December 2004 - Military Order of the Purple Heart - Texas Capital ...

PATRIOT BULLETINPage 11...For the Second Month, Even More About…BENEFITS MISSED...you don’t receive what you don’t know how to apply for...Every couple of months or so, we devote an article to some recent change in veterans benefits,or else just restate those previously existing benefits that some of our membership may beeligible for, but never heretofore participated in. This bulletin entry is to remind everyonethat, in general, when some new veterans benefit is put into effect, the government makes noattempt to personally inform each eligible individual. Also sometimes eligible veterans actupon incomplete information, or worse yet, may be misinformed and miss out in that way.In the first case below, the VA misinterpreted the law pertaining to PH recipients medical care.Free VA Medical Care for Purple HeartRecipients Also Means Free PrescriptionsFor Pharmacy Medications(Pay Attention—This is Big, Really Big)In November 1999 the President signed into law anAct of Congress that directed the VA, for the firsttime ever, to begin providing free medical care toPurple Heart recipients. The VA implemented thatnew legislation by enrolling PH recipients (whoapply) into Priority Group 3 which does in factprovide the medical care free of any co-payments.However, in many cases, the VA did requireco-payments for pharmacy prescriptionmedications and some of our members have beenpaying those co-payments for their prescriptionsever since. A subsequent lawsuit has resulted in acourt ruling that the VA was in error when theycollected those co-payments for pharmacyprescriptions. If you are enrolled with the VA as aPurple Heart recipient in Priority Group 3 forMedical Care—then your pharmacy prescriptionsare supposed to be issued to you free, without copayments.If you have been charged those co-paysafter being registered as a PH recipient, then youshould be entitled to a refund—and you heardabout if first from your PATRIOT BULLETIN !For Survivors of Military RetireesFederal Employees have long had an option, uponretirement, to enroll in the “Survivor Benefit Plan”or “SPB.” Under that plan the retiree could enrollfor an annuity that would pay the surviving spouseup to 55 percent of the retiree’s retired pay. Untilthis year, for military retirees only, the militarySBP beneficiaries payments were automaticallyreduced from 55% to 35% when the survivingspouse reached age 62 and thus became eligible forSocial Security (although this reduction was neverimposed on federal civilian employees’ SBP plan).New legislation will phase out that SBP reductionbeginning in 2005. The phasing-in will increasethe annuity paid to survivors of military retireeswho are 62 and older, from 35 percent to thepercentages indicated below for:(1) Months after Sep 2005 & before Apr 2006:40%(2) Months after Mar 2006 & before Apr2007: 45%(3) Months after Mar 2007 & before Apr 2008:50%(4) Months after March 2008: 55%Concurrent Receipt (CR)Phase-In ImprovementThe Defense Authorization Act for 2004 madegreat strides in addressing the disparity by whichdisabled military retirees have their monthly retiredpay reduced, dollar for dollar, by the amount ofdisability benefits they receive from the VA. TheFY04 Act authorized full concurrent receipt to bephased in over the next 10 years. Under the newFY05 Act, 100 percent disabled retirees will not besubject to the phase-in delay. 100 percent disabledretirees will be paid full concurrent receipt effectivewith their January 2005 retired paychecks , but, allless than 100% disabled are under the old schedule.