TRICARE Waives Referrals in West Region

05/08/2013 - The Tricare Management Activity has released details on how uniformed service beneficiaries in the West Region can access specialty health care without first receiving approval by Tricare West Region contract manager UnitedHealth Military & Veterans.

Tricare Prime customers who are referred to a specialist by their primary care provider should ask their doctor for a paper copy of their referral - or have it faxed to the specialist - and have them complete a copy of a waiver letter from UnitedHealthcare, available at www.uhcmilitarywest.com.

The waivers will be available through at least May 18, according to a letter sent from Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Jonathan Woodson to the military services on May 2.

Tricare officials said the unprecedented move was necessary to ease a referral backlog that has mounted since UnitedHealthcare assumed responsibility for the West Region contract on April 1.

Woodson described "inordinate delays" resulting form the contractor's "failure to meet the contract requirements for referral and authorization management."

In addition to the delays in referral care, UnitedHealth's call center and website are experiencing tie-ups with customer service, with some callers being placed on hold for more than an hour.

A UnitedHealthcare Military & Veterans spokesman said last week that since the company took over management of the contract, its call centers have received 531,000 calls with an average wait time of about five minutes.

TMA officials said they are working with UnitedHealthcare to address the problems, and Woodson said the waiver period could be extended if the backlog is not adequately reduced by May 18.

The waiver does not apply to beneficiaries using Tricare Standard, Tricare For Life or Prime enrollees in the U.S. Family Health Plan, available to some beneficiaries in Washington state.

- From Navy Times News

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Public Health

Passing of a Public Health Lion: C. Everett Koop, MD, ScD

02/25/2013 - The Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service mourns the passing of the 13th U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Koop, who died on February 25, 2013 in Hanover, New Hampshire. We extend our deepest sympathies to the Koop family.

Dr. Koop lived for 96 wonderful years and left an amazing impact on his patients, our nation, and beyond. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Koop became a prominent pediatric surgeon and later served as one of our most influential Surgeons General. Dr. Koop was a leader devoted to improving the health of Americans.

Doctor Koop will be remembered for many contributions to the health of the nation but surely his most enduring legacies will be the hundreds of thousands of lives he lengthened and saved by his courageous stands on tobacco use and HIV/AIDs, as well as his leadership of and continuing support for the PHS Commissioned Corps he loved so dearly.

While many organizations will carry on the important work of Dr. Koop, his most visible legacy will be carried out by the uniformed officers of the PHS Commissioned Corps. Dr. Koop's integrity, fearless commitment to speak truth to power, and dedication to the well-being of the Corps he led stand as permanent lessons on officership and leadership.

This association and foundation will sadly but proudly transition the Dr. C. Everett Koop Honorary Lecture to the first Dr. C. Everett Koop Memorial Lecture to be delivered by the 17th Surgeon General, Dr. Rich Carmona on May 21st at the PHS Scientific and Training Symposium. We will miss the wise counsel provided by Dr. Koop in his capacity as an Honorary Trustee of the foundation.

Dr. Koop was a dear friend of the COA and honorary trustee of the PHS Commissioned Officers Foundation. We will miss him always. Our country and the Commissioned Corps are much better today having had Dr. C. Everett Koop in our midst.

Update on furlough video posted below

02/22/2013 - We've been receiving tons of calls and emails since posting the furlough video below. Many are unable to view the video clip. Your computer must have Quicktime or Windows Media Player installed to view the clip. Some government computers have neither. And COA's servers are having a hard time keeping up with the volume of hits trying to view the clip. Please be patient and keep trying.

Officers are asking for a written transcript of the clip but at this time, We are unable to comply with that request for reasons we hope will become evident when the Department releases their determination officially and in writing.

- Jerry Farrell, COA Executive Director

New Co-Pays for Some TRICARE Pharmacy Customers

01/29/2013 - New copayments for prescription drugs covered by TRICARE will go into effect February 1, 2013. The Fiscal Year 2013 National Defense Authorization Act requires TRICARE to increase copays on brand name and non-formulary medications that are not filled at military clinics or hospitals. There is no increase to copays for generic medications. Increases will be effective sometime in February, depending on when system changes can be made, and the publication of a required Federal Notice.

TRICARE Pharmacy copays vary based on the class of drug and where beneficiaries choose to fill their prescriptions. The copay for generic medications stays at $5 when a prescription is filled at a network pharmacy. There is no co-pay when generic prescriptions are filled through TRICARE Home Delivery. The new copay for a 30-day supply of a brand name medication purchased at a retail network pharmacy will be $17, up from the current $12. Beneficiaries using TRICARE Home Delivery will pay $13 for brand name drugs, up from $9. However, the Home Delivery price is for a 90-day supply.

The greatest change in copays applies to non-formulary medications. The $25 copay for these drugs increases to $44 at retail pharmacies and $43 through Home Delivery. The TRICARE Uniform Formulary is a list of all the medications TRICARE covers.

For fiscal 2014 and beyond, the new law directs that copays increase annually by the same percentage as retiree cost-of-living adjustments. In years when a COLA increase would total less than a dollar, it will be delayed a year and combined with the next adjustment so increases will always be $1 or more.

Pharmacies at military hospitals and clinics will continue to provide medications with no copays.

- courtesy of MOAA

COA Renews Call for HHS to Exempt PHS Officers From Furloughs

01/18/2013 - The Commissioned Officers Association (COA)has written again to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Assistant Secretary for Health and General Counsel urging them to reconsider the Department's decision that PHS Commissioned Corps officers can be furloughed in the event of a temporary lapse in appropriated funding.

The email sent by COA executive director Jerry Farrell to Assistant Secretary Dr. Howard Koh and General Counsel William Schultz follows up on more than one year of effort by COA to obtain from DHHS the legal basis supporting the DHHS position that COA firmly believes to be incorrect. Farrell's email contains information recently obtained by COA in which the Department of Justice after lengthy legal analysis concludes that NOAA Commissioned Corps officers cannot be furloughed. COA contends that the same reasoning applies equally to the PHS Commissioned Corps.

