AMRA History
October 5, 1973:
The American Military Retirees Association received its Certificate of Incorporation from the State of New York. Existing at first as a lone organization, it would later become a National Organization.
1. SGM Drum Scholarship Program Opens October 1st
AMRA knows that our members didn't serve alone - often, their whole families served alongside them giving support all along the way. AMRA's 2014 Sergeant Major Douglas R. Drum (SGM) Memorial Scholarship is just one of the ways we honor our families. It offers you, your spouse, children and/or grandchildren help getting that education you need to get the job you want.
Scholarship applications will be ready to download on October 1, 2013 for the 2014 school year. Applications must be submitted electronically via email to scholarship@amra1973.org, or sent by fax to 518-324-5204. Applications submitted by email will receive an auto-acknowledgement; those received by fax will be acknowledged within 48 hours to the email address provided by the applicant. Applications and all supporting documents not received at Headquarters by the close of business on Friday, March 3, 2014 will be disqualified. Questions about the scholarship should be directed to National Headquarters at 1-800-424-2969 - please do not use the scholarship application email address for this purpose.
Want to help give back? Support the Scholarship by Donating Online. The American Military Retirees Foundation (AMRF) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization and donations to the scholarship fund are tax deductible.
Note:
At this time AMRA wishes to thank our generous AMRA members, many of whom always include a Scholarship donation when paying their annual membership fees.
2. New Vocational Skills Scholarship
This year, as we are celebrating AMRA's 40th Anniversary, we have exciting news to share about Scholarship Program.
The American Military Retirees Foundation has funded five additional $1,000.00 Scholarships for students entering Vocational or Technical Training schools. This will bring the total dollar amount of our Scholarships up to $40,000.00.
3. New Renewal Option for Annual Members
Beginning January 1, 2014 National Headquarters will offer annual members a new option: renewal notices sent by email. In order to be ready to accommodate members who wish to receive their renewal notices by email, we ask that interested members go to AMRA Home and click on Membership from the blue navigation bar on the left. Once on the Membership page, click Renew Membership and go to the Edit My Info function. (You will be required to log in with your member ID# and a password you create for yourself.) At the top you will be given a choice of receiving your renewal notice by U.S. Mail or by Email (if you do not edit your record, you will receive your renewal by U.S. mail.)
Email notices will be sent on the first day of the month and you will have until 4:30 p.m. on the last day of the month to renew online. Please remember that logging in at AMRA Home requires you to use your membership ID# which will not work if your membership has lapsed. In such a case you will need to call HQ at 1-800-424-2969 to renew over the phone.
We hope this step will make your life a little easier...the next few months will see more changes and more options for members so watch this publication for announcements.
4. CHAMPVA Claims Address Info
CHAMPVA is the VA's healthcare program to give care to the families of 100% disabled veterans. However, many family healthcare claims never reach CHAMPVA because they are sent to the incorrect address. Most often, the zip code is incorrect.
For new health care claims, send to:
VA Health Administration Center, CHAMPVA, PO Box 469064, Denver, CO 80246-9064
For general questions, information on payment, or to reprocess a denied claim, please send you request to:
VA Health Administration Center, CHAMPVA, PO Box 469063, Denver, CO 80246-9063
For reconsiderations and appeals:
VA Health Administration Center, Appeals, PO Box 460948, Denver, CO 80246-0948
Also, if you are using CHAMPVA healthcare, please ensure that the VA has YOUR most current contact information on file. This is also important for others enrolled in VA Healthcare programs, GI Bill, life insurance or VA loan programs.
You can mail a signed address change request to: CHAMPVA Eligibility; PO Box 469028; Denver CO 80246-9028. You may also contact them to update your information via the Inquiry Routing & Information System (IRIS) . IRIS is a tool that allows the VA to communicate in a secure format instead of traditional email links. Alternately, you can update your address information by calling Customer Service at 800-733-8387.
5. Treatment Available for Sleep Disorders
Military Health System
Service members returning home from combat are increasingly reporting problems with sleep, prompting the Defense Department to take action to deal with their complaints.
According to Dr. William Brim, deputy director of the Center for Deployment Psychology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, the most common complaints shared by service members returning from deployment are about the quantity and quality of their sleep. "Sleep is considered one of our basic psychological needs," Brim said. "But what tends to happen within the military is that we will sacrifice sleep to get a mission done." This sacrifice has serious consequences.
Poor sleep affects memory, attention, alertness, productivity, motivation and the ability to resolve conflicts and manage emotions. It is also associated with increased risk for accidents, relationship problems, weight gain and mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. The number of service members receiving treatment for insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, circadian rhythm sleep disorders and nightmares is rising, according to Brim.
TRICARE covers diagnostic sleep studies only for the following conditions: Narcolepsy (If the patient has had documented episodes of cataplexy, diagnostic testing for narcolepsy would not be necessary and would not be covered); Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome; *Impotence; Abnormal Sleep Behavior (i.e. bruxism, sleepwalking, enuresis, and seizure disorder evaluations when the distinction between seizure activity and other forms of sleep disturbances is uncertain). Read more at TRICARE Sleep Studies .
