How much should you expect in TRICARE fee increases in 2024? TRICARE open season for 2024 runs between November 13 and December 12 2023. During open season, servicemembers and their families can start, modify, or cancel health insurance without needing a qualifying life event. But even if you don’t need to add or change your… Read more »
In November 2023, Military.com noted there are less than 120 thousand World War Two-era veterans alive today. In the same month, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that those 120 million vets may now qualify for free healthcare from the VA thanks to the 2022 Cleland-Dole Act, which requires the federal government to provide no-cost… Read more »
Update: Federal Benefits Open Season is now closed. On Wednesday, November 15, 2023, the Senate approved a stopgap spending bill and sent it to the President’s desk for signature. The bill extended the current operation of the U.S. government in a two-tiered fashion, with the last of the temporary funding expiring in February 2024. The… Read more »
Multiple sources report as many as 40 thousand veterans, and surviving family members have been overpaid by the Department of Veterans Affairs since 2011. These beneficiaries are typically those who qualify for VA pensions, and now the VA is trying to decide what to do about the overpayments. Typically, when the VA overpays a benefit,… Read more »
Totally disabled veterans may qualify to have federal student loans forgiven under a Department of Education (DOE) program. In 2021, the DoE announced a plan to forgive federal student loans for those rated as totally disabled, whether veteran or civilian. There are more than 300 thousand student loan borrowers with a total and permanent disability,… Read more »
Qualifying disabled service members may be offered VA life insurance without having to pay a premium. This applies to those retiring or separating from the military. Learn more.
A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) indicates that Guard and Reserve VA claims are less likely to be approved than their active duty counterparts. That might sound like discrimination at first glance, but the reality of the situation seems to be related in part to a lack of awareness in the Guard/Reserve of… Read more »
The Department of Veterans Affairs is warning against rising numbers associated with a type of veteran benefits scam called “payment redirection fraud.” Due to increased volume in VA claims, a higher profile for those claims thanks to headlines about the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (PACT Act), and other factors, VA.gov notes,… Read more »
Update 2/22/24 U.S. Transportation Command has announced a series of test moves under the new PCS contractor, HomeSafe Alliance. A series of test PCS moves begins in March 2024 at select U.S. military bases after the contractor announced it had solved critical issues with web-based apps developed to help military families track their household goods…. Read more »
Most who join the United States military are subject to annual fitness testing to ensure troops meet basic physical standards. The Department of Defense has developed a new hearing test program featuring scheduled “fit testing” to maintain readiness; this one doesn’t require push ups or running. It’s an audio test to detect hearing loss. The… Read more »