Vol. XXXV No. 5 MOAA FIVE STAR AWARD 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 May 2010

MAY JUNE JULY/AUGUST

Schedule of Events

Visit our website at: www.kosmoaa.org

KOS KOMMENTS Jim Chandler, CDR, USNR (Ret.), Chapter President

YourBoardTakesDirectAction

(Continued on page 7)

NO JULY or AUGUST KOS or KOS Plus MEETINGS

Stuff the Bus at various locations on July 10, 17, 24, 31 and August 7 and 11. Watch Sunbeams for details.

KOS/KOS Plus Dinner (Scholarships) Meeting6:00 P.M. at Ocala Elks

3 –

KOS Board Meeting12:30 P.M., Elks Club

8 –

KOS Luncheon12:00 Noon, Social12:30 P.M., Lunch Elks Club

6 –

KOS Board Meeting12:30 P.M., Elks Club

11 –

Florida Council of Chapters MOAA Convention, Ft. Meyers

21 to22

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For many months, your Board of Directors have been trying to figure ways to have the Chapter stay within budget and at least maintain our membership levels. Some of our largest expenditures are related to printing

and mailing this newsletter. However, we know that Sunbeams is the main reason for many members to pay their annual dues. It is an excellent way for our membership to keep informed about the Chapter, Council of Chapters, and MOAA activities.

If everyone could or would read their Sunbeams issue over the Internet, costs would go way down. We therefore will continue to encourage our members to receive their copy of the newsletter over the Internet. In fact, from now on, all courtesy copies of Sunbeams (like to other chapters and to advertisers) will be via Internet. But we realize not all of

our membership is comfortable with the computer and feel that the newsletter cost is included in their membership dues. Some clearly would prefer to receive a “hard copy.” We briefly toyed with the idea of charging a “subscription fee” of $3.00 to $5.00 to those who preferred the hard copy, but decided that this would amount to increased dues for some, and not for others.

In general, we were looking for ways for Sunbeams to break even in costs, and to cut down the work involved in publishing and mailing ten copies a year. We also judged that there was little likelihood of members bringing in a significant

increase in paid newsletter advertisers, especially with the current status of the economy. Our solution is to switch to six copies of our newsletter a year, and publish in the months of January, March, May, July, September, and November. Also, it may be that we will add another four pages to each issue, if we can gain sufficient advertisers. We hope to begin this new program in May 2010, but I will discuss this issue further with the membership at our May meeting to see if there are major objections.

While we gained about ten new members over the past year, we

SUNBEAMS PAGE 2 May 2010

Kingdom of the Sun Chapter, MOAAPO Box 114, Ocala, Florida 34478-0114

SUNBEAMS is published monthly for the information of the members of Kingdom of the Sun (KOS) Chapter, an affiliate of The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA). The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of either organization.

SUNBEAMS is printed by the Concord Press of Ocala, Florida. KOS is a nonprofit organization, incorporated under the laws of the State of Florida on 13 April 1976. It is not associated with the Department of Defense. It is mailed as Third Class bulk mail at the U.S. Post Office, Ocala, Florida under Permit #122.

Editor:COL Tilford Smith (Army), 237-8726Email: cynford@stonecreekfl.com

Legislation & Assistant Editor:LTC Philip Johnson (Army), 854-3403Email: pjohnson130@cfl.rr.com

Publisher:Kingdom of the Sun Chapter of MOAAChapter Officers:PRESIDENT: CDR James Chandler, (Navy)237-31391st V.P.: CPT John Rose, (Army)307-61302nd V.P.: LTC Arlo Janssen, (Army)237-9720SECRETARY: CDR Robert Buerger, (Navy)368-6752TREASURER: LCDR Kathryn Oswald, (Navy)694-2639

Directors:COL Tilford Smith (Army), 237-8726LTC Philip Johnson (Army), 854-3403MAJ Alan Heneisen, CHC (Army), 680-0747MAJ Louis Share (Army), 873-0969CW5 Richard Russell (Army), 854-6267CW2 Jerry Furlong (Army)Immediate Past PresidentLTC Kendall (Ken) McIntyre (Army)753-4542

Meetings:The Kingdom of the Sun Chapter (MOAA),

meets monthly on the first Thursday of the month. Dates, times and occasions are announced in advance in the SUNBEAMS.

