Topics In This Week's News Include:
1. Military Health Care Task Force Holds First Meeting
2. 2005 Health Related Behaviors Survey Released
3. More Changes Made in TRICARE Formulary
4. You Can Provide Input on the TRICARE Pharmacy Formulary
5. Retirees Can Pay TRICARE Fees Through Allotments
6. "Military Retirees Health Care Protection Act" Introduced
7. Free Tax Help Available to Military Families
8. Military Children Receive Additional Support in North Carolina
9. Opportunity for Military Spouses
10. Navy Hotline to Assist Individual Augmentee Families During Deployments
Here's the News!!!
1. Military Health Care Task Force Holds First Meeting:
The Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care held its first
open meeting January 16, in Alexandria, Virginia. The commissioners
received an overview of the Military Health System (MHS), the Defense
Health Program (DHP), and the DoD "sustaining the military health
benefit" efforts. Dr. William Winkerwerder, Assistant Secretary of
Defense for Health Affairs, and Dr. David Chu, Under Secretary of
Defense for Personnel and Readiness, added their commentary on their
health care programs and initiatives.
The MHS and DHP briefing included information about the MHS mission,
beneficiaries and benefits, financial resources, operation and
maintenance structure, medical military construction, the Medicare
eligible retiree health care fund and current issues. The MHS mission
is:
- Provide health care to the military in order to deploy healthy service members;
- Provide patient care to beneficiaries;
- Maintain professional proficiencies: and
- Deploy medical staff in support of deployed service members.
Currently, the approximately 9.1 million beneficiaries include 2.3
million active duty family members and 2.2 million eligible retiree
family members. Funding for the DHP covers operation and maintenance
(O&M), research, development, test and evaluation (RDT & E) and
procurement (purchases for equipment and systems). Total DHP funding
included in the President's FY 2007 budget is approximately $21
million. Additional FY 2007 budgeted items are medical military
personnel, medical military construction and unified medical program,
totaling approximately $28 million. The Medicare eligible retiree
health care fund covers beneficiaries eligible for TRICARE for Life
(TFL). The total FY 2007 estimated TFL cost is $7.7 billion. and has a
total budget authority of approximately $36 million. The MHS
infrastructure consists of 259 veterinary, 417 dental, and 409 medical
clinics, as well as 70 inpatient facilities. Patient care makes up 81
percent of the DHP O&M budget. Patient care received within the
military medical facilities is valued at approximately $5.6 million,
with $11 million paid for private sector care. Current financial issues
are the added cost of the Global War on Terrorism and the failure of
the 110th Congress to pass the FY 2007 appropriations bill that funds
military construction and Defense health care. Instead, it decided to
fund all programs without a completed appropriations bill through at a
Continuing Resolution at FY 2006 levels. This decision will create a $2
billion budget shortfall for Defense health care this year.
The briefers presenting the "sustaining the military health benefit"
discussed the rising cost of TRICARE, in terms familiar to
beneficiaries who have followed this issue since DoD's attempt last
year to increase certain TRICARE fees. Currently, health care makes up
8 percent of DoD's total budget, but is projected to rise to $62
billion and 12 percent in 2015. Officials noted that the under age 65
retiree eligible population is approximately 3 million. They indicated
that the changes proposed last year, and still supported by the
Department, are estimated to create $11.2 billion savings over five
years.
Dr. Winkerwerder and Dr. Chu highlighted the reason behind their
insistence on the proposed beneficiary fee increases and emphasized the
need to educate Service leadership, Congress, and TRICARE beneficiaries
on rising health care costs and its impact on the DoD budget.
NMFA has been proactive regarding DoD's proposed benefit changes.
Last year, we educated Congressional members on the potential impact
these changes would have had on the targeted population and pointed out
potential unintended consequences should the DoD proposals be
implemented. NMFA acknowledged and continues to assert that the rising
costs of health care must be addressed; however, the Association stated
the increases as proposed by DoD were too high and would be applied too
quickly. We, along with other military associations sought
Congressional oversight of TRICARE fee increases. The 2007 National
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) required DoD not to raise prices until
October 1, 2007, to cooperate with a Government Accountability Office
study on the fee increase issue and to set up the task force. In 2007,
NMFA will continue to oppose disproportionate increases in TRICARE
Prime fees and TRICARE standard enrollment fees. We will continue to
monitor this issue and address it in Congressional testimony.