The issue of furloughs for PHS officers has become urgent again as the most senior leaders in the Administration and Congress talk openly and more frequently about the potential for a government "shutdown" if compromise solutions to the nation's budget, debt, and fiscal issues cannot be resolved. The country's debt ceiling will be reached in a matter of weeks bringing with it the threat of default. Severe budget cuts - "sequestration" - kick in soon after and the continuing resolution funding the government expires at the end of March. All of these occurrences have the potential to shut down the federal government unless the President and Congress can reach mutually accepatble solutions before the looming deadlines.

The COA communication argues that besides being illegal, furloughing PHS officers makes no practical sense. In the event of a government shutdown, PHS officers provide the only remaining line of defense against threats to national public health security. Threats like hurricane Sandy, the Sandy Hook School shootings, and the problems at the only hospital in Saipan. Corps officers have deployed in response to these situations in the last three months alone. And the nation is in the middle of virus epidemic. PHS Commissioned Corps officers are as essential to national security as are members of the Armed Forces and the NOAA Commissioned Corps - the other six uniformed services that are exempt from furlough.

COA has been unable to obtain a substantive response from DHHS on the furlough question since it first became an issue in 2010. A FOIA request submitted to the department in December, 2011 remains unanswered despite repeated inquiries by COA.

Click here to read the COA email regarding furloughs... (pdf, 303 KB)

PHS Commissioned Corps Celebrates 124 Years of Service

01/04/2013 - The PHS Commissioned Corps celebrates its 124th birthday on January 4th, 2013. Established by an act of Congress signed into law by President Grover Cleveland on this date in 1889, the PHS Commissioned Corps traces its origins to 1798. In 1798, President John Adams signed into law an Act for the Relief of Sick and Disabled Seamen establishing the Marine Hospital Service that became the forerunner of the Public Health Service.

In the aftermath of the Civil War, the Marine Hospital Service was reorganized under the first Supervising Surgeon, John Maynard Woodworth. Woodworth had served as the surgeon of General Sherman's march to the sea during the War. Supervising Surgeon Woodworth organized the Marine Hospital Service along military lines and put his physicians in uniform. This uniformed corps of public health physicians was codified into law in 1889.

Today's PHS Commissioned Corps is a mission-oriented force-in-being consisting of some 6600 hundred public health specialists led by the Surgeon General, Vice Admiral Regina Benjamin. Corps officers serve throughout the federal government in a variety of assignments that include direct clinical care to the nation's most underserved populations, support for Department of Defense health care programs, medical research, administration and regulatory affairs.

Corps officers also respond to public health emergencies. Most recently, in the past two months alone, PHS officers have deployed to assist with recovery operations in New York and New Jersey following superstorm Sandy; to Newton, Connecticut to assist with mental health counseling following the Sandy Hook school shootings; and to Saipan in the Northern Marianas Islands to assist with administration and health care for a troubled medical center. While few in number, the PHS Commissioned Corps is an effective public health force mutliplier whose officers provide leadership expertise across the broad spectrum of public health operations and administration.

Yet the PHS Commissioned Corps remains one of the most unheralded and unknown components of the federal government - a situation the Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service is determined to overcome.

PHS Commissioned Corps Help Survivors of Sandy Hook Tragedy

12/18/2012 - The PHS Commissioned Corps Mental Health Team Four deployed to Sandy Hook, Connecticut on the evening of Friday, 14 December to provide counseling services to the community devastated by the school shootings there. Sixteen members of the team were on the ground in Sandy Hook by Saturday morning with fourteen more enroute.

The team's deployment is yet another example of the responsiveness, flexibility, and capability of the PHS Commissioned Corps in addressing the nation's public health needs. In recent weeks, the Corps has deployed officers to support superstorm Sandy relief efforts in New York and New Jersey, another team to provide medical administrative and clinical support to a troubled hospital in Saipan, and now another team to help the distraught citizens of Sandy Hook cope with the horror they are enduring.

At the same time Corps officers are planning and preparing to deploy in support of the presidential inauguration in January - all while continuing to execute their critical primary duty assignments in medical research at NIH; disease prevention at CDC; food and drug administration and regulation at FDA; clinical care and medical infrastructure support for underserved populations of Native Americans and Alaska Natives in the Indian Health Service; supporting health care and critical missions in the Department of Defense; and working in dangerous and thankless environments caring for federal prisoners in the Bureau of Prisons and detainees in illegal immigrant detention centers in the Department of Homeland Security and much, much more.

The 6700 officers of the PHS Commissioned Corps will touch the lives of each and every citizen of the United States at some point, often at times of desparation and crisis. The question for each of us is, will we recognize them when they protect us from disease, help us recover from disaster, care for us when no one else will?

Senator Daniel K. Inouye, 1924-2012, Public Health Champion and Friend of the PHS Commissioned Corps

12/18/2012 - Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI), the Commissioned Officers Association's 2010 Health Leader of the Year passed away due to respiratory complications on December 17th. Senator Inouye, in a career of public service spanning 80 years, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism during World War II, served as Hawaii's first congressional representative in 1959, and was elected to the Senate in 1962 where he served with distinction for almost nine consecutive terms. At his death Senator Inouye was president pro temporae of the Senate and third in line of succession to the presidency and was chairman of the powerful Senate Apprppriations Committee.

Senator Inouye postponed plans to become a physician when he joined the Army in 1942 at the age of 17 following the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Senator was severely wounded and lost an arm in an attack on machine gun nests on a hill in Italy in 1945 - an act of heroism for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

The loss of his right arm derailed his plans to become a physician and he instead studied law graduating from George Washington University School of Law. He returned to Hawaii and began a career as a city and county attorney and Democratic Party activist. In his more than 50 years in Congress, Dan Inouye was recognized as a statesman of the old school who sought out bi-partisan compromise and always placed the good of his country above partisan politics. He was a champion of veteran's programs, public health, the nursing profession, and the PHS Commissioned Corps. Senator Inouye was instumental in obtaining access to Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits for PHS Commissioned Corps officers. His support for the Corps and this association will be greatly missed. COA extends our sincere condolences to his widow, son and family, and the Senator's staff. We bid the Senator a sad Aloha.