6. TFL Users May Face Higher Costs for VA Care
Recently, no doubt as part of reviews made to patch budget leaks, TRICARE and the VA healthcare agencies realized certain rules regarding payment for care were not being properly administered.
As a result, TRICARE for Life users who visited a VA facility for care not related to a service-connected disability paid very little out of pocket for that care. Beginning October 1, 2013, however, when a TFL beneficiary receives care at a VA facility for healthcare not related to a service connected disability, TFL will only pay up to 20 percent of the TRICARE allowable charge. TFL users will then be required to pay the VA the remaining 80 percent, the percent which Medicare would have paid had you used a Medicare certified provider. This can add up to a substantial amount.
By law, TRICARE pays on any TRICARE for Life (TFL) claim only after Medicare and any other health insurance pay. Although VA facilities are TRICARE-authorized, they are NOT Medicare-certified and the VA can't bill Medicare. Once you qualify for Medicare and begin using TFL, it is highly recommended that you continue receiving care for any service connected disabilities at a VA, but find a Medicare certified provider for all other care.
Note: TRICARE for Life users may also no longer be able to use military treatment facilities for healthcare. However, some installations may allow retirees on TFL to use their healthcare, depending upon the needs of active duty and other resources. Contact local base healthcare facility administration for more information. Retirees may continue to fill prescriptions on base if they are in the formulary.
7. Do You Qualify for DIC?
Many military service members would have loved to have served a complete career in the military but their dreams were cut short by health conditions, or even death, caused by the same service they loved. Recognizing this, the VA offers Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), a tax free monetary benefit paid to eligible survivors of military service members who died in the line of duty or eligible survivors of Veterans whose death resulted from a service-related injury or disease.
To qualify for DIC, a surviving spouse must meet certain requirements. The surviving spouse was:
- Married to a Service member who died on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training, OR
- Validly married the Veteran before January 1, 1957, OR
- Married the Veteran within 15 years of discharge from the period of military service in which the disease or injury that caused the Veteran's death began or was aggravated, OR
- Was married to the Veteran for at least one year, OR
- Had a child with the Veteran, AND
- Cohabited with the Veteran continuously until the Veteran's death or, if separated, was not at fault for the separation, AND
- Is not currently remarried
Note:
A surviving spouse who remarries on or after December 16, 2003, and on or after attaining age 57, is entitled to continue to receive DIC.
DIC is also available for qualified children.
8. Military Housing for Military Retirees
The Military Housing Privatization Initiative is a public/private program whereby private sector developers may own, operate, maintain, improve and assume responsibility for military family housing, where doing so is economically advantageous and national security is not adversely affected. Created to address significant problems with the poor condition of DOD-owned housing and the shortage of affordable private sector housing of adequate quality, now most base housing areas are maintained by contractors.
Priority to occupy homes is given to Service members assigned to the installation. However, if there is not enough demand for housing from military personnel and, as a result, occupancy rates drop below a certain level for a defined period of time, the developer can rent to other personnel. The developer must follow a priority list of other possible tenants as defined by the tenant waterfall; after active duty, other military members not assigned to the installation or unaccompanied service members, federal civil service employees, retired military, guard and reserve military, retired federal civil service employees, DOD contractors/permanent employees and then the general public may be given rental options.
Interested? Call the base housing office at the location you are interested in, or visit Back on Base .
9. PTSD and Cognitive Processing Therapy
While working in the mortuary services during Operation Enduring Freedom, Sarah Brooks saw things that were so traumatic for her that they became disabling. If she allowed herself to think about them, she felt overcome with horror, guilt, shame and inadequacy.
These feelings were so intolerable that to cope with them she began to shut off all her feelings, and soon she had simply lost the ability to feel. This meant that having a loving, close and trusting relationship with anyone - including herself - had become impossible. Her life felt hollow and meaningless. Fortunately, she reached out for help and discovered an exciting new treatment: Cognitive Processing Therapy .
Brooks' life changed for the better when she went to the Trauma Services Program , at the Washington D.C. VA Medical Center. Her therapist encouraged her to go through CPT, one of the highly-effective evidence-based treatments for PTSD that VA supports.
Combat veterans from all eras, and victims of Military Sexual Trauma may utilize the Vet Center
10. Hearing Aids for Veterans
Military retirees from Active Duty, Guard, and Reserve units who have hearing loss and/or tinnitus are eligible to participate in the RACHAP/RHAPP Programs and obtain hearing aids or listening devices at significant savings from designated military installations.
Not every military medical facility is able to provide this program, but military retirees can use any military treatment facility which will accept them and don't need to return to their service affiliation to participate in this program. Note: RACHAP/RHAPP and hearing aids are not a covered military retiree TRICARE benefit.
Service Connection?
Some veterans who are losing their hearing may have forgotten that they were exposed to dangerous noise levels while serving their country. Examples of such exposure are working around aircraft or in engine rooms. In such instances, the VA may determine your hearing loss to be directly attributed to your military service
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