Members are encouraged to attend and guests are always welcome. Meetings are usually suspended during the summer months of July and August. The KOS Board currently meets monthly on the second Tuesday of each month at 12:30 P.M. at the Ocala Elks Club. Officers and Board Members are required to attend.

KOS PLUSBetty Hayes, KOS Plus President

Visit our website at: www.kosmoaa.org

We wished to honor her service to our country and to thank her

and her sister pilots for their courageous, and at that time,

daring undertaking.

T he annual April joint meeting of KOS and KOS PLUS at Stumpknockers was well attended. There were 67 reservations. It is always a pleasure to greet members that we haven’t seen for some time who attend this event. Come to our regular luncheons too.

The invocation was co-shared by the Presidents of each organization, who also led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. The seated mini scavenger hunt was a fun way to start off April Fool’s Day. If you were a winner, have you played with your Crackerjack toy yet?

In March, your Officers and Board voted to send a donation of $25.00 towards the WASP WW ll Memorial in Sweetwater, Texas. This was sent in honor of Marguerite Bernhardt (90 years young) who lives in the Ocala area. Unfortunately travel costs kept her from attending the ceremony in Washington, DC to receive the Congressional Gold Medal for her service during World War ll. We wished to honor her service to our country and to thank her and her sister pilots for their courageous, and at that time, daring undertaking. If you missed reading about Marguerite, reference the article in the Sunday, March 28, 2010, issue of the Ocala Star-Banner, Section 1A. Our program chair is trying to arrange having Marguerite join us in a future luncheon.

There will be no regular luncheon on the third Thursday of April, but your Board will be meeting in April for a planning session for the rest of the year’s activities. We will, at that

time, propose three (3) names to form a nominating committee. This will give this group until August to formulate a proposed Slate of Officers and Board Members for 2011, which will be published in the September issue of Sunbeams. If you have an interest in serving in any position, please call me or our Secretary Lois Powers. We welcome your willing participation

to serve your organization.As we close our luncheon

meetings for the summer, until we meet again in September, we wish you: a summer filled with laughing friends, new places to visit, and good times with your families. And above all, the best of health to each of you.MEMORY JOGGER: Welcome back Luncheon Meeting, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010.BOARD MEETING: AUGUST 19, 2010.

IN MEMORIAMIt is with deep regret that we report

the following death:Mrs. Doris Squazzo, of wife of Vincent (LtCol USAF) died on

Tuesday, April 6,2010.

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SUNBEAMS PAGE 3 May 2010

MOAA on TRICARE Impacts of National Health Reform2010/03/23 15:27:00

MOAA’s Member Service Center has been inundated with phone calls and e-mails asking how the recently passed national health reform legislation will affect military and VA beneficiaries. It’s very early on in the process, and we don’t have all the answers yet, but here are the best available answers to your most frequently asked questions.General Effects on TRICARE and VA careQ1. I heard the new legislation will roll TRICARE into a massive government health care program. Is this true?A1. Definitely not.Q2. I’ve seen message traffic saying the new legislation poses a “sneak attack on TRICARE.” Is that true?A2. The Senate bill language has been public for months, and we don’t believe there was any intent to disadvantage TRICARE beneficiaries, though it didn’t explicitly state that TRICARE is “qualifying coverage.” Just to make it clear, the House unanimously passed separate legislation on March 20, deeming TRICARE as “qualifying coverage” under the new law. On the Senate side, S. 3148 and S. 3162 have just been introduced to deem TRICARE “qualifying coverage”. MOAA has written letters of support and we are hopefully they will pass the Senate soon. Defense Secretary Gates has issued a statement asserting that health reform “won’t have a negative effect on TRICARE.”

Everyone in the Administration and in the House and Senate, of both parties, agrees TRICARE and VA coverage must be held harmless. But there’s been inevitable debate among legislators about who cares most and who’s doing what to protect troops and vets.