Commissioned Corps Strike Team Composed of COA Members Deploys to Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for Health Mission

12/14/2012 - A six person team of PHS officers, all members of the Commissioned Officers Association, has arrived in Saipan for a three month hospital technical assistance mission Surgeon General Regina Benjamin announced today.

The team, led by RADM Newton Kendig (Federal Bureau of Prisons - BOP), is providing technical assistance to the Commonwealth Health Corporation hospital and direct patient care. Additional team members include CAPT Lisa Hogan, nurse manager (BOP); CDR Daniel Hesselgesser, clinical laboratory manager (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services - CMS); CDR Sylvie Cohen, physician/safety officer (BOP); CDR Kathleen Dotson, pharmacy manager (BOP); and LT Lane Vause, medical technologist (CMS). The team is expected to expand in coming weeks.

Kendig, in an interview with reporters on Saipan, said there will be a total of 10 to 11 medical personnel that will be assisting the CNMI, including four to five that will be arriving later. "My chain of command is with the Surgeon General's Office in Washington, and we're being deployed here as officers to work with the governor's office and the healthcare corporation. We were deployed here to provide technical assistance. We are here on the spirit of teamwork and collaboration to see what we can do to help Saipan," he said.

Disease Prevention Initiatives Project Grant Proposals Invited

12/03/2012 - JBS International, Inc. seeks to award evidence-based projects that enhance disease prevention initiatives and improve health outcomes by (i) increasing routine HPV vaccination coverage for adolescents and persons up to 24 years of age and (ii) increasing the proportion of adults vaccinated against seasonal influenza and other preventable illnesses. Eligible applicants are invited to submit proposals to fund activities specific to Community or Systems-level Interventions. Visit JBS International to view the full proposal and other details.

Surgeon General Benjamin Honored as Public Health Person of the Week

11/28/2012 - MPH Programs List.com, an online free resource designed to encourage careers in public health, has named PHS Surgeon General, Vice Admiral Regina Benjamin, as its person of the week for the week of November 26th.

MPH Programs List.com launched in February of 2012 as a free resource for students interested in graduate public health, public administration, public policy and health administration programs. The goal is to attract students to these under-served yet highly rewarding fields.

Vice Admiral Benjamin joins a distinguished group of public health leaders recognized by MPH Programs List.com including Thomas Freidan, CDC Director; and Julio Frenk, former Minister of Health for Mexico and now Dean of Faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health.

What Do PHS Officers Do When Deployed?

11/19/2012 - That's the question answered by an article published on Yahoo! News by Charles Simmins, The article gives a good description of the many critical tasks undertaken by PHS officers when deployed in emergency situations. The Commissioned Corps is the nation's best kept secret and it's always nice to see the Corps get public recognition for the good work our members do in service to the country.

New York COA Branch Assists in Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts

11/07/2012 - The New York COA branch is pitching in to assist in recovery efforts in the aftermath of the Sandy "super storm" that devastated much of New York City, Long Island and the New Jersey coastline last week.

COA members assigned to FDA Jamaica (Long Island) who were not too badly affected by the storm immediately began organizing relief efforts on behalf of NYCOA.

NYCOA also organized support for the two RDF teams deployed to the area. RDF-2 is in Brooklyn and RDF-3 is in Edison, NJ. NYCOA assembled and delivered care packages for each of the teams. The care packages included MWR/comfort items such as water, juice, snacks, blistex, blister care products, exercise equipment and DVDs.

Throughout the recovery from the storm, NYCOA continued preparations to march as a PHS Commissioned Corps unit in the NYC Veterans Day Parade. RADM Epifanio Elizondo, Region VI Health Administrator will join NYCOA members in the Veterans Day Parade.

PHS Commissioned Corps Responds to Hurricane Sandy

10/31/2012 - Selected Units of the PHS Commissioned Corps have been deployed to assist with public health operations along the east coast in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

93 officers from Rapid Deployment Force (RDF2), Applied Public Health Team (APHT2), Regional Incident Support Teams (RIST1, RIST2, RIST3), National Incident Support Teams (NIST B), are currently deployed in direct support of Hurricane Sandy operations --- this number does not include RECs or other ASPR or OPDIV/STAFFDIV officers engaged directly through their respective agencies.

RDF2 is onsite in New York City awaiting location of FMS. They arrived at 0100 Wednesday morning and immediately engaged at the shelter that was providing temporary billeting by triaging some 100 people coming into the shelter.

Additionally, the following teams are on alert: RDF3, APHT3, NIST C, Mental Health Teams (MHT2, MHT3), Services Access Teams (SAT2, SAT3). These teams represent 250 officers on alert. These teams are also augmented by additional 750 rostered on-call officers.

The volunteer Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is coordinated through the Office of the Surgeon General and 25 MRC units have also been activated for general/ARC/special medical needs, shelter operations, emergency department outposts, special needs registries and call center support.

Many MRC units have been asked, or have, placed volunteers on standby.

Over 525 volunteers have been deployed by local MRC units in support of this Hurricane Sandy response operations.

Legislative

Furlough Decision Announced

02/22/2013 -

NDAA Conferees Include All Uniformed Services in Autism Pilot

12/19/2012 - Last night, the House and Senate came together and approved a TRICARE pilot program for the treatment of autism spectrum disorders that will expand coverage of applied behavioral analysis (ABA). It will include all seven federal uniformed services. It will be accessible to active-duty and retired service members.

