Disability compensation for military veterans would increase under a bill that passed in the House Tuesday. The "Veterans Benefits Act of 2000," (H.R. 4850), would increase disability compensation rates for veterans with service-connected disabilities beginning in December. Survivors of disabled veterans would also benefit from the bill, which would increase rates for dependency and indemnity compensation.
The bill also includes measures that would:
- Provide a monthly compensation for the service-connected loss of one or both breasts due to a radical mastectomy.
- Allow for a stroke or heart attack suffered by a reservist during inactive duty training to be considered a service-connected disability.
- Allow certain members of the Individual Ready Reserve to participate in the service members group life insurance program.
The House also passed a measure, H.R. 4864, that would help veterans with disability claims get their claims approved and receive assistance from VA. The bill requires the VA Secretary to obtain relevant records and make efforts to obtain other evidence identified by the claimant at no cost to the claimant.
TSP Waiting Game
A measure to eliminate certain waiting-period requirements for participating in the Thrift Savings Plan has passed in the Senate. A similar bill, H.R. 208, passed in the House in June. Both the House and Senate versions of the bill would allow federal employees to begin participating in the TSP immediately after being hired, rather than waiting a year, as current law requires.
La SAMBA
A health plan sponsored by the Special Agents Mutual Benefit Association (SAMBA), made waves on Capitol Hill this week. The SAMBA plan, a small player in the federal employees health benefits program, wants the authority to use a federal supply schedule to purchase drugs at a discounted rate.
The Office of Personnel Management has approved the request as a two-year pilot program. Since the Veterans Affairs Department has the authority to administer health-related FSS contracts for the federal community, both VA and OPM will have oversight of the pilot program.
The ultimate goal of the pilot is to determine if a schedule similar to the FSS can be established to provide pharmacy benefits to the entire FEHBP community.
The pharmaceutical industry isn't happy. "Giving SAMBA, and ultimately all FEHBP plans, access to federal drug prices under the FSS not only will dismantle our pharmaceutical market, it promises to damage the VA and its ability to provide cost effective care to veterans," Dr. Robert B. Betz, executive director of the Health Industry Group Purchasing Association, said in written testimony before the House Veterans Affairs Health Subcommittee.
To read the witnesses' testimony, click here.
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