Topics in This Week's News Include:
1. HASC Seeks to Improve Support to Wounded and Families
2. House Adds Health Care Funds to Appropriations Bill
3. Task Force Seeks Input from Wounded Service Members and Families
4. Active Duty Wounded Service Members to Share Stories
5. SAT/ ACT Power Prep Offer Extended
Here's The News!!!
1. HASC Seeks to Improve Support to Wounded and Families:
On March 20, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) approved by a
vote of 59-0 H.R. 1538, the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007. The
bill moved quickly from introduction by Representative Ike Skelton
(D-MO, 4th) on March 15 to Full Committee approval and placement on the
House calendar. The bipartisan legislation was designed to address
issues recently highlighted by reports of administrative problems and
unfavorable living conditions experienced by wounded service members as
outpatients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The bill addresses
improvements to the management of medical care, personnel actions, and
quality of life issues for members of the Armed Forces who are
receiving medical care in an outpatient status.
The bill would provide staff, training and oversight to ensure
quality care, reform administrative processes for the disability
evaluation system, and seamless transition. The bill addresses:
- Improvements to medical and dental care for service members assigned on outpatient status,
- Establishment of a toll-free hot line for reporting medical-related deficiencies,
- Requirement for a 96 hour investigation and response time for all deficiency reports,
- Notification of appropriate Members of Congress about combat wounded service members' hospitalization,
- Assignment of an independent Medical Advocate for service members before Medical Evaluation Boards,
- Establishment of training and workload requirements for Physical Evaluation Board Liaison Officers,
- Establishment of a standardized training program for the Department of Defense (DoD) Disability Evaluation System,
- Requirement
for improved training for health care professionals, case managers and
Service Member Advocates on conditions particular to recovering wounded
service members, - Establishment of criteria for a service member's removal from the Temporary Disability Retired List,
- Establishment
of a pilot program to improve transition from DoD to the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) upon retirement or separation, - Establishment of a medical support fund to enhance funding for mandated programs,
- Requirement for an annual report on the adequacy, suitability and quality of military Medical Treatment Facilities,
- Requirement for a joint DoD/VA evaluation of the Disability Evaluation systems,
- Establishment
of an oversight board for wounded service members on medical care,
quality of life, administrative processing, and family programs, which
would provide advice and counsel to make DoD programs more efficient
and effective.
NMFA supports the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007. We are
pleased how quickly Members from both parties in the House Armed
Services Committee worked together to draft, introduce, and approve
this much-needed legislation. NMFA believes this legislation, if
approved by the full Congress, will certainly provide needed changes to
improve the quality of care, provide trained staff to help wounded
service members and their families navigate a complex medical system,
and provide oversight of the entire system's processes. NMFA will
follow this legislation closely to ensure the bill's intent to assist
wounded service members and their families and improve care and better
navigate the system stays intact, and that it does not create
additional layers of bureaucracy in an already complex health care
system and administrative processes. (Source: http://armedservices.house.gov/apps/list/press/armedsvc_dem/WW_PR_032007.shtml)
2. House Adds Health Care Funds to Appropriations Bill:
On March 23, the House of Representatives approved H.R. 1591, the
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2007. As we
reported in last week's Government and You E-News, the bill contains an
amendment, which would prevent any funds from being used to close
Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Committee Members were concerned over
the ability of two Department of Defense military treatment facilities'
(MTFs), the National Naval Medical Center Bethesda and the new Fort
Belvoir slated to take over Walter Reed's patient care services, to be
completed on schedule and provide appropriate treatment for wounded
service members as Walter Reed closes.
Congress chose to close Walter Reed when it approved the Base
Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission report in 2005. It was
determined operating two MTFs within 10 miles of each other was an
inefficient use of resources. The solution was to expand the National
Medical Center Bethesda campus and build a new hospital at Fort
Belvoir. As stated last week, NMFA hopes Congress will fast-track
funding to facilities affected by BRAC and direct DoD to examine how
care can be expanded at other MTFs to ensure wounded service members
have the care they need and deserve.
