, Lt. Col. Aniela Szyman-ski, USCMR. “However, this would be done at the same time as new entrants navigate a new retirement system and face new fees for TRICARE.

“There's the concern some folks with a strained budget, particular-ly junior enlisted, may feel like they have to choose between fami-ly health care now, education later, or retirement well into the future.”

May 29, 2017

In MemoryIn MemoryIn MemoryIn Memory Stefania Feher ,88, of Port St Lucie, passed away on Tuesday April 18, 2017 at Treasure Coast Hos-pice in Fort Pierce, FL.

Stefania was born in Romania to parents Nicolei and Rosa Andronek. Before retiring Stefania was a vice president in the banking Industry.

She was proceeded in death by her loving hus-band, Andre C. Feher.

Stefania was a member of the Port St Lucie Wom-ens Club, Holy Family Council of Catholic Wom-en, an auxiliary member of Treasure Coast Chapter of MOAA, a firm supporter of the Omer Brunner Council of Knights of Columbus at Holy Family Catholic Church in Port St Lucie.

In lieu of flowers contributions may be made in Stefania's honor to Holy Family Catholic Church in Port St Lucie, FL or a charity of donor's choice.

LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS

Col. David Rubinstein

USAF, Ret

MOAA has requested “action” on a number of issues. By action they are asking us to contact our congressional delegation and urge support or to urge opposition to key legislative issues. Please take some time and go to the MOAA website and log into the Legislative Action Center. They have listed a number of issues that we should support by contacting our legislative delegation. They make it really easy to do this so please take action today. I am going to discuss just one of these issues. Without a doubt, Sequestration is the number one issue facing our mili-tary today. MOAA stated: “Unless current law is changed, sequestration will return next year and automatically trigger deep cuts to the Defense Department. These severe cuts will exhaust our resources and capabili-ties in immeasurable ways—the toll on our military and their families will likewise be incalculable.” Unfortunately, it is not at all clear to me that the Congress will fix this issue. The Republicans seem to have loss any ability to unite behind an issue and get it done and the Democrats will insist on increase funding for social programs as a tradeoff for ending sequestration. Now would be a good time to contact our Congressmen and Senators and insist on getting Sequestration law terminated now! Our current President has called for fixing our military and wants to re-turn our military to combat readiness that we have lost due to sequestra-tion. However, to fix our military to the point that our enemies would not want to try to engage us requires money. Can you slice taxes; rebuild our infrastructure and our military at the same time? Of course I find the argument for a strong military convincing and would suggest that should be our first priority. Peace through Strength is not an empty slogan. The situation developing in Korea is a case in point. Over the last few weeks, the world seems to have moved closer to a military confrontation with North Korea. If North Korea doubts our ability or our will to act, they could make a tragic mistake. There is a real danger of a nuclear exchange that would result in millions dying, including the 25,000 plus American soldiers, airman and sailors currently serving in the area.

VA Will Provide Disability Benefits for Camp Lejeune Wa-ter-Related Diseases

The Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) regulations to establish pre-sumptions for the service connection of eight diseases associated with exposure to contaminants in the water supply at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, are effective as of March 14. “Establishing these presumptions is a demonstration of our commitment to care for those who have served our nation and have been exposed to harm as a result of that service,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Dr. David J. Shulkin. “The Camp Lejeune presumptions will make it easier for those Veterans to receive the care and benefits they earned.” The presumption of service connec-tion applies to active-duty, reserve and National Guard members who served at Camp Lejeune for a minimum of 30 days (cumulative) between Aug. 1, 1953, and Dec. 31, 1987, and are diagnosed with any of the following conditions: •Adult leukemia •Aplastic anemia (and other myelodysplas-tic syndromes) •Bladder cancer •Kidney cancer •Liver cancer •Multiple myeloma • Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma • Parkinson’s disease. The area included in this presumption is all of Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River, including satellite camps and housing areas. This presumption complements the health care already provided for 15 ill-nesses or conditions as part of the Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012. The Camp Lejeune Act requires VA to provide health care to Veterans who served at Camp Lejeune, and to reimburse family members or pay providers for medical expenses for those who resided there for not fewer than 30 days between Aug. 1, 1953, and Dec. 31, 1987

Legislation would improve access to care for women veterans

Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a former Lt. Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, today announced he is cosponsoring biparti-san legislation that would require the Department of Veter-ans Affairs (VA) to provide better access to services to help meet the unique health care needs of women veterans.