The initial report of the task force is due to Congress in May,
2007. NMFA will be monitoring the task force's meetings and decisions.
The next meeting is scheduled for February 6, 2007, in the Washington,
DC, area. The task force website is: http://www.ha.osd.mil/dhb/fmhc/. (Source: http://www.ha.osd.mil/dhb/fmhc/meeting/2007Jan.cfm
2. 2005 Health Related Behaviors Survey Released:
The Department of Defense recently announced results of its 2005 Survey
of Health Related Behaviors among Active Duty Military Personnel. The
findings show notable decreases in the use of cigarettes and illegal
drugs since initiation of the surveys in 1980 and progress towards
meeting selected Healthy People 2010 objectives. The 2005 survey,
however, revealed rates of heavy drinking remain elevated especially
among young people, use of smokeless tobacco has increased, and, even
though most military personnel engage in moderate or vigorous exercise,
more service members meet criteria for being overweight.
The 2005 survey indicates the majority of the U.S. Armed Forces,
although under heavy work stress during the current wartime
environment, use positive coping mechanisms to deal with stress. This
is the ninth survey in the series of anonymous surveys asking active
duty service members about various lifestyle and health-related
behaviors. In addition to substance use, the survey also assesses
national health status goals from the Department of Health and Human
Services' Healthy People 2010 objectives, nutrition and weight
management measures, mental well-being of the force, and deployment
issues. More than 16,000 service members, randomly selected to
represent men and women in all pay grades of the active force
throughout the world, completed the survey.
When comparing the 2005 findings to earlier survey results, there
were both tremendous improvements in the past 25 years and some issues
of concern. Between 1980 and 1998, the surveys show a continuing
decline in the use of illegal drugs and cigarettes and an increase in
alcohol abstainers or light drinkers among military personnel. When
first surveyed in 1980, 27.6 percent of the active force acknowledged
use of illegal drugs during the month prior to taking the survey. In
2002, only 3.4 percent reported using illegal drugs. Heavy drinking
(five or more drinks per occasion at least once a week) declined from
20.8 percent in 1980 to 15.4 percent in 1998, but rose to 18.1 percent
in 2002, before declining slightly in 2005 (18.5 percent). Cigarette
smoking declined from 51.0 percent in 1980 to 29.9 percent in 1998,
increased significantly to 33.8 percent in 2002 and remained at that
level in 2005 (32.2 percent). Heavy cigarette smoking (1 or more
packs/day), showed a steady decline from 1980 (34.2 percent) to 2002
(13.1 percent), with a further significant decrease from 2002 to 2005
(11.1 percent). In contrast, past month smokeless tobacco use showed a
small increase from 2002 (12.2 percent) to 2005 (14.1 percent).
According to Dr. William Winkenwerder, Assistant Secretary of
Defense for Health Affairs, the 2005 survey is the first time this
series has evaluated behaviors related to mental well being, work
stress, and family stress associated with deployment to Iraq,
Afghanistan and other theaters. Overall, most military personnel are
using positive coping mechanisms in dealing with the stresses of their
current wartime environment. Results come from self-reported data and
may differ from information in official records or other data sources.
The screening questions do not represent a formal clinical diagnostic
evaluation, but suggest that some personnel should be encouraged to
obtain more evaluation.
Rates of current (one month) Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
symptoms in the DoD population as measured by a self-report screener
were 6.7 percent for total DoD and ranged from 3.7 percent to 9.3
percent for each service. An estimated 8.1 percent met screening
criteria for further evaluation for serious psychological distress.
Personnel deployed in the past three years (i.e., from 2002 to
2005), compared to those who did not deploy, had higher rates of work
and family stress and higher rates of heavy alcohol use, cigarette use,
and illicit drug use. A greater number met criteria for depression,
anxiety and PTSD symptoms on the screening questions. Statistically
significant relations were observed among heavy alcohol use, stress,
and mental health issues. Compared with abstainers, heavy users of
alcohol reported more problems with stress at work (41.1 percent vs.
28.4 percent) or in their family (24.7 percent vs. 15.3 percent); were
more likely to meet screening criteria for anxiety (17.5 percent vs.