It happened as House and Senate conferees ironed out the differences in their respective versions of the FY 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

COA's top legislative priority for the last four months has been to convince the U.S. Congress not to discriminate by uniform. It seemed headed in that direction. The House would have excluded all USPHS, NOAA, and USCG personnel from the autism benefit. The Senate would have excluded USPHS, NOAA, and USCG retirees. Either would have established an unacceptable precedent in federal law by limiting or denying a TRICARE benefit based on one's branch of service.

Fortunately, House and Senate conferees scrapped both versions and started anew. The autism program is now authorized in bare-bones language in Sec. 705 of HR 4310. Its inclusiveness is made clear in the Joint Explanatory Statement, a supplementary document issued by the House Rules Committee. It says the autism program is "for all TRICARE beneficiaries covered under the basic program."

Since the discrimination issue surfaced in August, two dozen PHS parents of autistic children, including five retirees, have worked closely with COA staff to inform and educate their members of Congress. These parents and COA members shared details about their children, their deployments, and their PHS careers. Their stories proved compelling.

COA Fights Discrimination in TRICARE Benefits

12/10/2012 - COA is fighting an unprecedented move to limit or deny basic TRICARE health benefits on the basis of one's branch of service. The issue is playing out in the context of a House-approved measure to enhance TRICARE coverage for autism spectrum disorders. The House would extend the more generous coverage to all active-duty and retired uniformed services personnel except those in the PHS, NOAA Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard. The Senate voted to extend the proposed coverage to "currently serving" personnel in the three smallest services. But the Senate would still leave out PHS, NOAA, and USCG retirees.

TRICARE covers 9.7 million beneficiaries. The House would exclude 22 COA members and TRICARE beneficiaries who are the parents of 23 young children with autism. The Senate would include 18 of these PHS families, but deny coverage to 4 PHS retirees who have autistic children as young as 8.

The issue is being decided right now, as House and Senate conferees reconcile their differences in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2013. Click here to read COA's letter to leaders of the Armed Services Committees in both chambers.

Click here to read COAs letter to leaders of the Armed Services Committees in both chambers...  (pdf, 130 KB)

Senate Confirmation No Longer Required for PHS, NOAA Officers

08/07/2012 - On 31 July, the U.S. House approved a Senate proposal that would, among other things, remove all PHS and NOAA officers from the list of presidential appointees requiring Senate confirmation. The proposal, titled the "Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act of 2011" or S. 679, easily passed the Senate in June of last year. COA strongly opposed it.

The new law reduces the two service's parity with the armed services and undermines arguments that PHS and NOAA officers cannot be furloughed in the event of a government shutdown.

The law's stated intent is to fix the clogged appointments process by reducing the number of executive branch positions subject to confirmation. This, in turn, would lighten the burden on the Senate. It is the most recent of numerous congressional efforts to reform the appointments process, which go back more than a decade.

Section 2 of the new law "eliminates the requirement of Senate confirmation for 220 presidentially appointed positions across the executive branch, as well as for the appointment and promotion of uniformed officers of the Public Health Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration."

The long term implications and consequences of this law with respect to the federal status of PHS officers are unclear. Issues like the delegation of authorities below the Surgeon General - essential to the smooth and efficient functioning of the Corps; inter-service transfers wherein some officers are subject to Senate confirmation while others are not; and the status of PHS officers versus their peers in the military services in the event of the Corps being militarized as it was in the waning days of World War II are being examined. The COA Board of Directors will consider whether or not to seek to have the portion of this law affecting PHS officers overturned or amended in the next Congress.

2013 TRICARE Prime Enrollment Fees Announced

07/23/2012 - The fiscal year 2013 TRICARE Prime enrollment fees for uniformed service retirees and their families go into effect Oct. 1, 2012. The Prime enrollment fees for 2013 are $269.28 for retirees, and $538.56 for retirees and their family members.

Survivors of active duty deceased sponsors and uniformed services medically retired service members and their dependents are exempt from annual fee increases. Their enrollment fee is frozen at the rate in effect when they were classified and enrolled in TRICARE Prime. Their fee remains frozen as long as there is no break in their TRICARE Prime enrollment.

As always, active duty service members and their families have access to TRICARE Prime with no enrollment fee.

The 2013 fees are based on the cost of living adjustment retirees received in 2012. The adjustment was applied to the $260 (individual) and $520 (family) 2012 Prime enrollment fees. Because of this, most retirees who were enrolled in Prime prior to Oct. 1, 2011, will see a more significant increase since their enrollment fee remained at the 2011-levels of $230 and $460 per year.

Beneficiaries can opt to pay their enrollment fee monthly, quarterly or annually. Before deciding to pay annually, beneficiaries should keep in mind that in most cases enrollment fees are non-refundable, and Congressional changes to fees in the 2013 budget could occur. For this reason, it's recommended that beneficiaries pay their enrollment fee monthly or quarterly. To learn more about TRICARE Prime enrollment fees, please visit www.tricare.mil/costs.

Supreme Court Health Care Ruling: No Impact on TRICARE

07/11/2012 - The June Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) has no impact on TRICARE health benefits for service members, military retirees and their families. TRICARE's commitment to providing the best possible health care to its more than 9.7 million beneficiaries remains unchanged. TRICARE is authorized by independent statutes, and remains under sole authority of the Defense Department and the Secretary of Defense.

TRICARE benefits meet or exceed the minimum requirements provided in the ACA for creditable coverage, including coverage for pre-existing conditions and serious illnesses, preventive care services with no cost shares, reasonable out-of-pocket costs with no or low deductibles and copayments, and no annual or lifetime caps on coverage. For more information about TRICARE's covered clinical preventive services, go to www.tricare.mil/preventivecare.

Further, Congress also passed the TRICARE Affirmation Act, signed into law in April 2010. This law explicitly states that Department of Defense health coverage, including TRICARE, qualifies as "minimum essential coverage" under the ACA.