The Deborah Sampson Act, named for a woman who dis-guised herself to serve in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, would improve access to specialized services, like maternity and newborn care. According to the VA, there are approximately 2 million women veterans across the country, including more than 46,000 in Michigan. “As the number of women veterans continues to grow, we must ensure that they are able to access the care and services they have earned by serving our country in uniform,” said Senator Peters. “I’m proud to cosponsor this bipartisan legis-lation that improves support services and eliminates barriers to health care so we can ensure that the women who have served this country have equal access to the benefits they earned and can smoothly transition to civilian life.”

The Deborah Simpson Act would improve access to support services, including counseling and legal support for issues such as housing, eviction and child support issues. The bill also improves health care for women veterans by requiring every VA facility to have at least one women’s health prima-ry care provider on staff, authorizing funding to retrofit VA facilities to enhance privacy and provide a better care envi-ronment, and expanding coverage for specialized services including maternity and newborn care. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a former Lt. Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, Senator Peters is a strong voice for Michigan’s veterans. Peters is also a member of the Post-9/11 Caucus, which works to un-derstand the unique needs of more recent veterans, which includes historically large numbers of women.

PAGE 3

.--Blended Retirement’s — but Is It Fair?

When the first wave of active duty personnel who opt into the new Blended Retirement System (BRS) next year start to re-tire a decade later, they will face a decision on retired pay so unusual the DoD Board of Actuaries has called it inappropri-ate and asked Congress to rescind the choice.

The decision they will face might be explained like this: Congratulations on your pending retirement. Do you want your full immediate annuity? Or do you prefer to get part of its value in a discounted lump sum at retirement, in return for forfeiting either one-half or one-quarter of your retired pay until age 67, when you would see full annuities restored?

Lump-sum buyouts of pension obligations are common in the corporate world but not the formula Congress has prescribed for setting military lump sums. The amounts offered will be too large to ignore for many retirees seeking to get out of debt, buy a home, or start a business. But the lump-sum choice also will have members lowering the lifetime value of their own retirement packages significantly.

Most disturbing to actuaries and other critics of the BRS is that Congress ordered lump sums calculated using “personal discount rates,” a concept that pension guardians don't recog-nize as actuarially sound or perhaps even fair. Personal dis-count rates measure an individual's preference for current dol-lars over promised future dollars. The higher the discount rate assumed for folks being offered lump sums in exchange for reduced annuities, the greater the savings realized by the re-tirement plan's designers, in this case the U.S. government. In January, Defense officials announced the formula to be used for setting an aggregate personal discount rate for enlist-ed and officer retirees. It will combine an inflation-adjusted, seven-year average of the Department of Treasury High-

Quality Market (HQM) Corporate Bond Spot Rate Yield Curve at a 23-year maturity with an adjustment factor of 4.28 percentage points. That last factor seeks to capture some of what past studies have learned about military personal dis-count rates.

It's a formula incomprehensible to most of us. But Air Force Capt. Daniel Kopp, who has an economics degree from Pur-due, is studying to be a financial planner, and operates a finan-cial advice blog called militarylifeplanning.com, has it figured out. He said if adopted today, the formula would support ap-plying a discount rate of 7.3 percent in calculating lump-sum amounts under the BLS.

