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2014 TRICARE for Life Handbook

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TRICARE For Life (TFL) is the Medicare-wraparound coverage for TRICARE beneficiaries who have Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B, regardless of age or place of residence.

TFL provides comprehensive health care coverage. You have the freedom to seek care from any Medicare-participating or nonparticipating provider, or military treatment facility on a space-available basis. Medicare-participating providers file your claims with Medicare. After paying its portion, Medicare automatically forwards the claim to TRICARE for processing (unless you have other health insurance [OHI]). TRICARE pays after Medicare and OHI for covered health.

This handbook will help you make the most of your TFL coverage. You will find information about eligibility requirements, getting care, and claims. This handbook also provides details about your pharmacy and dental coverage options.

2014 TRICARE for Life Handbook

Webmaster Comments: Elections around the corner

This year’s general election is on Tuesday, November 4, 2014.  Mail in ballots are out and early voting locations at City Halls are open.

Everyone has a candidate(s) they support, and some volunteer to work on their election campaigns. But the State’s ongoing “Get Out to Vote” campaign says it all.

no vote no grumble

If you are interested in permanent absentee voting and other important voter information go to www.hawaii.gov/elections     

Hawaii’s Youth ChalleNGe Academy

YCA

The Hawaii National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy helps at-risk adolescents aim high.

A good challenge often spurs the greatest growth.

Many of the world’s most notable leaders and thinkers knew this, and so they embraced hardship, knowing that the experience, no matter how difficult or uncomfortable in the moment, would be the catalyst for a better, brighter future.

Similarly, the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program (NGYCP) provides at-risk adolescents the opportunity to turn their lives around through an evidence-based program modeled after the structure, discipline and results oriented training of the National Guard.

Continue reading http://t.co/Cb6fPcPkgU

Disclaimer: the National Guard Youth Foundation provided the photographs in this article.  The photographs are not of the Hawaii National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy cadets, cadre or facilities.

Related
http://dod.hawaii.gov/yca/
http://www.rescueyouth.com/hawaii-youth-challenge-academy/     
 

Beware of Shifting Options within Medicare Plans

MedicareCard_Header

For millions of older Americans, it is time to sift through the mind-boggling array of Medicare plans.

Continue reading http://tinyurl.com/q95rc29 

Taps: Violet “VI” Wada

Violet Umamoto “VI” Wada, 73, Kaneohe, a retired director’s secretary for the Department of Defense, passed away on October 7, 2014. She was born in Pa‘auhau,Hawai‘i. She is survived by husband Norman S., daughter Cheryl Ann, brother Charles Umamoto and sisters Jean Ichinotsubo and Helen Fujimura. Private services.

Online condolences: www.hawaiianmemorialparkmortuary.com   

3 National Guard officers fired, 2 for second time

Two weeks after they were fired and almost immediately unfired, the Alaska National Guard announced that two officers have been fired again, along with a third.

In a statement sent to reporters at 6:30 p.m. Monday, the guard said that Brig. Gen. Catherine Jorgensen was removed from her post as Army Guard chief of staff and that Col. Edith Grunwald lost her job as director of human resources for the Alaska National Guard, the second time their departures were announced this month.

Continue reading http://tinyurl.com/kyqqpow          

Related
http://tinyurl.com/pcta275             
 

Steps to take if you become a victim of cybercrime

As cybercrime attacks grow in number and severity, it’s important to know what steps you should take to protect yourself when cleaning up afterwards. Read what to do if you’re a victim of cybercrime.

Learn more

Social Security Announces 1.7 Percent Benefit Increase for 2015

SS logo

Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for nearly 64 million Americans will increase 1.7 percent in 2015, the Social Security Administration announced today.

The 1.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits that more than 58 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2015.  Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 31, 2014. The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA to the increase in the Consumer Price Index as determined by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Some other changes that take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages.  Based on that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $118,500 from $117,000.  Of the estimated 168 million workers who will pay Social Security taxes in 2015, about 10 million will pay higher taxes because of the increase in the taxable maximum.

Information about Medicare changes for 2015 is available at www.Medicare.gov.

The Social Security Act provides for how the COLA is calculated.  To read more, please visit www.socialsecurity.gov/cola.

TRICARE rules on compounded medicines should be reviewed, GAO says

TRICARE spends $259 million a year on medications it is not obligated to cover and should align its policies on compounded medications with existing regulations or change those rules, a federal watchdog agency says.

The Defense Department health program paid for 465,000 compounded medications in 2013, about one-third of 1 percent of all prescriptions covered by TRICARE for the year, at a cost 50 times higher than it spent on compounded medications in 2004.

According to the Government Accountability Office, the benefit — used largely by retirees and their family members, who filled more than 85 percent of all TRICARE compounded prescriptions last year — is more generous than coverage for these prescriptions under either Medicare or the Veterans Affairs Department health system, and offers a prime opportunity for cost-savings.

Continue reading http://tinyurl.com/myey3ls

Oklahoma Air National Guard fighter jets collide

F-16 OK ANG

The roar of at least one fighter jet overhead caught Elaine Julian’s attention.

It was a beautiful, sunny autumn afternoon, and the 75-year-old woman was visiting the park in Moline with her twin 4-year-old great-grandsons. It was about 2:20 p.m. Monday. They watched as the jet left puffs of vapor or smoke, one after another. From her perspective, the jet started zigzagging and seemed to be in trouble.

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/news/local/article3159084.html

4 Tips to Help Sinus Sufferers Sleep Well

It’s tough to get a good night’s sleep when your sinuses are bothering you. Blogger Dr. Eric Cohen has some tips to help you rest a little easier.

Check out his post

New travel pay rates mean less money for TDY

Trying to reduce costs, the Department of Defense revised the Joint Travel Regulations. Current military members and civilians faced reduced reimbursements for travel costs.

Traveling on temporary duty is not as lucrative as it used to be. Effective October 1, the Pentagon made several revisions to its travel regulations that will mean less money for service members when they go on TDY. It’s part of a broader cutback on government travel in recent years and just the latest in a long string of policy changes that will shave money from Defense Department budget accounts.

Across the board, per diem rates will be slashed for long-term assignments, and troops will have to pay for a few more things with out-of-pocket cash. And your command might start picking up the tab for your duty-related cellphone calls. The details are threaded throughout a new 1,634-page version of the venerable document known as the “Joint Travel Regulations.”

Here’s a short take on the five things you need to know:

http://tinyurl.com/p3yneae 

7 Bad Habits That Hurt Your Back

A whopping 80 percent of us will have back pain at some point in our lives. But you can cut down those odds by avoiding certain behaviors.

Here’s how to keep your back healthy.      

Are You Eating Too Much Salt?

Most experts agree that elderly, obese, and diabetic people are more sensitive to salt consumption and should consider cutting back.

Get some tips on skipping the salt shaker.