Finally, TRICARE Young Adult (TYA) extends TRICARE coverage to the children of beneficiaries up to age 26. Congress authorized this program in the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act, which became law in January 2011. TYA, implemented in April 2011, gives eligible uniformed services dependents under 26 who are unmarried and not eligible for employer-sponsored health care coverage the option to purchase TRICARE coverage. As of May 31, 2012, more than 17,000 beneficiaries are enrolled in TYA. For more information about TYA and how to purchase it, go to www.tricare.mil/tya.

To read more about TRICARE and the ACA, visit www.tricare.mil/tma/hipaa/ppaca.aspx.

PHS Officers Win Whistleblower Protections

07/09/2012 - Today, President Obama signed into law the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act of 2012. This law, for the first time, provides whistleblower protections to PHS officers. It does this by extending to them the protections already offered to Armed Services personnel under the Military Whistleblower Protection Act. The goal is to protect PHS officers' communications with members of Congress and to prevent retaliatory personnel actions by the health and regulatory agencies for which they work.

Over the past five months, winning such protections for PHS officers has been COA's major legislative goal. The effort grew out of a widely publicized case in which a PHS officer and medical device reviewer at the FDA lost both his job and his service career because he shared his safety concerns with congressional staff. Unlike his civilian colleagues, who shared similar concerns at the same time, the PHS officer was declared not to be an "employee" and therefore not entitled to any legal protection.

COA immediately contacted the office of Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. COA proposed extending the Military Whistleblower Protection Act to PHS officers. Soon thereafter the Senator did so, by offering an amendment to the larger FDA bill then moving through the Senate. His amendment passed the Senate unanimously in May. The entire FDA bill then went to the House, which approved it on June 20. It landed on the President's desk on June 28, and was signed a few hours ago. Sen. Grassley is respected on both sides of the aisle as the leading expert in the U.S. Congress on whistleblower issues.

Click here to read Sec. 1129, page 126. (pdf, 504 KB)

Event

PHS Scientific and Training Symposium Will Go On

04/22/2013 - COA/F executive director dispels rumors about the annual PHS Scientific and Training Symposium being cancelled and encourages officers to attend.

PHS To Be Included on Registration Drop Down Menu for Army Ten Miler

04/04/2013 - Thanks to the persistence of Deputy Surgeon General Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak, organizers of the Army Ten Miler run in Washington, DC have agreed to add the PHS Commissioned Corps to the list of Uniformed Services on the registration site for the 2013 race.

With more than 75 PHS officer participants in the Army Ten Miler last year and having one of the PHS teams place in the top three finisher's standing for the last two years, the PHS Commissioned Corps is a highly visible participant in this popular event. The Corps' visibility is even more so as a result of the Corps supporters along the route who make noise and show the PHS flag along the way!

COA encourages all PHS officers who will be in the DC area on October 20, 2013 to register and run and show the PHS Commissioned Corps' commitment to uniformed service and healthy lifestyles.

17th Surgeon General Carmona Pays Tribute to 13th Surgeon General Koop

03/08/2013 - The first of several memorial services for the 13th Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Koop, will take place on Saturday, 9 April, in Woodstock, Vermont. COA will be represented by the Board Chair, Captain Nita Sood, and COF will be represented by RADM Mike Milner, USPHS (Ret.). Officers from COA's New England Branch will also attend and provide an honor guard.

A second memorial service for Dr. Koop is scheduled for Saturday, 6 April, in Philadelphia, PA at the Tenth Presbyterian Church, 17th and Spruce Streets in center city.

As Dr. Koop is memorialized and laid to rest, the 17th Surgeon General, Dr. Richard Carmona has written about Dr. Koop's legacy as a health warrior. Click on the link below to read Dr. Carmona's comments.

Dr. Carmona will deliver the first Dr. C. Everett Koop Memorial Lecture as part of COA and COF's tribute to the 13th Surgeon General at the Anchor & Caduceus Dinner on May 21, 2013 in Glendale, AZ. The Anchor & Caduceus Dinner will open the 48th Annual US PHS Scientific and Training Symposium. To reserve a seat at the dinner visit the Symposium registration page.

Click here to read Dr. Carmona's article... (pdf, 191 KB)

From the Deputy Surgeon General

03/06/2013 - Hi PHS physical activity enthusiasts!

On top of the group opportunities for us as PHS officers to not only "talk the talk, but walk the walk" (or "run the run" or "bike the bike")through activities such as the Army Ten Miler or the Marine Corps Marathon, I'd like to introduce another group physical adventure.

I've been part of a group of PHS officers and "friends of PHS" who annually do multi-day bicycle camping rides of the C&O Canal trail and/or GAP Trail. This year we're expanding our horizons to participate in an organized ride in the state of Michigan. The route we're doing is the 5 day UP (Upper Peninsula ) ride, riding over 300 miles with hundreds of other bikers and camping along the way. Registration is now open at web site: Visit DALMAC!. If interested it is suggested to register as soon as possible, this ride tends to fill up fast.

So far from the DC area we have 5 officers and 2 friends of PHS ready to go. Consider signing up - it would be a blast to show the PHS colors! Share this message with others as you see fit. Note: this is not an official USPHS activity, just a bunch of us having an adventure and exercising together!

The plan: Transport to East Lansing, Michigan on your own--carpooling encouraged. In the DC area we'd carpool out from Rockville in vehicles with bike racks on Tuesday August 27 (8-10 hour car trip), camp at East Lansing that night, leave our cars there, start the ride on Wednesday 8/28, complete the ride Sunday 9/1 and shuttle back to East Lansing and camp out, then drive back to the DC area on Monday 9/2 (Labor Day). They have one-way bus transportation from the endpoint for riders and bikes ($55 separate fee) back to East Lansing on 9/1. This is a fully-supported ride, camp areas and two meals per day (breakfast and dinner) provided. The 5-day ride is $230 per person.

Do let me know if you're interested or if you've registered -- boris.lushniak@hhs.gov.