10.1 percent) and depression (31.2 percent vs. 19.1 percent); and
reported more limitations in activities as a result of poor mental
health (4.8 percent vs. 2.0 percent). Heavy drinkers were also more
likely than those who drank less to meet the criteria for further
evaluation for serious mental disorders and reported to have a history
of suicidal ideation or physical or sexual abuse. It can not be
ascertained from the survey which behavior (the heavy alcohol use or
the mental health problems) came first; however, NMFA hopes DoD would
examine potential intervention strategies in which reducing one would
help reduce the other (i.e., encouraging more positive coping
strategies could both lessen use of alcohol and improve mental health).
DoD continually monitors the general health of service members,
their modifiable lifestyle behaviors and the effects of combat and
operational-related stressors through the DoD level programs such as:
Defense Lifestyle Assessment Program (DLAP), Deployment Health
Programs, and Healthy Choices for Life Initiatives. In 2005, DoD
expanded the scope of the active duty surveys to include the National
Guard and Reserve, and is sponsoring other special studies, the first
of which is examining unit-level influences on alcohol and tobacco use.
TRICARE has also launched the Healthy Choices for Life initiative,
focusing on the key health issues of weight management, tobacco
cessation and reducing alcohol abuse, along with measuring their costs.
In addition, the Secretary of Defense has made safety, including safe
practices and behaviors to reduce injuries and accidents, a top
priority with the establishment of the Defense Safety Oversight Council.
The final 2005 survey report is available on at: http://www.ha.osd.mil/special_reports/2005_Health_Behaviors_Survey_1-07.pdf . (Source: http://www.defenselink.mil/Releases/Release.aspx?ReleaseID=10395).
3. More Changes Made in TRICARE Formulary:
TRICARE officials recently announced that Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr.,
Director of the TRICARE Management Activity (TMA), is continuing
selected medications on the TRICARE Uniform Formulary and designating
others as nonformulary (or third tier) effective January 17, 2007. A
chart available at http://www.tricare.mil/news/news.aspx?fid=260
shows the medications, their status as formulary (tier-one generics or
tier-two brand name) or third tier (nonformulary), and the
implementation date. The categories of drugs affected by the latest
changes are: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Drugs, Narcolepsy Drugs,
Older Sedative Hypnotic Agents, Monophasic Oral Contraceptive Drugs,
Antiemetic Drugs, and Topical Anti-fungal Drugs.
Medications on the first tier (formulary generics) are available
through the TRICARE Retail Pharmacy (TRRx) for $3 for up to a 30-day
supply and through the TRICARE Mail Order Pharmacy (TMOP) for $3 for up
to a 90-day supply. Beneficiaries may purchase medications on the
second tier (formulary brand-name) for the same number of days for $9.
Medications on the third tier (nonformulary) require a $22 co-payment
in both venues. By using the mail-order pharmacy, beneficiaries save up
to 66 percent on prescriptions. Beneficiary co-payments are higher at
non-network retail pharmacies.
Beneficiaries currently on third-tier medications may want to
consult their health care providers about changing to a first- or
second-tier alternative. When a provider prescribes a medication, DoD
officials encourage beneficiaries to talk to that provider and see if a
generic alternative is available that would provide the same clinical
results in that drug class. This would save beneficiaries money at both
retail and mail-order pharmacies, and help the Defense Department
contain health care costs. Beneficiaries may also ask their provider if
establishing medical necessity for the tier-three medication is
appropriate. If a provider determines medical necessity for a
tier-three drug, the co-payment is reduced to $9.
Tier-three medications will not be available at military treatment
facility (MTF) pharmacies unless an MTF provider determines medical
necessity and writes the prescription. Not all tier-one and tier-two
drugs are available at all MTF pharmacies. For a list of medications,
their formulary status and where they are available, go to: www.tricareformularysearch.org/dod/medicationcenter/default.aspx. Medical necessity forms and criteria are available at www.tricare.osd.mil/pharmacy/medical-nonformulary.cfm.
Visit www.express-scripts.com/TRICARE
for more information on the TRICARE Retail Pharmacy and locations and
the TRICARE Mail Order Pharmacy, or call 866-363-8667 for the mail
order pharmacy or 866-363-8779 for the retail pharmacy.