MOAA doesn’t care who gets the credit for making sure TRICARE

is protected, and we take political hyperbole on both sides with an appropriate grain of saltQ3. What does deeming TRICARE as “qualifying coverage” mean?A3. Under the new legislation, people who don’t have qualifying coverage will have to pay a financial penalty. Since TRICARE and VA coverage will be qualifying coverage, those beneficiaries won’t be subject to the penalty.Q4. How about VA care?A4. The new legislation states that care rendered under title 38 of the US Code (VA care) is also qualifying coverage.Q5. I’ve seen message traffic saying that the new law will end TRICARE as of 2014, and that TRICARE beneficiaries will then have to buy other coverage. Is that true?A5. That’s definitely NOT true. There’s nothing like that in the new law.Q6. Can I expect my TRICARE enrollment fee, premiums, deductibles or co-pays to go up because of this legislation?A6. No, there’s nothing in the legislation that would change any TRICARE fees.

That said, it’s unrealistic to think that TRICARE fees will never go up, even if retired pay doubles or triples over a retiree’s lifetime. But it will be deficit concerns and DoD budget problems, not national health reform, that drive any future changes in TRICARE fees.Q7. What’s MOAA doing to make sure beneficiaries aren’t negatively affected by the national health reform legislation?A7. MOAA has pushed House and Senate leaders for much of the past year to make sure that language was included in any health care debate to protect the unique nature of military and VA health benefits and prevent taxation of those benefits.(Continued on page 4)

LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS(Excerpts from MOAA’s email updates, Copyright © Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) or from other sources as cited).

SUNBEAMS PAGE 4 May 2010

We’ve generated more than 100,000 messages to Congress on that topic so far – more than any other association. That strong membership support has gotten results, as the combination of legislation already passed and legislation about to be finished by the Senate substantially accomplishes those objectives. Effects on TRICARE For Life and MedicareQ8. Is TFL also “qualifying coverage” under the new law?A8. Yes. Both Medicare and TFL are expressly deemed as such under the legislation already passed by both the House and Senate.Q9. I understand Medicare is cut $500 billion under the new law. Won’t that have to cut payments to doctors and threaten TFL?A9. It’s true that the new law reduces Medicare spending by about that much, but most of those changes are relatively less painful ones that probably won’t affect TRICARE or TFL beneficiaries much.

They include $118 billion from eliminating the extra subsidy to the Medicare Advantage HMO program (which was sold to Congress as a cost-saver, but actually costs 14% more per person than Standard Medicare), cutting about $150 billion from non-rural hospitals (which the hospital associations say they can handle because expanding insurance coverage to most Americans will mean they won’t have to eat the cost of serving the uninsured), and cutting back abuses in medical equipment (under current systems, Medicare will buy you a wheelchair you may only need a few months, or allow a company to rent you one for life for a permanent condition). These are things most of us would probably push to consider if it were our own money paying for them (which it actually is).Q10. Are you saying that the funding cut won’t affect Medicare beneficiaries at all?A10. No. But the implications are probably longer-term ones than shorter-term ones.

The real issue under national health reform is that the money from these

Medicare savings will be used to fund expansion of health insurance coverage to those who don’t have it now instead of being used to pay for needed fixes to Medicare.

It’s hard to argue that reducing the number of uninsured would be a bad thing. But using the relatively “easy” Medicare savings initiatives to fund that means that when the baby boomers start swamping Medicare and Social Security in the next few years, Congress will be forced to look at more painful ways to fund that need.

And that’s something that will be considered by the debt commission that is supposed to make recommendations by Dec. 1 on how to reduce the national debt. It’s that coming commission that we think will really create some tough options for all Americans, and the military is unlikely to escape unscathed. We’ll be keeping an eye on that and keeping our members informed.Medicare/TRICARE Payments to DoctorsQ11. Is it true that the new legislation cuts payments to doctors by 21%?A11. No, that’s NOT true. In fact, it’s the PREVIOUS law that calls for a 21% cut in Medicare and TRICARE payments to doctors as of April 1. Congress is working on separate legislation to prevent that from happening.Q12. What’s the status of legislation to reverse the 21% cut in Medicare/TRICARE payments to doctors?A12. The Senate has passed legislation putting off the date of the cut from April 1 until October 1. The House has passed legislation putting it off only until May 1. Our sources tell us the Senate will pass the May 1 legislation.

One problem is that Congress is scheduled to take a two-week recess, and the April 1 deadline will occur right in the middle of the recess. So the short-term solution likely will be to “kick the can” for a month and take it up again when Congress returns after recess.