I appreciate all the work you do as PHS officers but also your dedication to physical fitness and living the tenets of the Surgeon General's Healthy and Fit Nation and the National Prevention Strategy.

RADM Boris D. Lushniak, MD, MPH

Deputy Surgeon General

US Public Health Service

Call for Nominations for PPAC Physician Awards for 2013

03/01/2013 - COA is seeking nominations for the PPAC Physician Awards for 2013. The deadline is April 19, 2013. For further details and criteria click the link below.

Call for Nominations for PPAC Physician Awards for 2013 (pdf, 33 KB)

Phoenix Branch COA Charity Golf Tournament

02/14/2013 - The Phoenix Branch will be hosting a charity golf tournament on Sunday May 19, 2013 at the Falcon Dunes Golf Club. For more information click on the link below.

Phoenix Branch COA Charity Golf Tournament (pdf, 121 KB)

COA Branch of the Year Award

01/07/2013 - National COA is seeking nominations for Branch of the Year Award. Click below for full details and criteria. The deadline to submit a nomination is April 19, 2012.

COA Branch of the Year Criteria (pdf, 37 KB)

Registration is Now Open for USPHS Symposium, Abstract Deadline Extended

12/06/2012 - Online registration for the 2013 USPHS Scientific and Training Symposium is now open. The Symposium will be held May 21-23, 2013 at the Renaissance Hotel in Glendale, Arizona. Attendees can book room reservations online. The planning committee has also announced that the Call for Abstracts for the Symposium has been extended to December 17.

The theme for this year's conference is "Public Health Prevention and Care: Bridging the Gaps."

PHS Commissioned Corps Participate in Veteran's Day Parade in New York City

11/16/2012 - Members of the PHS Commissioned Corps Rapid Deployment Forces deployed to assist in Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts were able to find a few hours of off-duty time to join with the New York COA Branch to march in the New York City Veterans Day Parade last weekend. A total of 54 PHS officers marched in the parade as a unit with Rear Admiral Epi Elizondo, Region VI Health Administrator in the VIP reviewing stands.

Commissioned Corps Leaders Inspirational Symposium Closing Keynote

07/10/2012 - Deputy Surgeon General Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak and Director, Division of Commissioned Corps Personnel and Readiness, Rear Admiral Scott Giberson, delivered a powerful, emotional, and inspirational closing presentation wrapping up the 47th annual PHS Scientific and Training Symposium on 22 June. We were able to capture the Admirals' remarks on audio/video - not the greatest quality recording, but their must-hear message for all Corps officers comes through loud and clear. Click here to see and hear the recording - note that the sound doesn't kick in until 35 seconds after the video starts.

Former CDC Director William Foege Named COA Health Leader of the Year

07/09/2012 - The Commissioned Officers Association is pleased to announce the selection of William H. Foege, MD, MPH as the 2012 Health Leader of the Year.

COA's Health Leader of the Year Award was presented to Dr. Foege at a ceremony in Atlanta on the CDC campus on June 7th. Below is Dr. Foege's acceptance speech.

USPHS Symposium Sets Record

06/27/2012 - The 47th annual US PHS Scientific and Training Symposium held from June 19-21, 2012 on the campus of the University of Maryland set a new record for attendance. A standing room only crowd of more than 1200 gathered to hear informative messages from former Acting and Deputy Surgeon General Rear Admiral Ken Moritsugu; Captain Don Mattison, USPHS, (Ret.), Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Risk Sciences International and Associate Director of the McLaughlin Centre for Population Health Risk Assessment at the University of Ottawa; and Major General Tahir Umar, Nigerian Army Medical Corps along with Colonel Nelson Michael, Medical Corps, US Army, Director of the DoD HIV/AIDS research program. Rear Admirals Boris Lushniak, Deputy Surgeon General, and Rear Admiral Scott Giberson, Director of the Division of Commissioned Corps Personnel and Readiness, offered an especially inspirational, motivating, and challenge closing keynote presentation.

The shortened Symposium schedule was well-received by attendees as was the first-ever Symposium in an academic setting. Category Day sessions were packed despite a brief loss of air conditioning on a day of record setting heat. All attendees left exhilarated and enthused about the future and the role of the PHS Commissioned Corps.

Photo at right: (L to R) Moderator RADM Marlene Haffner, COL Nelson Michael, Captain Madeline Michael, and Major General Tahir Umar before Colonel Michael and General Umar's keynote presentation.

Member

Dr. C. Everett Koop National Memorial Service

04/09/2013 - The Dr. C. Everett Koop National Memorial Service was conducted on Saturday, 6 April 2013 at the Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, PA. A video of the service is provided here. The video is three hours long. The PHS Ensemble and Honor Cadre participated in the service. The Surgeons General tribute led by VADM Regina Benjamin, USPHS and accompanied by Surgeons General David Satcher and Antonia Novello and Acting Surgeons General Ken Moritsugu and Steven Galson begins at time 1:36:00 into the video.

Government Executive Takes up PHS Commissioned Corps Furloughs

02/12/2013 - The current on-line edition of Government Executive includes an article by investigative reporter Kellie Lunney about COA's ongoing efforts to ensure that the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) follows the law when it comes to the PHS Commissioned Corps and furloughs in the event of a govenment shutdown.

Ms. Lunney describes COA's actions to obtain a substantive reply from DHHS detailing the department's legal justification for finding that PHS officers are not exempt from furloughs when all the other six uniformed services are exempt. COA's repeated requests for answers and more transparency on this issue have been ignored by the Department. A FOIA request submitted in 2011 remains unanswered despite repeated calls from the association to the department's FOIA office.

TRICARE Dental Benefits

12/14/2012 - Good News!! PHS active duty family members are eligible for TRICARE dental benefits through Metlife.

For more information, please go to: www.metlife.com/tricare

Need Help with Absentee Voting?