4. You Can Provide Input on the TRICARE Pharmacy Formulary: When
it directed DoD to institute the 3-tier formulary, Congress established
the Uniform Formulary Beneficiary Advisory Panel (BAP) to review and
comment on the recommendations of the DoD Pharmacy and Therapeutic
(P&T) Committee. Members of the BAP include active duty family
members, retirees and retiree family members, two clinical experts
outside of DoD, a pharmacist from the Uniformed Services Family Health
Plan and physicians or pharmacists from the TRICARE regional
contractors and the pharmacy contractor. NMFA Government Relations
Volunteer Deb Fryar serves as an active duty family member
representative on the panel. The P&T Committee forwards
recommendations, along with the comments from the BAP, to the director,
TRICARE Management Activity for consideration prior to a final decision.
The military health system encourages TRICARE beneficiaries to be
part of the process by communicating their concerns to the BAP. The
Federal Register announcement of the public BAP meeting and its agenda
is posted on the BAP website at www.tricare.osd.mil/pharmacy/BAP/
two to six weeks in advance of the meeting. The site provides
information on how beneficiaries should submit comments or concerns.
NMFA will also announce the date of the next meeting when it is
published.
5. Retirees Can Pay TRICARE Fees Through Allotments:
Military retirees in TRICARE Prime are reminded they may pay their
Prime enrollment fees by establishing a monthly allotment from their
Service retirement pay. The Defense Financial Accounting System (DFAS),
the U.S. Coast Guard or the U.S. Public Health Service deducts the
retirement pay allotment. Retirees enrolled in TRICARE Prime currently
receive a quarterly or annual bill, which they can pay by check or
credit card. Choosing to pay by allotment saves on paperwork and time.
Retirees may begin to take advantage of this convenient process by
downloading and completing an enrollment fee allotment authorization
form, based on the region in which they live: TRICARE North, TRICARE
South, TRICARE West. This form is used to stop, start, or change
monthly allotment payments from retiree pay accounts. Allotment forms
can be found at these links:
- West Region: https://www.triwest.com/triwest/default.html?/triwest/unauth/content/enrollment/
- North Region: https://www.hnfs.net/bene/enrollment/enrollment_activities_current_beneficiaries.htm
- South Region: http://www.humanamilitary.com/south/bene/TRICAREResources/forms/BeneForms.htm#2.
Retirees should send the completed form with an initial quarterly
payment to their regional contractor. The regional contractor will
forward a payment request to the designated pay agency and the agency
will set up a monthly payment to the regional contractor on the
retiree's behalf. Retirees should contact their regional contractor or
go online to a contractor's secure website to make sure it received the
enrollment fee allotment authorization form and initial quarterly
payment.
DFAS will put allotment orders in the pay system for processing once
TRICARE sends the request. Retirees may view their allotment details
through myPay at: https://mypay.dfas.mil/mypay.aspx,
or on their pay statements (leave and earnings statement or retired or
annuitant account statement), when DFAS activates the allotment.
Beneficiaries who receive survivor benefits from either retired or
active duty sponsors are paid through a separate pay account and are
not eligible for an enrollment fee allotment.
For more information on enrollment fee allotments, retirees may contact their regional contractor:
- West Region: TriWest, 1-888-874-9378, www.tricare.osd.mil/west
- North Region: HealthNet, 1-877-TRICARE, www.tricare.osd.mil/north
- South Region: Humana Military, 1-800-444-5445, www.tricare.osd.mil/south
For more information on monthly allotments, visit the DFAS website at: http://www.dfas.mil/.
6. "Military Retirees Health Care Protection Act" Introduced:
Representatives Chet Edwards (D-17,TX) and Walter Jones (R-3, NC)
reintroduced last year's "Military Retirees Health Care Protection Act"
(H.R. 579) in the new Congress. The bill would remove the authority of
DoD to change TRICARE fees without Congressional approval. Its language
acknowledges the extraordinary sacrifices endured by career military
service members, who deserve retirement and health care benefits better
than provided for civilian retirees, and notes that military members
have already paid large premiums because of their devotion to duty and
decades of sacrifice to their country. The bill also would mandate that
the percentage increase in TRICARE fees should not exceed the yearly
percentage in beneficiary military compensation increase.
Representatives Edwards and Jones introduced similar legislation in
the 109th Congress (H.R. 4949), which had gathered support from 164
co-sponsors. The legislation stated a sense of Congress that the nation
and DoD have an obligation to provide health care benefits to military
retirees and there are other options available to stem the growth and
rising cost of health care than raise fees to beneficiaries. It led to
the inclusion of language in the FY 2007 National Defense Authorization
Act (NDAA) barring any fee increases during the current fiscal year.