What sort of dollars are we talking about? Defense officials will not announce the actual personal discount rate to be used to illustrate lump-sum values until June 1. But here are calcu-lations Kopp made that actuaries have deemed as reasonable: If a 38-year-old E-7, completing a 20-year career, could retire today under the BRS formula, the lump-sum offer would be $174,454 in return for forfeiting 50 percent of retired pay until age 67, when this generation also reaches full retirement age for Social Security. The second lump-sum option for the same E-7, payable for accepting a 25-percent annuity cut until old age, would be $87,277. Kopp looked at a 42-year-old officer retiring after 20 years in the rank of O-5. The lump-sum offer would be $309,132 to take a 50-percent retired pay cut until age 67, and $154,566 to accept a 25-percent annuity cut for 25 years.

Kopp also calculated total retirement dollars these retirees would forfeit to accept lump sums. From age 38 to 67, the E-7 who accepted a 50-percent cut in retired pay would get total .

retired pay of $488,363 - and would forfeit an equal amount to accept a lump sum of $174,454 at retirement. The E-7 who accepted the 25-

percent cut until 67 would forfeit $244,182 to receive $87,277 at retire-mentto allow these calculations, Kopp assumed retired pay cost-of-living adjustments of 3 percent to match annual inflation. He also plugged in that personal discount rate of 7.3 percent for both officers and enlisted retirees.

The BLS plan enacted for new entrants starting in 2018, with opt-in op-tion for current members having fewer than 12 years' service by then, is the vision of the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission. Besides a lump sum to attract a 50-percent annuity cut, the commission proposed one big enough to entice new retirees to suspend any retired pay until age 67.

“Research shows that the value a person attaches today to a stream of future payments is typically less than the cumulative amounts eventually paid out,” the commission explained in its final 2015 report. To estimate required lump sums, however, the commission used RAND Corp. analyses that assigned a personal discount rate of 12.7 percent to a 38-year-old E-7 retiring at 20 years, and a 6.4-percent rate for the 42-

year-old officer retiring at 20 years as an O-5. That sharp disparity in rates dampened significantly lump sums projected for enticing enlisted to accept annuity reductions.

DoD asked Congress not to include the commission's lump-sum scheme in the final BRS plan. The House initially agreed while shaping its retire-ment reform legislation. Senators, however, favored the feature to hold down costs. So, the final compromise that became law allows lump-sum offerings for accepting a 50-percent or a 25-percent cut in retired pay until age 67.

The law also directs the department to establish lump-sum amounts based on the “discounted present value” of forfeited annuities using “average personal discount rates” derived from “reputable studies” of military personnel behavior.

Last April, as Defense officials focused on how to implement the BRS features, the American Academy of Actuaries sent a letter to the depart-ment roundly criticizing the law's mandate that personal discount rates be used to calculate lump-sum offerings at retirement. “Such discount rates would result in lower lump-sum amounts … than would be paid, for example, by private pension plans,” the Academy complained. Discount rates to calculate lump sums for pen-

sions should be shaped by financial input on-

ly, not “individual preference or utility,” two

factors that influence personal discount rates, the Academy said. It added that there “are no generally accepted actuarial principles … for selecting or utilizing personal discount rates.”

Discount rates typically used to calculate lump sums for corporate pen-sion plans had ranged from 2 to 4 percent from 2010 to 2015, the Acade-my said.

The DoD Board of Actuaries delivered its own critique of the lump-sum scheme in its December report to the president and Congress on the Mili-tary Retirement Fund. Calculating lump sums using personal discount rates is “not an appropriate approach for discounting in a retirement plan environment,” it said.

The board predicted accurately the department would settle on “some type of aggregate personnel discount rate” for both enlisted and officers. But it also predicted the resulting lump sums could produce behaviors by retirees significantly different than what the commission or Congress had projected. It also could feed a belief the lump sums are designed “to take advantage of our service members.”

Retiree and Dependent ID Card Renewals are done Online Only

ON-LINE RENEWAL PROCESS

Step 1. Fill out the Application to Renew form.

Step 2. Sponsor Certify the DD Form 1172 online:

Have the sponsor (CAC holder or Retirees can create a DS log-on)

access the DMDC website to certify the DD Form 1172 for the de-

pendent who is renewing his/her ID card via the following link:

DMDC website

Step 3. Submit Pictures of Dependent and 2x Supporting IDs via AM-

RDEC SAFE.