10/04/2012 - Uniformed service members and their family members who seek to vote by absentee ballot in the upcoming election on November 6th can visit the Federal Voting Assistance Website at FVAP for information and assistance in obtaining absentee ballots.

Be sure to exercise your rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Every vote counts!

TRICARE Prime Fees Raise for Retired Members

10/02/2012 - TRICARE Prime fees raised by as much as 17% for some uniformed service retirees on 1 October. Affected retirees were notified in August of the impending increases, approved by Congress last year, which were set to take effect on 1 Ocotber.

PHS officer retirees who enrolled in the system on or after Oct. 1, 2011, and all new beneficiaries will pay $269.28 a year for an individual, up from $260; and $538.56 for a family, up from $520.

Those who were in Prime before Oct. 1, 2011, will see their annual fees increase from to $269.28 from $230 for individuals and to $538.56 from $460 for families.

The Obama administration had pressed for heftier increases in its proposed fiscal 2013 defense budget along with new enrollment fees for Tricare Standard, Extra and Tricare For Life, the health benefit for Medicare-eligible retirees and their families.

The proposal was struck down by the House and Senate Armed Services committees on a bipartisan basis.

Survivors of personnel who die on active duty or medically retired uniformed service members and their families are exempt from the fee increases. Their enrollment fees remain frozen at the rate they paid when first enrolled, as long as they do not have a break in Prime coverage.

The fee increase marks the second since the program was created in 1995.

Davis Named OSG Senior Policy Advisor

09/26/2012 - COA member CDR Greg Davis has been named as Senior Policy Advisor in the Division of Commissioned Corps Personnel and Readiness (DCCPR) in the Office of the Surgeon General. The announcement was made on 24 September by Rear Admiral Scott Giberson, DCCPR Director.

Davis, a pharmacist, takes over the billet formerly the Director of Commissioned Corps Force Management (OCCFM). OCCFM reported to the Assistant Secretary for Health until the reorganization announced last year. Davis has been a mainstay in OSG throughout a turbulent period which saw turnover in every senior officer billet.

Davis takes up his new repsonsibilities effective 1 October.

RADM Bob Williams to Receive Prestigious ASCE Presidents' Award

09/18/2012 - Former acting Deputy Surgeon General, Rear Admiral Bob Williams, USPHS (Ret.), has been named as the recipient of the 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Presidents' Award.

Admiral Williams currently serves as a director of the PHS Commissioned Officers Association and as a trustee and vice president of the PHS Commissioned Officers Foundation.

ASCE established the Presidents' Award during America's Bicentennial year to commemorate our nation's first president who was a civil engineer and land surveyor. The award is presented to recognize an ASCE member who has given distinguished service to the member's country.

Admiral Williams' award citation will read: "For more than 33 years of dedication and experience in the fields of environmental engineer and public health service, and his service as Chief of Staff, Office of the Surgeon General, United States Public Health Service." The award will be presented during the ASCE annual conference on October 19th in Montreal, Canada.

COA extends our hearty congratulations to Admiral Williams for this well-deserved recognition of his commitment to service.

Compensation and Medical Branches to Realign Under OSG - Achieving Long Sought COA Goal

09/14/2012 - Rear Admiral Scott Giberson, Director, Division of Commissioned Corps Personnel and Readiness (DCCPR), announced today that the Commissioned Corps Compensation and Medical Branches will be realigned under OSG/DCCPR effective October 1, 2012.

This reorganization achieves a long-sought goal of COA to return all administrative and operational headquarters functions for the Commissioned Corps under the authority of the Office of the Surgeon General.

The former Division of Commissioned Personnel (DCP) that included recruiting, assignment, policy, operations, compensation and medical functions was dismantled in 2004 by the then acting assistant secretary for health, Cristina Beato. The separation of Corps admin and ops functions among three different assistant secretaries was vigorously opposed by then Surgeon General VADM Rich Carmona as well as COA. COA's prediction that the new organzational arrangment would be dysfunctional was sadly borne out in the years that followed.

In 2008, Assistant Secretary for Health Howard Koh launched a management review of the Corps that ultimately recommended reorganizing the Corps' admin and ops functions again under OSG. The first steps were taken in 2010 when the operations and policy functions were combined again into the new DCCPR. We anticipate the integration of compensation and medical branches back into a single organzational structure resposnble to the Surgeon General will result in improved efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability.

Surgeon General Announces 19 Flag Officer Promotions

08/28/2012 - Vice Admiral Regina Benjamin has announced the results of the recent PHS Commissioned Corps Flag Officer Promotion Board. The announcement, released on 27 August, lists 12 officers selected for Rear Admiral lower half (O-7) and seven officers selected for promotion to Rear Admiral upper half (O-8). This may be the largest number of flag officer promotions in one year in recent memory, and perhaps the most ever promoted in one year in the history of the PHS Commissioned Corps.

Nearly all of the new flag officers, 17 of 19, are longtime COA members.

"This action signals renewed confidence in the PHS Commissioned Corps as an institution," said Jerry Farrell, COA Executive Director. "It reconstitutes the Corps' most senior leadership ranks, which had been rapidly declining in number over the last three years." Farrell also said the significant size of the selection list is a tribute to the leadership of both the Surgeon General and the Deputy Surgeon General, RADM Boris Lushniak. Both have been campaigning for more than a year to advance the flag officer selection and promotion process and get it back on track.

Surgeon General Announces 19 Flag Officers (pdf, 81 KB)

Other

BASIC AND APPLIED SCIENCES PROFESSIONAL ADVISORY GROUP

04/29/2013 - The Basic and Applied Sciences Professional Advisory Group (BASPAG) provides advice to the Surgeon General, through the Health Services Professional Advisory Committee (HS PAC), and the Health Services Chief Professional Officer on professional and personnel issues related to Public Health Service officers working in basic and applied science disciplines. Selections will be made by the BASPAG Voting Members and will be based on the nominees’ commitment to public health, to advancing the goals of fellow officers in the basic and applied science disciplines, and other specified criteria (e.g., prior involvement with BASPAG, discipline, gender, and minority representation). Click the link below for full details.

