1. Kansas and Kentucky Deliver Great News for Military Families!
2. Apply Now for Military Spouse Financial Counseling Fellowship
4. GAO Report Finds Retail Drug Spending Costly for DoD
5. NMFA Comments on FMLA Regulations
6. Children's Website Retooled
1. Kansas and Kentucky Deliver Great News for Military Families! Last week, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius and Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear both signed into law the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children.
NMFA applauds Kansas and Kentucky for being the first states to sign
this important compact which will help ease the transition military
children face when moving. This year, twenty-one states are considering
the compact and 14 of those state legislatures have bills in one or
both chambers.
As a member of both the Advisory Committee and Drafting Team, NMFA
has been actively supporting the adoption of this compact from its
beginning. Military families have long needed the support of individual
states during the transition process; whether transferring within a
state, from state to state, or from an overseas location. NMFA firmly
believes that in order for families to have smoother transitions, each
state must become a better "receiving" state as well as "sending"
state. By adopting this compact, each state can do its part to
alleviate some of the many challenges our military children face when
moving.
For further information on the compact, NMFA has provided a link to
the Council of State Governments website under our Military Children's
Education section: http://www.nmfa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=childrens_education
2. Apply Now for Military Spouse Financial Counseling Fellowship:
Are you interested in an exciting career that offers flexibility,
upward mobility, and can move with you? The Association for Financial
Counseling and Planning Education® (AFCPE®) in association with the
National Military Family Association (NMFA) and the FINRA Investor
Education Foundation is pleased to announce applications are being
accepted for the Military Spouse Fellowship for the Accredited
Financial Counselor Program. This program will provide up to 200
military spouses with the education necessary to enter the financial
counseling career field.
The fellowship covers the costs associated with completing the
Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC) training and testing. Upon
successful completion of the program and required practicum, the
participant will be awarded the Accredited Financial Counselor
designation from AFCPE.
Many employers such as credit unions, financial aid offices, and
community housing agencies need well-trained, ethical and caring
financial counselors to meet the increasing demand for financial
counseling services. Military spouses can fill this need while building
a rewarding career that is flexible to the demands of the military
family lifestyle.
Time is running out, applications must be received by April 30th. Apply now!
3. Happy Tax Day! Most Americans
know today is the due date for filing federal tax returns. Some
military families are not required to file a federal return because
their income levels fall below the minimum filing threshold. This year
these families should consider filing.
Starting in May, the Treasury will begin sending economic stimulus
payments to more than 130 million households. To receive a payment,
taxpayers must have a valid Social Security number, $3,000 of income
and file a 2007 federal tax return. Eligible people will receive up to
$600 ($1,200 for married couples), and parents will receive an
additional $300 for each eligible child younger than 17. Millions of
retirees, disabled veterans and low-wage workers who usually are exempt
from filing a tax return must do so this year in order to receive a
stimulus payment.
Economic stimulus payments will be issued according to the last
two-digits of the main filer's Social Security number. People who use
direct deposit will be among the first to receive payments starting May
2. Paper checks will be put in the mail beginning May 16 and will be
mailed to the last known address on file with the IRS. If you have
moved, you should file a Form 8822 with the IRS and a change of address
notice with the U.S. Postal Service. This will ensure your check is
sent to your new address. Without your current address, the check could
be returned to the IRS as undeliverable.
Complete details regarding the stimulus program are available on the IRS website: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=177937,00.html.
4. GAO Report Finds Retail Drug Spending Costly for DoD: The
United States Government Accounting Office (GAO) released a report to
Congressional committees titled, "DoD Pharmacy Program: Continued
Efforts Needed to Reduce Growth in Spending at Retail Pharmacies",
GAO-08-327. According to the report, the Department of Defense (DoD)
spent over $6.2 billion on medications in fiscal year 2006 (FY06),
which is a three-fold increase over $1.6 billion spent in FY 2000.
Spending at TRICARE Retail Pharmacies (TRRx) was found to be the reason
totaling $3.9 billion and 63 percent of overall drug spending in FY06.