Getting a longer-term fix for the doctor payment problem remains MOAA’s #1 health care priority.

(TRICARE (Continued from page 3)

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Q13. Are there any changes in the new law that will affect payments to providers?A13. Yes, there are some changes to periodic “market basket” and other assumptions that affect annual adjustments. These would generally tend to dampen annual increases over time, based on the assumption that productivity will improve over time. This is probably a weak assumption, given past experience with such things. If the expected productivity increases don’t materialize, Congress may have to revisit these assumptions in the future.

On the other hand, the new legislation sustains a 5% increase in payments to mental health providersPhysical, Speech, and Occupational TherapyQ14. Does the new legislation do anything to fix the current $1,860 cap on annual Medicare payments for outpatient physical, speech, and occupational therapy?A14. Yes, the new legislation allows an exception to the cap (until Dec. 31, 2010) for medically necessary therapy. That’s a big relief for accident and stroke victims who can run up big therapy bills quickly. But it means we’ll have to get another extension before the end of the year.Coverage for Children until Age 26Q15. I understand the new health care bill allows adult children to stay on their parent’s healthcare plan until age 26 if their employers don’t offer insurance. Will TRICARE adopt this policy?A15. Yes, we expect TRICARE will do that.Q16. When would I be able to take advantage of that new TRICARE option?A16. It’s hard to say at this point. It will take a law change (Rep. Martin Heinrich (NM-1) has introduced H.R. 4923, the TRICARE Dependent Coverage Extension Act), and the vehicle may be the FY2011 Defense Authorization Act, which probably won’t become law until at least October, if not later.

Then, the Pentagon would have to negotiate a change to the TRICARE contract and issue new regulations, and get computers and finance systems changed. For past changes, that has taken anywhere from 12 to 24 months.

So it could be 12 to 24 months or more before the change takes effect for TRICARE.

Because such children aren’t military dependents we expect the parent would be charged the full premium, which at this point is too early to guess, for TRICARE.Q17. Is there anything I can do now to cover a child who is about to “age out” of TRICARE?A17. Yes. TRICARE already offers coverage for people who lose TRICARE eligibility because of separation or children who lose eligibility because of age. It’s called the Continued Health Care Benefit Program (CHCBP).

CHCBP is renewable in quarterly increments and costs about $933 a quarter for an individual – but you have to sign up for it within a pretty short time after losing eligibility. If you have a child who’s now age 25, that child doesn’t qualify for CHCBP.

MOAA’s MEDIPLUS® TRICARE SupplementQ18. Will the new legislation affect my MEDIPLUS® TRICARE supplement in any way?A18. At this point it’s too early to know for sure. We don’t think there will be any negative impact, but we’re working to verify this with our insurance provider.

(TRICARE (Continued from page 4)

Visit our website at: www.kosmoaa.org

SUNBEAMS PAGE 6 May 2010

As I See It — A Fast Track to a Train WreckBy Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF-Ret.

For the past six months, much of the country has been fixated (for or against) on national health care reform. However, since the game-changing Senate election in Massachusetts, the focus has switched to the economy and jobs. Lost in the middle has been a bipartisan initiative that’s far more likely to be the focus of our collective attention a year or more down the road: a special commission to recommend ways to reduce the national debt. As initially proposed by the senior Republican and Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, Congress would have been required statutorily to act quickly on the recommendations, with only limited time for debate and no opportunity for amendments. That “fast-track” plan didn’t gather enough votes to make it into law. President Obama (who supported the proposal) subsequently asserted he will establish a commission by executive order, and congressional leaders have agreed to bring its recommendations to a congressional vote.

Some have dismissed an executive-created commission as a weak-kneed version of the original plan. Without the fast-track teeth, critics say, Congress never will be able to make the hard budget decisions necessary to bring out-of-control deficit spending back into line with revenues. There’s no denying Congress finds it hard to cut spending on Medicare and Social Security. But that’s not such a bad thing, in my book. Those are tough decisions that shouldn’t be taken lightly, either by legislators or commissioners. Those who make such decisions need to be accountable for their rationale and relative priorities, and the tough decisions need to be explained to — and accepted by — the public, who will have to swallow them.