BASPAG Self-Nomination Form for Voting Membership (pdf, 230 KB)

Memorial Service for former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop

03/26/2013 - A State Funeral/Memorial Service for former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop (October 14, 1916 - February 25, 2013), will be held at Tenth Presbyterian Church on Saturday, April 6, 2:00 pm. Prelude music will begin at 1:30 pm. The service will be webcast live, and an active link will appear on our webcast page between 1:15 and 1:30 pm EDT that day. You may test this in advance at any of our Sunday service times by clicking the link below. Cards and letters of condolence for Cora Hogue Koop may be sent to: Koop Institute of Dartmouth, 7025 Parker House, Hanover, NH 03755.

2013 COA Board of Directors Election

03/25/2013 - The 2013 COA Board of Directors election is now open. Click the link below to view the nominee's profiles and cast your vote. In many cases, contested vacancies are won by a mere handful of votes. Your vote does count. Please use it! Vote today for the PHS officers who will help guide your COA for the next three years.

Cast Your Vote (pdf, 149 KB)

Mobile TSP "App" Warning

03/15/2013 - The following warning from DCCPR is repeated for our member's benefit:

"Warning: the Apple App store is offering a TSP App not sanctioned by TSP -- A free iPhone App, TSP Funds, currently being offered through the Apple App store asks TSP participants for their account login information. This app is not being offered through the TSP and the TSP does not recommend using this application to access your TSP account. Providing this information could result in a security risk to your account."

The Public Health Service (PHS) Commissioned Officers Foundation (COF) is Seeking Nominations for the 2013 Carruth Wagner and Mabel May Wagner Awards - Deadline Extended to March 22, 2013

03/08/2013 - The Public Health Service (PHS) Commissioned Officers Foundation (COF) is seeking Nominations for the 2013 Carruth Wagner and Mabel May Wagner Awards. Deadline for submission of Nominations: March 22, 2013. For further details and criteria, click on the link below.

Nominations for the 2013 Carruth Wagner and Mabel May Wagner Awards (doc, 52 KB)

COA Seeks Nominations for Board of Directors

03/07/2013 - COA is seeking nominations for the Board of Directors. For full details and criteria, please click the link below. Deadline is March 15, 2013.

COA Seeks Nominations for the Board of Directors (pdf, 222 KB)

Death of RADM Steve Thacker, USPHS (Ret)

02/25/2013 - RADM Steve Thacker, USPHS (Ret), Director of the Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Service at CDC and a world renowned public health leader, passed away on February 15, 2013 at his home in Atlanta after a long illness.

Celebrating the PHS Engineer Centennial

02/19/2013 - PHS Engineers are celebrating their Centennial Year. To view the message from the Assistant Secretary for Health and the Surgeon General, click on link below:

The Centennial of PHS Engineering (pdf, 98 KB)

Call for Nominations for BCOAG Awards 2013 - Deadline: March 7

01/29/2013 - The Black Commissioned Officers Advisory Group (BCOAG) is accepting nominations for the George I. Lythcott Award, the Hildrus A. Poindexter Award, and the Retired Public PHS Officer Recognition Award. Award nominations are due Thursday, March 7, 2013 and should be submitted electronically to LCDR Tarsha Cavanaugh at tcavanaugh@hrsa.gov. Self-nominations are accepted. Nomination packages are available at the link below.

Call for Nominations for the 2013 Carruth Wagner and Mabel May Wagner Awards

01/28/2013 - The PHS Commissioned Officers Foundation (COF) is pleased to announce a call for nominations for the 2013 Carruth Wagner and Mabel May Wagner Awards. The five Carruth Wagner awards are named in honor of Dr. Carruth Wagner who dedicated his life to improving the health of the Nation. During his 30-year service to the U.S. Government and later contributions to the California Department of Health, he championed the development of medical professionals, future leaders, health policy and innovative public health improvements. He recognized that all levels of health professionals have the capacity to influence, and improve, the health of communities. Dr. Wagner served as the second Director of the Indian Health Service (1962 – 1965), and is credited as a pioneer in developing innovative education and training techniques designed to enhance quality health care providers and proficient management systems to improve health care delivery systems. The Mabel May Wagner award was established in 1979 and is open to all professional nurses in the USPHS who are engaged in clinical nursing practice.

Each of the Carruth Wagner and Mabel May Wagner Awards will include a $1,000 cash award and will require the awardee to complete an Ethics Review Form to be endorsed by their respective agency’s Ethics Officer before the cash award can be received.

Click below for complete details and criteria

Nominations for the 2013 Carruth Wagner and Mabel May Wagner Awards (pdf, 546 KB)

Call for Nominations for PPAC Physician Awards for 2013

01/17/2013 - The Physicians Professional Advisory Committee (PPAC) to the Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) is seeking nominations for four physician awards. These awards will be presented on category day at the USPHS Scientific and Training Symposium (www.phscofevents.org) at the Glendale, Arizona. The awards will honor either Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) civil service employees or physicians of the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service (Corps). Click below for details and criteria.

2013 PPAC Physician Awards Details and Criteria (pdf, 33 KB)

COA Seeks Nominations for the Board of Directors

01/11/2013 - National COA is seeking nominations for the Board of Directors. Click below for full details and criteria. The deadline to submit a nomination is March 15, 2013.

COA Board Nomination Documents (pdf, 36 KB)

JOAG 2013 Call for Award Nominations

01/06/2013 - JOAG Junior Officer of the Year Award JOAG Excellence Award JOAG VADM Richard H. Carmona Inspiration Award Nomination Deadline: Monday, January 28, 2013

2013 JOAG Call for Award Nominations (pdf, 155 KB)

Asian Pacific American Officers Committee - Call for Voting Member Nominations

06/27/2012 -

Click here for the full details. (pdf, 34 KB)

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