NMFA appreciates the continued support by Representatives Edwards
and Jones of the health care benefits for active duty military
families, retirees, their families, and survivors. In supporting their
bill last year, we acknowledged some changes were needed to offset
rising health care costs, but stated our concern over the DoD
proposal's timeframe for implementation of beneficiary changes and the
large percentage fee increases. Our 2007 goal is to oppose
disproportionate increases in TRICARE Prime fees and TRICARE standard
enrollment fees. H.R. 579 would address that goal. To view NMFA's 2007
issues statement, go to: http://www.nmfa.org/site/DocServer/2007_Issues_and_Actions.pdf?docID=7241.
NMFA has teamed with the Military Coalition (TMC) to address this
issue during the 110th Congress. The TMC Health Care Committee's
legislative guiding principles are:
- Military service members have paid health care premiums through their sacrifices endured during their decades of service;
- DoD has a commitment to provide health care benefits that out weigh civilian retiree's plans; and
- DoD must exhaust all other options to lower health care costs before exhorting to increase fees to eligible beneficiaries.
TMC Health Care Committee's goals seeking Congressional authority
for fee increases and assurances that increases not exceed in any year
the percentage increase received by military members or retirees are
reflected in H.R. 579. Other TMC Health Care Committee's goals
addressing DoD's proposed beneficiary changes are:
- If a TRICARE Standard enrollment fee is required then access to TRICARE participating providers must be guaranteed;
- No fee for AD service members and their families;
- No fee structures according to military retiree's rank; and
- Advocate for full Defense Health Program funding from Congress.
For all of TMC Health Care Committee's 2007 goals, go to: http://www.themilitarycoalition.org/Testimony/committeegoals/healthcare.htm. To view the text of H.R. 579, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/ and type in "H.R. 579" in the bill search box.
7. Free Tax Help Available to Military Families:
Once again Military OneSource is offering free tax assistance to all
active duty, National Guard, and Reserve members, as well as their
DEERS-enrolled spouses and children. Family members who are filing
returns for a deployed or severely injured service member can also use
this free service for the service member's tax return. Authorized users
may prepare and electronically file one federal and one state return at
no charge. The most notable change to the program for this year is that
the software is H&R Block TaxCut Online rather than TurboTax
Online.
The TaxCut software is very user friendly and leads you through a
series of interview questions to ensure that you receive all of the
deductions and credits for which you qualify. Prior to logging into
TaxCut, be sure to visit MyPay (https://mypay.dfas.mil/)
to print your W-2. In addition, you will need W-2s for any non-military
employment. Don't forget to gather interest income statements
(1099-Int) from your bank or credit union as well as the details of any
expenses that may qualify for a deduction or credit such as mortgage
interest, tuition, childcare or charitable contributions. Once you have
collected your supporting documents you are ready to file.
To access the free filing offer you must enter TaxCut through the link on the Military OneSource website; http://www.militaryonesource.com/.
You will be required to register with Military OneSource if you are not
already a registered user. After login the site will redirect you to
the H&R Block TaxCut website where you can begin entering
information for your return. Accessing the H&R Block website
directly, rather than through the OneSource link, will result in
regular charges for preparation and filing.
Military members and families that used last year's TurboTax Online
through Military OneSource will have to enter manually personal
information in TaxCut. Prior year information entered into TurboTax
Online cannot be uploaded into TaxCut Online. Users may want to print
copies of their 2005 returns for reference. To access 2005 returns from
the TurboTax Online website, http://turbotax.intuit.com/,
click on "Access Your Prior Year Returns". Once logged in, you will be
able to print PDF files of your 2005 returns. Taxpayers who used TaxCut
Online or purchased TaxCut or TurboTax software that was loaded to
their hard drive can upload personal and prior year information
directly to TaxCut online.
As always, Military OneSource has qualified tax consultants
available to assist service members and their families with tax
questions. While they cannot prepare your return for you, they are able
to assist you with questions that you may have as you work through the
TaxCut filing process. To contact a OneSource Tax Consultant, use the
toll free OneSource tax resource number: 1-800-730-3802.