Open AMRDEC SAFE and submit the following documents to the 45

FSS/FSMPS at email: custrsvc@us.af.mil.

1.Two Supporting Identifications (2 forms of unexpired ID with the

EXACT same name, front only)

2.Photo of Dependent for the ID card (shoulders up, white/off white

background)

3.Completed “Application to Renew” form

NOTE: Reference Supporting ID Reqs for additional guidance on sup-porting identifications and pictures. Step 4. Pick up ID Card at MPS Customer Service Office in 7 calendar days. The ID card will be ready for pick up in 7 days. The sponsor is not required to be present for ID card pick-up. The ID card will be ready for pick up in 7 calendar days. Must bring the original two supporting identifications used to create the ID card with you upon pick-up. The sponsor is not required to be present for ID card pick-up. Please ensure that you provide correct information on the Dependent Renewal Ap-plication (Ex. DoD ID/SSN) for fast service. Newly Widowed/DAV/Initial Enrollment/ID for age 21 does not fall under the ID card renew-al process. Member must visit the MPF for service.

Making a Date with Your Dentist Just Got Easier Smartphone App Users Can Find, Book Appointments Courtesy Delta Dental Most consumers know they should be getting to the dentist more often, but too frequently busy schedules push the thought out of mind and they just never get around to making the appointment. In January, Delta Dental announced a new tool to change that. Brighter Schedule™ helps consumers to make their dental appointments while the thought is top of mind. Beginning in March, Delta Dental subscribers can find available times to see their dentist and make an appointment right from the Delta Dental app, the feature will also be available on Delta Dental’s online pro-vider directory starting in July. “Delta Dental is focused on adding products that make it easier for both patients and providers to con-nect, making it simpler for patients to utilize their dental benefits,” said Scott Jessee, Delta Dental Plans Association vice president, information technology. “Now, they can make dental appointments when it’s convenient for them.” “Bringing technology and consum-erism to healthcare delivers great value to patients, providers and plan sponsors alike,” said Jake Winebaum, CEO of Brighter, Inc., the company that powers Brighter Schedule™. “We are excited to begin working with Delta Dental to enable their members and pro-viders to more efficiently and conveniently connect with each other.”

F-35C Lighting II has entered service in the Navy. Strike Fighter Squadron 125, located at Lemoore California, was activated in January and received its first 4 F-35Cs. In addition VFA 41 from Norfolk have taken delivery of their F35Cs. The F-35C combines this unique capability of operat-

ing from a carrier deck with the unmatched 5th Generation capabil-ities of stealth, fused sensors and reliability, making the F-35C the Navy’s future first-day-of-the-war strike fighter. The Navy and Ma-rines require an aircraft capable of overcoming a variety of threats — surface-to-air missiles, air-to-air

missiles and tactical aircraft. By leveraging this potent combi-nation of stealth, advanced jamming and threat system destruc-tion, the F-35C enhances survivability and increases mission success rates. The F-35C variant has larger wings and more robust landing gear than the other variants, making it suitable for catapult launches and fly-in arrestments aboard naval air-craft carriers. Its wingtips also to allow for more room on the deck on the carriers while deployed

Memorial Day Activities In Our Area

Monday, May 29, 2017 Join us for this special ceremony as representatives from a variety of local veterans’ groups and guests of honor pay tribute to those who have valiantly served our country

Port St. Lucie

| 10:00am Veterans mMemorial Park

Fort Pierce

10:00 am Veteran’s Memorial on Indian River Drive

Navy Seal Museum A1A Fort Pierce

Navy SEAL Museum’s Memorial Wall at 9 AM, early arrival is encouraged as seating is limited. Stuart Memorial Day Parade 10:00 am

