Thursday, October 13, 2016

Updates on Military Benefits From Military.com, The Military's Largest Benefit Update








 John A. Smith, Founder/Editor October 25, 2016


Updates on Military Benefits From Military.com

 
 
 
 
OCTOBER 24
TRICARE to Expand Coverage
AF Approves Turkey Incentive Pay
3,000+ Aerospace & IT Jobs Hiring Vet Talent
Arrests Made in TRICARE Rx Kickback Scheme
SGLI/VGLI Enough? Get $100k Coverage from $7 a Month
Free Online Course Expanded to Veteran Spouses
100 Cities/100 Memorials
Army Debuts New Combat Tourniquet
Lock in Your Low Rate Before It's Too Late
American Legion Offers Scholarship
California Guardsmen Ordered to Pay Back Bonuses: Report
Care Packages for Women Veterans in Michigan
AF Issues Transgender Policy Guidance
Ready to Join or Reenlist? Get Up to $50k Bonuses
Top 3 VA Home Loan Tips
Donate Suits for Service Members
Free Legal Clinic in Texas
Pay $0 Co-Pays & Rx Costs with a TRICARE Supplement
Health Care Focused Virtual Career Fair
MARSOC Chooses Glock 19s over .45s for Raiders
No FluMist Available Through TRICARE for 2016
Motor Homes for Homeless Vets
Navy Adds Two Special Warfare Courses
Moment of Silence on Veterans Day
Navy to Offer Free Child Care to Overcharged Parents
SecDef Ash Carter to Speak at VOWS Symposium
Navy Shifts to SMART Tracker System
Specially Adapted Housing Grants Increase
Navy Chief to Sailors: You Have a Voice in Ratings Overhaul
VA Office Helps Veterans in Small Business
Navy Officers Can Apply for MIT Program
Well-Child Visits Now Covered under TRICARE Policy
Women Veterans and Disability
VA Home Loans
Headline Military News
TRICARE to Expand Coverage TRICARE is adding new services and screenings. Effective Jan.1, 2017, TRICARE will cover annual preventive office visits for all Prime beneficiaries 6 years of age and older.  Read More
AF Approves Turkey Incentive Pay Active-duty Airmen assigned to Turkey between Aug. 29, 2016, and Dec. 31, 2018, may be eligible for incentive pay.  Read More
3,000+ Aerospace & IT Jobs Hiring Vet Talent Looking for a career in IT or aerospace? Search over 3,000 jobs from top employers looking to hire veteran talent.  Read More
Arrests Made in TRICARE Rx Kickback Scheme Federal agents have charged a dozen defendants with fraud and conspiracy in a kickback scheme involving compound drugs and TRICARE.  Read More
SGLI/VGLI Enough? Get $100k Coverage from $7 a Month Is SGLI enough? VGLI too much? Don't take a chance on your family's future.  Read More
Free Online Course Expanded to Veteran Spouses Military spouses and caregivers can access one free course within any given specialization with online learning portal Coursera.  Read More
100 Cities/100 Memorials A new program will help people across the country restore and preserve local World War I memorials.  Read More
Army Debuts New Combat Tourniquet Makers of the Combat Application Tourniquet have updated the design. The update has resulted in two different versions of the tourniquet currently in use in the field.  Read More
Lock in Your Low Rate Before It's Too Late Rates are at a 4-month high. Qualified borrowers can pay as little as $0 down and have no PMI payments.  Read More
American Legion Offers Scholarship The Samsung American Legion Scholarship is available for high school juniors who are direct descendants of wartime veterans.  Read More
California Guardsmen Ordered to Pay Back Bonuses: Report The U.S. Defense Department is ordering almost 10,000 one-time National Guardsmen from California to pay back enlistment bonuses.  Read More
Care Packages for Women Veterans in Michigan A chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution is packing beauty bags full of toiletries for women veterans in the state of Michigan.  Read More
AF Issues Transgender Policy Guidance The Air Force recently released transgender implementation guidance addressing specific procedures for transitioning and requesting an official change in gender.  Read More
Ready to Join or Reenlist? Get Up to $50k Bonuses Thinking of your next move? Enlist or continue your military career by reenlisting now, plus you may qualify for up to $50,000.  Read More
Top 3 VA Home Loan Tips There are numerous advantages to having a VA mortgage. A VA mortgage loan can be guaranteed with no money down, in some cases up to $417,000.  Read More
Donate Suits for Service Members The nationwide Suits for Soldiers program helps all active duty military personnel transition to civilian work and life.  Read More
Free Legal Clinic in Texas The Jefferson County, Texas Bar Association will host a free clinic for veterans seeking legal advice or assistance.  Read More
Pay $0 Co-Pays & Rx Costs with a TRICARE Supplement Doctor and hospital bills are expensive even when you're covered by TRICARE. Help eliminate out-of-pocket expenses.  Read More
Health Care Focused Virtual Career Fair MOAA is hosting a free Virtual Career Fair tailored for military personnel and veterans seeking positions within the healthcare industry.  Read More
MARSOC Chooses Glock 19s over .45s for Raiders Marine Corps Special Operations Command has decided to shelve its custom .45 pistols and outfit its elite Raiders with the Glock 19.  Read More
No FluMist Available Through TRICARE for 2016 The intranasal flu vaccine known as FluMist will not be available at DoD facilities or covered by TRICARE during the 2016-17 influenza season.  Read More
Motor Homes for Homeless Vets A California nonprofit group is seeking donations of RVs, motor homes,and more for homeless veterans to live in.  Read More
Navy Adds Two Special Warfare Courses The Center for Sea, Air and Land and Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewman (CENSEALSWCC) has added the Ground Force Commander Course (GFCC) and the Troop Leader Course (TLC).  Read More
Moment of Silence on Veterans Day President Obama has signed a new law that calls on all Americans to pause voluntarily for two minutes to honor the sacrifice of veterans.  Read More
Navy to Offer Free Child Care to Overcharged Parents The Navy is giving two weeks of free, full-time child care to some parents during November and December as well as up to a $10,000 MWR grant.  Read More
SecDef Ash Carter to Speak at VOWS Symposium On November 1st, the Veterans on Wall Street (VOWS) coalition will be hosting their 6th annual veteran employment symposium.  Read More
Navy Shifts to SMART Tracker System The LIMDU Sailor and Marine Readiness Tracker System (SMART) is replacing the Medical Evaluation Board System (MEDBOLTS) in managing the tracking of Temporary LIMDU (TLD).  Read More
Specially Adapted Housing Grants Increase Maximum rates for specially adapted housing grants went up 10/1. For more details and for a guide to these grants, see Military.com's Special Adapted Housing FAQ.  Read More
Navy Chief to Sailors: You Have a Voice in Ratings Overhaul Vice Adm. Robert Burke, the Chief of Naval Personnel, has written a commentary piece for Military.com about the Navy's rating modernization plan.  Read More
VA Office Helps Veterans in Small Business VA's Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) works with stakeholders to ensure that veteran-owned businesses have opportunities to be awarded contracts.  Read More
Navy Officers Can Apply for MIT Program The MIT/WHOI Joint Program is open to qualified oceanography, submarine warfare and surface warfare officers looking to enhance their understanding of operational oceanography.  Read More
Well-Child Visits Now Covered under TRICARE Policy Well-child visits for TRICARE users over age six, as well as physicals required for school admissions, will now be covered due to newly updated rules.  Read More
Women Veterans and Disability Women veterans with disabilities or medical conditions incurred during military service may be eligible to receive tax-free monthly disability benefits.  Read More
VA Home Loans Here are ten facts about the VA Home Loan Program: (1) there is no down payment and no mortgage insurance required; (2) you can use your VA Home Loan benefits as many times as you want.  Read More

