Deputy Chief of Staff - Army G-1

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, May 5, 2011 – The Defense Department's proposal to reform the TRICARE health plan and the military health system would save at least $3.2 billion between 2012 and 2016, the Pentagon's chief financial officer told Congress yesterday. The proposal includes a maximum $5 a month increase for working-age military retirees under 65. For the entire article, go to http://www.defense.gov//News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=63835.

May 1st, the Retirement Services Office (RSO) at Ft McPherson, GA, closes after 55 years of service to retiring and Retired Soldiers, Families and Surviving Spouses. Four forts will realign their Retirement Services areas as a result of the closing so it will affect Retired Soldiers and Families in Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.  Click here for details.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – TRICARE Young Adult (TYA) is now open for enrollment with coverage beginning May 1, 2011. (original article here)

Uniformed services dependents under 26, unmarried, and not eligible for their own employer-sponsored health care coverage may be qualified to purchase TYA, which offers TRICARE Standard coverage for monthly premiums of $186.

A premium-based TRICARE Prime benefit will be available later this year.

Dependent eligibility for TRICARE previously ended at age 21, or age 23 for full-time college students. Similar to provisions in the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, TYA extends the opportunity for young adults to continue TRICARE health care coverage, as long as their sponsor is still eligible for TRICARE.

Complete information and application forms are available at www.tricare.mil/tya. TRICARE officials encourage beneficiaries to explore all possible health care plan options and costs when choosing a plan that best meets their needs.

Those considering TYA should determine if they are eligible before completing and sending in an application. The application and payment of three months of premiums can be dropped off at a TRICARE Service Center or sent by mail or faxed directly to the appropriate regional health care contractor.

Beneficiaries can find out where to send their form and payment by filling out the simple profile at www.tricare.mil to get information tailored to their specific location. Once the initial payment is made, monthly premiums must be paid in advance through automated electronic payment.

When the application is processed, TRICARE coverage will begin the first day of the following month. However, since TYA was "fast-tracked" to begin enrollment as soon as systems changes, forms, premiums and other rules governing the program were approved and in place, TRICARE Management Activity will allow eligible applicants to be covered for the full month of May as long as enrollment forms and payment are received (not postmarked) by the regional contractor prior to May 31, 2011.

Those eligible for TYA who have been saving receipts since Jan. 1, 2011, in anticipation of the new program, can also pay all premiums back to January to purchase coverage retroactively.

After getting a welcome letter and enrollment card, dependents and their sponsor are encouraged to visit uniformed services identification (ID) card issuing facility to obtain a dependent ID card. The card will assist in identifying the dependent as eligible for health care, prescriptions and access to military installations. Nearby ID card facilities can be found through a link at www.tricare.mil/tya.

The signing of the National Defense Authorization Act in January 2011, brought TRICARE in line with the provisions of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and enabled the extension of excellent TRICARE coverage to this new group. The TRICARE Management Activity appreciates all government partners who helped make this benefit available so quickly.

To get e-alerts on TYA and other TRICARE news, sign up at www.tricare.mil/subscriptions.
Sign up for TRICARE e-mail updates at www.tricare.mil/subscriptions.
Connect with TRICARE on Facebook and Twitter at www.facebook.com/tricare and www.twitter.com/tricare.

The TRICARE Management Activity administers the worldwide health care plan for 9.6 million eligible beneficiaries of the uniformed services, retirees and their families.

Story by Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 1, 2011 - Beginning June 1, Social Security numbers on military identification cards will begin to disappear, said Air Force Maj. Monica M. Matoush, a Pentagon spokeswoman.

The effort is part of a larger plan to protect service members and other DOD identification card holders from identity theft, officials said.
Read more here.

FALLS CHURCH, VA – Gray-area retirees from the National Guard and Reserves who want to purchase TRICARE health care coverage now have a new way to get a DoD Self-service Logon (DS Logon). Most will need a DS Logon to qualify for and purchase TRICARE Retired Reserve (TRR) health coverage.

Since Sept. 1, 2010, members of the Retired Reserve who aren't 60, the so-called "gray area" retirees, have been able to purchase TRR to provide health coverage for themselves and their eligible family members. To make purchasing TRR easier, gray area retirees can now get a DS Logon by contacting the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System/Defense Manpower Data Center Support Office (DSO) and remotely verify their identity.

Read more

WASHINGTON, – More than three decades after the war's end, the Defense Department has begun a project to pay tribute to the nation's Vietnam War veterans. The 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration was spawned from the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act.

"It was a very important time period for veterans, because most Vietnam veterans as a whole never received the homecoming that our troops receive now," said Army LTC Hunter Holliday, Public Affairs Officer for the commemoration. At the center of the project is a website, "50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration," which will serve as a clearinghouse for information on the war once it is fully functional, a milestone expected this spring.

Read more

January 2011 - The President has made the care and support of military Families a top national security policy priority. He ordered the development of a coordinated Federal Government-wide approach to supporting military Families. The report detailing the Government's plan to Strengthen Our Military Families was signed by every Cabinet member and approved by the President. You can access the report here.

EXCERPT - The budget also calls for a modest premium increase for working-age military retirees enrolled in the TRICARE Prime military health plan. The budget sets the increases at $2.50 per month for individuals and $5 per month for families in fiscal 2012, and for the premiums to be indexed to Medicare inflation thereafter.
(Note: This paragraph is part of an Armed Forces Press Service news release on the President's proposed budget. For the entire article, click here.)