Beware of the people who want to jam big changes through Congress in a hurry with little time for thought or debate. There’s an agenda there, and it’s crafted by people whose personal circumstances likely will shield them from bearing much of

the consequences. There’s a lot of knee-jerk reaction about balancing the budget and cutting deficits. The focus is usually on cutting government spending without raising taxes.

But what would that mean? Let’s take a look back at the federal budget for 2008 (to avoid getting wrapped up in the latest round of bailouts and stimulus spending that eventually will subside anyway). According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), 21 percent of the 2008 federal budget went toward defense and national security. That’s not likely to change in wartime — unless the government decides it’s time to bring most of the troops home and cut the force.In addition, the CBO says:• 21 percent went to Social Security;• 20 percent went to Medicare, Medicaid, and child health programs;• 11 percent went to “safety-net” programs — Social Security disability, food stamps, school lunch programs, earned income tax credit, etcetera;• 8 percent went to pay interest on the national debt;• 6 percent went to federal and military retirement/survivor programs and VA benefits; and• 3 percent went to transportation and infrastructure, another 3 percent to scientific and medical research, and 2 percent to education.

That left 6 percent for everything else in government operations. It’s pretty easy to identify a billion here and a billion there in obvious pork spending. But that’s a tiny drop in the bucket compared to what actually will have to be done to balance the budget. When crunch time comes, the real issue won’t be how much to cut, but how to most fairly share the pain across all segments of the country. And when the public is asked to look at options to make significant cuts in grandma’s Social Security and Medicare benefits, the first consideration will be, “What are other/additional options to share the pain across all segments of America?” If big Social Security and Medicare cuts are to be on the table (and we’re talking much more severe kinds of things than the relatively modest $50 billion-a-year Medicare cuts in the (Continued on page 7)

KOS LuncheonOcala Elks Club (702 NE 25th Avenue, Ocala)

Thursday, May 6, 2010Cocktails (Cash Bar) 12:00 P.M. (Noon)

Lunch 12:30 P.MMenu

Cole SlawChicken Cordon BleuGrilled New Potato

Fried ZucchiniRolls and Butter

Iced Tea and Hot CoffeeDessert

PROGRAMThe speaker at the May Luncheon is Matthew Wardell, Conductor

and Music Director of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra (OSO). He was installed as the new conductor of the OSO in the summer of 2009. He is a member of the American Symphony Orchestra

League and the College Orchestra Association.

Reservations Required – $14.00 per personRESERVATION POLICY: Reservations must be made no later than Monday, May 3, 20 10. For reservations, please call LTC Arlo Janssen at Telephone 237-9720. Please remember that a reservation made is a reservation to be paid.

SUNBEAMS PAGE 7 May 2010

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appear to be facing the loss of about twenty former members. When we look to reasons for members lapsing, we generally find that they are

President (Continued from page 1)

deceased, moving to other states into assisted living or relative’s homes, or simply not functioning well enough to participate due to old age.

We feel need to maintain or increase our attendance at meetings. Beginning with the May meeting, we will randomly select the name of a member from out rolls. If that member is present they will receive a $25.00 prize. If that person is not there to claim the prize, $5.00 will be added to the pot. Thus, next meeting, someone could win $30.00. In this way, the pot keeps building until we get a winner. Then, the pot goes back to $25.00, and the whole thing begins again. We hope this contest will gain us attendance at dinners and luncheons.

May’s membership meeting will include a presentation of our 2009 Five Star Award by the Council President. We must be careful not to take such awards for granted — they have involved a lot of effort by many members.

Kay and I will be heading off to the 2010 Council of Chapters Convention

national health care reform proposals), there’s not much else that won’t be.

For example, it could include relooking at how much we’re willing to spend to be the world’s police force in increasingly unpopular wars, how much taxes are required from individuals and businesses, how much we’re willing to spend on military and VA benefits, cutbacks in annuitant COLAs, and much, much more. Those will be extremely tough decisions, and it’s no small possibility the final outcome will be an across-the-board budget train wreck. But every single one of us is a passenger on that train.

If we hope to get any rational consensus on how to minimize the wreckage, the fast track is the last track we should want.

Fast Track (Continued from page 6)

on the 21st and 22nd in Ft. Meyers. This is a good chance to let other chapters know how hard we work for MOAA’s goals and to better our community. We hope to have many of you join us there.