Big Pharma Lobbyist - Prescription Drug Bill Allow Drug Company To Charge Medicare/Medicaid $1,000.00/Pill For Drug That Cost $1.00 To Make

Hepatitis C Drug Cost $1 to Make - Iliad Sciences Charges Medicare $1,000.00/Pill

Photo credit to KTTN/KGOZ Radio

John A. Smith, Founder/Editor, October 13, 2016

Why Can't Medicare Negotiate Drug Prices

     It started in 2003 when Medicare was expanded to include medications. George W. Bush and Republicans sold out to Big Pharma payoffs and forced the passing of the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act. (aka the "Prescription Drug Bill.") The vote was unprecedented because as the vote was going on and the Republicans seen they might not have the votes to pass the bill, they held the vote open for hours. While holding the vote open for hours they "twisted the arms" of their own members by telling them that if they didn't vote to pass the bill the Republican Party would run someone against them in a primary in their next election. Once they got the required votes they quickly ended the voting.


Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act
Great Seal of the United States
Long title An act to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a voluntary prescription drug benefit under the medicare program and to strengthen and improve the medicare program, and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial) Medicare Modernization Act or MMA
Citations
Public law 108 - 173
Legislative history
  • Introduced in the House as Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act of 2003 by Representative Dennis J. Hastert on June 25, 2003
  • Passed the House on June 27, 2003 (216 - 215, 1 Present)
  • Passed the Senate on July 7, 2003 (Unanimous Consent)
  • Reported by the joint conference committee on November 21, 2003; agreed to by the House on November 22, 2003 (220 - 215) and by the Senate on November 25, 2003 (54 - 44)
  • Signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 8, 2003

So Who Profited From The Bill? - And Who Lost? 

The Winners 

     The biggest winner is obviously Big PharMa. After passage of the bill they could charge Medicare and Medicaid any price they wanted for a drug. A common heart medication that cost Medicare $234/yr immediately went to $1,600.00/yr. This went on right across the board.