Jensen Beach

Memorial Day Rememberence 4:00 PM Forest Hills Memorial Park

TriCare Protect Your Personal Information

Don’t wait for fraud against TRICARE beneficiaries to be in the news. Always protect your personal information! Whether you’re active duty or retired, don’t share your uniformed service identifi-cation card, or personal or family information with someone you don’t know. Protecting your personal information is vital to your privacy, and prevents abuse of taxpayer dollars. Fraudsters often target TRICARE beneficiaries. For example, they conduct fake surveys to collect personal information. They call saying they know you have TRICARE and want to let you know you qualify for a free or low cost knee brace or walker. They then bill TRICARE for services or supplies you don’t need and never get. No one from TRICARE will ever recommend a particular product or medicine. If someone does, don't share any personal infor-mation. If you think you’re the victim of TRICARE-related fraud, report it to the Defense Health Agency. Also, report when you think a provider or company is trying to defraud TRICARE. For example, if your TRICARE explanation of benefits (EOB) shows a charge for services you didn’t get, tell your TRICARE regional contractor. TRICARE won’t just call or email you asking for personal identi-fying information, such as your uniformed service ID number, social security number, or Department of Defense benefits num-ber. Only give that kind of information to a trusted person or of-fice, like your doctor, a TRICARE claims processor or regional contractor. Be wary of an unknown person offering a gift or re-ward in exchange for a health service. They may be trying to com-mit fraud.

Honey has heard from dental groups citing lower reimbursement rates for not participating in the network. He is not alarmed because United Concor-dia still has been signing many dental care providers. With any change in contractor, he says, there will be dentists “who opt out and some who join. But I believe we will not have any problem with access. The net number of providers per area will remain close to, if not above, 98 percent” coverage within 20 miles to beneficiaries. According to Honey, TRICARE doesn't dictate what providers are reim-bursed. That's for the vendor to negotiate. But if United Concordia fails to build an adequate network in an area, it can be ruled noncompliant with the contract. It would be forced to renegotiate rates to ensure proper coverage or beneficiaries could use non-network providers and the contractor would have to “eat” the added costs. “So either way, the beneficiary is still taken care of,” Honey says. “We'll not only monitor the access as it occurs but we'll also ensure that there isn't any beneficiary who doesn't have robust access” to dental care.

Honey also is confident beneficiaries won't see quality of care slide “because access standards are still very stringent. In the larger practice of dentistry, I wouldn't presume that those who wish to be in that 98 percent would be inferior in any way, particularly with state licensure, peer review, and all the requirements a dentist practicing in the United States has to fol-low.” He says the directory of participating dentists is accurate. A spokesman later noted that for Fort Leavenworth the dentist directory lists 147 general dentists in the network within 25 miles of the post. Beneficiaries don't need to take any action to continue coverage unless their dentist hasn't joined the network. Then they will have to find one using the directory. Beneficiaries also can learn how premiums will fall using this online chart (https://tricare.mil/Costs/DentalCosts/TDP/Premiums). The size of the drop ranges from 50 cents a month for single active duty family members to more than $16 a month for a reservist with family coverage. Other plan improvements are: An increase in the annual maximum TRICARE will pay for dental care under the plan, from $1,300 to a new ceiling of $1,500. Sealants at no charge as preventive treatment to protect permanent teeth after eruption. A current requirement that beneficiaries pay a 20-percent cost share for sealants will end. Auto-enrolling children of families at age 1 rather than age 4. The goal is to educate families sooner on proper dental health, and particularly to dis-courage the practice of keeping children on nursing bottles too long and allowing sugared drinks that can cause rapid decay of newly erupting teeth. 'The idea here is to get at the educational part with parents early so they understand this problem and can completely mitigate it by keeping track of time with the bottle and what actually is in the bottle,” Honey says. The contract awarded to United Concordia could total $1.6 billion assum-ing it exercises all five one-year option periods. The TRICARE Dental Pro-gram is a voluntary plan for family members of active duty personnel and of Guard and Reserve members. Guard and Reserve members are eligible too when not on active duty or covered by the Transitional Assistance Man-agement Program. Delta Dental administers a separate TRICARE Retiree Dental Pro-gram, which is unaffected by this contract. The Defense Health Agency would like to see higher participation in the TRICARE Dental Program, particularly from reserve components. Only 14 percent of Selected Reserve and National Guard members.