Over 2 million TRICARE beneficiaries used only retail pharmacies.
DoD has tried to address prescription drug spending in several ways:
through its uniform formulary, voluntary manufacture rebates, and
beneficiary use of TRICARE Mail Order Pharmacy (TMOP). The uniform
formulary helped DoD avoid spending $916 million in FY07. DoD has
collected over $28 million in FY07 from voluntary manufacturer rebates
for formulary drugs that were dispensed to beneficiaries in retail
pharmacies. DoD started an outreach initiative of TMOP benefits in 2006
to encourage beneficiaries to use this as an alternative method when
getting medications. NMFA, along with the Military Coalition, played a
large role in getting this implemented. DoD also established a Member
Choice Center to help beneficiaries easily move their prescription
refills to TMOP in August 2007. According to Express Scripts, this has
provided over $800,000 savings to beneficiaries and $9.3 million to
DoD. For more information on TMOP and MCC download the factsheet on our
website, www.nmfa.org.
There are two factors that will play a role in DoD's ability to
limit future drug spending. They include the recent Task Force on the
Future of the Military Health Care's report and the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (NDAA FY08). The Task Force has
recommended changes to the pharmaceutical tier structure and copayments
in order to encourage beneficiaries to buy certain medications and
purchase drugs from more cost-saving sources, such as TMOP. The NDAA
FY08 included a federal drug pricing provision for medications
dispensed in retail pharmacies to help decrease retail spending.
However, these many not be enough. According to the GAO, DoD will need
to monitor these changes for its impact on cost savings and determine
what other initiatives may be necessary to ensure fiscal
responsibilities.
NMFA believes the focus should not be solely on cost-savings when
making decisions, but must include looking at the affect these changes
may have on beneficiaries behaviors and its economic impact. NMFA
encourages Congress to require DoD to utilize peer-reviewed research
involving beneficiaries and prescription drug benefit options, along
with performing additional research involving TRICARE beneficiaries,
before making any recommendations on prescription drug benefit changes,
such as copayment and tier structure changes for military service
members, retirees, and their families. NMFA also recommends DoD must
look for additional ways to implement savings. We believe it is
imperative for all of the medications available through TRRx be made
available through TMOP. Medications for treating chronic conditions,
such as asthma, diabetes, and hypertension should be made available at
the lowest level of copayment regardless of brand or generic status.
NMFA also agrees with the Task Force's recommendations for Over the
Counter (OTC) drugs to be a covered pharmacy benefit and for there
to be a zero co-payment for TMOP Tier 1 medications.
To view the report on the GAO webpage: http://www.gao.gov/index.html. Search by report number: 08-327.
5. NMFA Comments on FMLA Regulations: The comment period on the Notice of Proposed Rule Making
regarding regulations for the military expansion of the Family and
Medical Leave Act (FMLA) closed Friday. As discussed in previous
editions of the Government and You ENews, Congress expanded FMLA
protections for military familiy members in National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2008. Currently the Department of Labor
(DoL) is crafting the regulations to govern the expanded coverage.
In addition to submitting comments, NMFA signed on to the comments
of the National Partnership for Women and Families, the organization
that drafted the original legislation 15 years ago.
To read NMFA's comments, visit our website at: http://www.nmfa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=testimonies.
To view the comments of the National Partnership for Women and Families go to: http://www.nationalpartnership.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ourwork_fmla_FMLARegulations.
6. Children's Website Retooled: The
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has recently redesigned and
updated their Military Child and Youth Deployment Support website. With
new information and resources, this site provides needed mental health
support to military children, families, and youth professionals who
serve the military community. Areas of interest include: advocacy and
awareness; research; best practices; links to resources for parents;
and video support programs such as, "Military Youth Coping with
Separation: When Family Members Deploy" and "Mr. Poe and Friends
Discuss Reunion after Deployment".
Visit the AAP website at: www.aap.org/sections/uniformedservices/deployment/index.html