  (From Wikipedia:)   "W.J."Billy" Tauzin, the Louisiana Republican who chaired the Energy and Commerce Committee from 2001 until February 4, 2004 was one of the chief architects of the new Medicare law.[6][7] In 2004 when Tauzin was appointed as chief lobbyist for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the trade association and lobby group for the drug industry with a "rumored salary of $2 million a year,"[6] drawing criticism from a Washington-based Public Citizen, the consumer advocacy group."


     In fact, all 29 original sponsors of the bill, within 2 years of the bill passing, were either lobbying or directly working for a pharmaceutical company with a hefty salary. 

The Losers: Taxpayers

     Costs:  The Republicans knew very well that passing this bill was going to give Big PharMa a gigantic windfall due to the fact that Medicare would not be able to negotiate drug prices even though they should have the biggest "buying power" on this earth and under-played what the cost would be. (From Wikipedia:) "Initially, the net cost of the program was projected at $400 billion for the ten-year period between 2004 and 2013. Administration official Thomas Scully instructed analyst Richard Foster not to tell Congress of Foster's finding that the cost would actually be over $500 billion. One month after passage, the administration estimated that the net cost of the program over the period between 2006 (the first year the program started paying benefits) and 2015 would be $534 billion.[14] As of February 2009, the projected net cost of the program over the 2006 to 2015 period was $549.2 billion.[15] ."  

In That Bill Was the Provision That Medicare and Medicaid Could NOT Negotiate Drug Prices 

     The Veteran's Administration did well in refusing to give their right to negotiate drug prices away and was able to stay out of this. However Medicare and Medicaid had no choice and the Republicans gave that right away. 

     "Through 2012, Medicare Part D added $318 billion to the national debt (see “General Revenue” on Page 111 in the 2013 Medicare trustees report). That same report projects that Medicare Part D will add $852 billion to the debt over the next 10 years." READ MORE: Medicare Part D: Republican Budget-Busting  

     Former President George W. Bush LIED  to Congress and the American public. "  The Bush White House lied to Congress about the cost. Within two months of signing the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) into law, President Bush quietly informed Congress that the true cost of the program would be $550 billion, not $395 billion, over the next decade. When Medicare actuary Richard Foster sought to present the true price tag to Congress in late 2003, then agency chief Thomas Scully threatened to fire him. By the time the program was launched in 2006, the estimated 10 year price tag for the Medicare prescription plan had increased to $720 billion."  To attack Obamacare, Republicans forget the lessons of Bush's Medicare reform

George W. Bush Lied to America About This Prescription Drug Bill Just As He Did About Iraq To Get Us Into War That Killed More Than 4,000 U.S. Troops - Only This Time It Was To Give Big Pharma and Republicans A Windfall! 

From: Prescription Drug Bill: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Brookings

     "The House voted first. At the end of the customary 15 minutes allocated for electronic voting, the bill seemed to be failing. The Republican leadership held open the voting for nearly three hours until they succeeded in arm-twisting a few G.O.P. opponents into switching their votes from nay to aye. A few Democrats were ready to shift their votes into the negative column, but their leadership failed to get them back to the floor in time, and the chair gaveled the vote closed. The bill passed the House by a single vote."

     "The Democratic opposition was breathtakingly mismanaged. That hoary quip by Will Rogers—”I do not belong to any organized political party; I am a Democrat”—never seemed more apt."

      "The bill indisputably and significantly deepens an already horrendous fiscal mess. Plausible projections indicate that over the decade 2005-2014 cumulative federal budget deficits will run to about $4.7 trillion. The Medicare bill will add just under $600 billion in that decade and $1.5 to $2 trillion in the succeeding decade, when deficits will explode. Closing these deficits would require either reneging on these benefits or enormous tax increases." READ MORE

     The biggest thing that bothers me, there are many, is that 29 original Republican sponsors of this bill left public service and were given jobs by large pharmaceutical companies for payment, for getting this bill passed. It will cost taxpayers Trillions of dollars and individual Medicare recipients much more. The former President Bush outright lied, just like he did after sending Ambassador Joe Walsh overseas to find out if Iraq had purchased a large amount of material to biuld nuclear bombs. When Joe Walsh came back and told him there was no way that Iraq could have bought the materials former President Bush went on TV and to Congress and outright lied and said yes, they did make that purchase and we went to war. When Joe Walsh couldn't keep quiet about such a lie he went public and the Bush administration attacked him and his family. They first exposed his wife Valerie Plume as being a CIA operative which not only put her in danger but also many other CIA operatives, but they didn't care, they needed to stop him from telling the truth. You might remember Scooty Libby, a close friend to the one pulling all the strings Dick Cheney. Dick Cheney got very mad at Bush for not giving Libby a pardon in his conviction of what they did to Valeria Plume and Joe Walsh. Bush and Cheney were angry at each other ever since then, and never really put up with each other after that. Those 29 Republicans who sponsored the bill and took jobs with large pharmaceutical companies for payment for passing the "Prescription Drug Bill" all left public service within two years of passing the bill and are all making millions of dollars a year, while taxpayers and Medicare recipients are paying trillions of dollars for their injustice.

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