8. Military Children Receive Additional Support in North Carolina: North
Carolina is no stranger to military related challenges. With seven
military installations located within the state, North Carolina is home
to the fourth largest number of military personnel in the nation, about
123,000 including members of the National Guard and Reserve.
Communicating and connecting to so many families can be difficult,
especially during a deployment, but on December 12, 2006, Governor Mike
Easley announced the launch of a new initiative that hopes to help the
children of military parents who are deployed on active duty. The
initiative includes training institutes to help educators better
understand the challenges faced by children of deployed parents as well
as a new website to help educators identify and assist these students.
Both the Department of Public Instruction and the N.C. Board of
Education collaborated with the Military Child Education Coalition to
provide institutes and encourage representatives from each of the
State's school districts to participate in one of three regional
"Supporting Children and Families of the National Guard and Reserve
Institutes". The two-day training sessions are designed to help
educators understand the challenges faced by children with deployed
family members in the National Guard and Reserve and strategies to
support the needs of children and their families.
The new web site, www.ncpublicschools.org/militarysupport
, provides information about the stages of military deployment, common
and serious stress reactions among students with deployed parents, tips
on identifying and working with students with deployed parents,
suggested lesson plans and activities, and additional resources for
supporting children struggling with the separation from a family member
during deployment. Information about the site will be communicated to
teachers and administrators across the state.
NMFA congratulates Governor Easley for his leadership. By providing
the opportunity for educators in his state to stay informed and
educated on the stressors and challenges faced by our military children
he also provides the example for other states to follow suit.
9. Opportunity for Military Spouses: The
Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA), sponsor of the
apprenticeship program for the development of the medical transcription
workforce, announces that it is now accepting applications for
apprentices. This national apprenticeship program, registered by the
U.S. Department of Labor, forges a stronger alliance between
educational institutions and transcription employers to increase the
number of qualified medical transcriptionists employed in the United
States. The Department of Defense is supporting this program as a
career opportunity for military spouses.
The MTIA Apprenticeship Program is a 2-year program in the area of
acute care. An eligible candidate for the program must be a graduate
from a Medical Transcriptionist Training Program that has been approved
by MTIA, and the candidate must have obtained the AAMT Registered
Medical Transcriptionist (RMT) credential. The number of apprentice
openings will be dependent upon the needs of participating employers, a
list of which can also be found at http://www.mtia.com/.
Applications for an apprenticeship position can be downloaded from the association's website (http://www.mtia.com/) and submitted to Elaine Olson, Executive Director for MTIA. (eolson@mtia.com).
10. Navy Hotline To Assist Individual Augmentee Families During Deployments: The
Expeditionary Combat Readiness Command (ECRC), headquartered at
Amphibious Base Little Creek, Norfolk, Virginia, has established a
hotline for active duty and reserve Sailor's families on Individual
Augmentee (IA) orders. The toll free phone number is 877-364-4302.
This phone number helps IA family members find the information or
resources they may need while their Sailors are deployed. The ECRC's
hotline aims to alleviate the stress IA family members may experience.
The ECRC wants to be a conduit for family members so they can get in
touch with the group or organization that can provide the support they
need.
With the unique deployments Navy IA Sailors and their families may
face, it is important for family members to know where they can go for
help. Unlike a ship or squadron deployment, an IA may come from an area
without fleet concentration. This could make it difficult for their
families to find the resources and information they need. Even though
the Navy is doing new missions in different ways, Navy officials want
to assure Sailors and their families that the Navy is still going to
care for its family members the way it always has.
The ECRC also plans to establish a website designed specifically for
IAs and their families. Navy Lifelines has a developed a section
focused on Individual Augmentees that can be found at: http://www.lifelines.navy.mil/portal/page/itc/LSNAPP/LSN5DETAILLFT?current_id=25.60.500.405.0.0.0.0.0§ion_id=25.60.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.
11. What's Important to You?
Should DoD do more to support families of deployed service members? Is
helping military spouses in their careers a priority? How about making
it easier for you to get an appointment at your local military medical
facility? Should Congress provide bigger military pay raises or housing
allowances? NMFA is preparing its list of legislative and policy goals
for 2007. We know we will be asked by Members of Congress and others
about the critical challenges facing military families, about what's
working for them, and about what is important to them. This is your
last chance to help us tell them what really is important to military
families. Complete our "What's Important?" survey today! Go to: www.nmfa.org/whatsimportant.