Tricare Dental Responsibility to provide dental care coverage to 1.37 million active duty family members and 376,000 Reserve and Guard members and their families will shift May 1 from MetLife to United Concordia Companies Inc. of Harrisburg, Pa. The change in the TRICARE Dental Program contractor will bring lower patient premiums and a modest expansion of cov-ered services. However, United Concordia also will lower key reimbursements to dentists below what they previously have been paid, prompting some dentists to warn patients they won't join the new network. Starting next month, an unknown number of TRICARE Dental Program enrollees will need to find new dentists from a directo-ry of participating providers United Concordia began to build after winning the competitive bid contract last year. TRICARE beneficiaries are accustomed to having to switch health care providers from time to time, usually when they move to new locations or when TRICARE support contracts expire and a new company wins the business. With TRICARE Dental, family advocates say they have sever-al concerns. One is whether United Concordia, by lowering some payments to network dentists, will create coverage gaps in some areas. Another worry is that lowered payments could im-pact the overall quality of the network provider pool. A third concern is whether the dentist directory (https://www.unitedconcordia.com/find-a-dentist/) run by United Con-cordia lists too many dentists who have already decided not to participate (or will make that decision soon). Karen Ruedisueli, deputy director of government relations for the National Military Family Association, says she used the directory at www.uccitdp.com (http://www.uccitdp.com/) to find general dentists within 10 miles of the 66027 zip code for Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Of 12 names that popped up, the two nearest said they would not participate. Of the other 10, two in Lansing (the next town over) said they had just switched man-agement and would not be participating. And an office worker for two more dentists in Platte City, still a reasonable drive away, told Ruedisueli United Concordia is cutting rates so sig-nificantly they probably would leave the network.

“United Concordia is making the argument that although fami-lies may have to switch providers, they will still have access to dental care,” says Ruedisueli. “I would contend, however, that we are seeing a pretty significant shrinking of the network, at least in certain areas and maybe overall. It's just really early to tell.” Her organization as well as the Military Officers Association of America are hearing complaints about providers advising patients they won't join the network. Army Col. James R. Honey, chief of TRICARE Dental Care for the Defense Health Agency in Falls Church, Va., says any concern about coverage gaps and the accuracy of United Con-cordia's dentist directory are unfounded. As with MetLife, he says, United Concordia will be required to meet Code of Federal Regulation standards that 95 percent of enrollees have access to care within 35 miles of their homes and within 21 days. Honey is confident that, also like MetLife, Unit-ed Concordia will have a network big enough to surpass the targets and 98 percent of enrollees can access quality dental care within 20 miles of their home.

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South Fork

MOAA medal, scholar-ship check and 5k Cadet Challenge Cup to Cadet Nick Torres and Alexan-der Kennedy from Jen-sen Beach High School JROTC program April!

May Dinner Reservations

19th Hole at the Saints Golf Course Club House

May 18, 2017

Reservations Deadline May 15, 2017

Call, email or mail Reservations to: CDR Anthony DePaul, USN, Ret. 3309 Red Tailed Hawk Dr

Port St. Lucie, Fl 34952

tonydepaul@comcast.net 772-336-6854

If Mail Enclose check for total payable to: TCC – MOAA

Names of attendees

_________________________________________________________

Please reserve for: _____ @ $22 Total $________

Total included: $___________________

Treasure Coast Chapter MOAA

2860 Yates Rd

Fort Pierce, Fl 34981

WE NEVER STOP SERVING The treasure Coast Chapter of the Military Officers Associa-tion of America is a non-profit veterans association dedicated to maintaining a strong national defense and to preserving the earned entitlements of members of the uniformed services and their families and survivors. Membership is open to anyone who holds, or has ever held, a commission or warrant in any component of the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, Public Health Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and their surviving spouses. We strive to foster fraternal relations among active, reserve, National Guard, retired and former commissioned and warrant officers of the seven uniformed services. Our chapter adheres to the principles and goals of the Military Officers Association of America.