The bill would also provide:
- $1.7 billion in additional funds for Defense Health Care, include:
- $450 million for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder/Counseling
- $450 million for Traumatic Brain Injury care and research
- $730 million to prevent health care fee increases
- $20 million to address Walter Reed problems
- $14.8 million for burn care
- $1.7 billion in additional funding for Veterans' Health Care:
- $550 million to address maintenance backlog at VA medical facilities
- $250 million for medical administrative personnel
- $229 million for treating increasing veteran population
- $100 million to allow the VA to contract with private mental health care providers
- $62 million for claims processing for returning veterans
- $3.1 billion to fully fund FY 2007 BRAC needs
- An additional $17 million for the DoD Family Advocacy Program
- $2.3
billion to fully fund the cost of fielding an additional 36,000 Army
Soldiers and 9,000 Marines and $720 million for related military
construction costs, and - An additional $1.4 billion for Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH)
The bill also includes controversial provisions that would set unit
readiness standards for deployments and require DoD to adhere to
standards for both the length of deployment and service members' time
at home between deployments. It also establishes a timeline for ending
the U.S. military's participation in the war and military and political
benchmarks for the Iraqi government and its forces. In his weekly radio
address on March 24, President George Bush stated he would veto the
House-approved bill as passed and urged Congress to pass a bill without
the deployment restrictions. The Senate is set to debate the bill this
week.
(Source: http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/08SuppSummary.pdf; http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=32575)
3. Task Force Seeks Input from Wounded Service Members and Families:
Recently, President Bush asked Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim
Nicholson to create an Interagency Task Force on Returning Global War
on Terror Heroes following recent concerns surrounding conditions at
Walter Reed Army Medical Center. This inter-agency group is comprised
of the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Labor, Health and
Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Education, along
with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and
Administrator of the Small Business Administration. The group is lead
by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson.
The Task Force website, www.va.gov/taskforce,
provides the means to solicit input from active duty service members,
veterans, their family members and others on accessibility, timeliness
and the ease of accessing federal services. Comments can also be
e-mailed: TFHeroes@va.gov, faxed to 202-273-9599 or, mailed to:
Task Force on Returning Global War on Terror Heroes
C/O Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy and Planning
Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue, NW (008)
Washington, DC 20420
The Task Force must complete an action plan in 45 days from its
establishment on March 6, 2007. The final report is due June 30, 2007.
The Task Force will:
- Identify and examine existing federal services being provided to
Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom service members - Identify gaps in the services
- Obtain
recommendations from federal agencies who provide services and benefits
to OEF and OIF service members on ways to fill identified gaps
effectively and quickly using existing resources - Ensure appropriate federal agencies are cooperating and effectively communicating through formal and informal channels
NMFA is pleased with the early progress of the Task Force in setting
up this website and providing for other contact methods. Participation
by wounded service members, veterans and their families will be
critical in the Task Force's ability to accurately identify gaps in
services, access to care and communication issues.
(Source: http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1312)
4. Active Duty Wounded Service Members to Share Stories:
The National Security and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Chairman John F.
Tierney (D-6th/MA) has requested e-testimony from wounded service
members and their families. He is interested in hearing about their
treatment, administrative processes, and housing at DoD military
treatment facilities (MTFs) and the VA medical facilities. The decision
to collect these stories was in response to his Subcommittee's first of
a series of field hearings held at Walter Reed Army Medical Center on
March 5, 2007. Other follow-on hearings will examine the quality of
care issues facing active duty service members and their families in
order to determine the systemic nature of this issue within the DoD and
VA health care systems. A space on Congressman Tierney's website was
created to collect these stories at: http://www.house.gov/tierney/IMA/veteranfeedback2.shtml or, you can send a letter to:
The Office of Representative John F. Tierney
17 Peabody Square
Peabody, MA 01960
NMFA applauds Congressman Tierney's initiative in gathering
information on this vital subject. We are concerned the field hearing's
findings regarding the treatment, administration processes and housing
at Walter Reed are not unique. We will continue to monitor these issues
and look forward to the findings of future field hearings.
(Source: Press Release http://www.house.gov/tierney)
5. SAT/ACT Power Prep Offer Extended:
Thousands of military families have already benefited from free SAT/
ACT Power Prep software. For the past two years, through the generosity
of NFL players associated with Victory Sports Group (VSG), military
families have been eligible to receive a $199 test preparation program
for $9.95, the cost of shipping and handling. The program is scheduled
to end July 2007. However, families may now use the program for an
entire year even if the program is requested on the last day of the
sponsorship.
To obtain this special pricing, family members must access the offer through the DoD Military Homefront website, http://www.militaryhomefront.dod.mil/portal/page/itc/MHF/MHF_DETAIL_0?current_id=20.20.100.30.0.0.0.0.0
After verifying military status, the DoD website will forward the
user to the external VSG website where the order will be processed. For
more information on the program visit the website at http://sat.eknowledge.com/. Questions regarding the program should be directed to: brandon@eknowledge.com.
