NDAA
NDAA 2020: The Latest on TRICARE, Medical Billet Cuts, and More
Here’s a link to this article from MOAA:
NDAA 2020: The Latest on TRICARE, Medical Billet Cuts, and More
MOAA – Defense Bills: House and Senate Versions Compared
Here’s an article that compares the House and Senate versions of the NDAA 20. Here are the two bullets most readers would care about:
- A pay raise win. Summaries from leaders of both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees pledge that their final legislation will include a 3.1% military pay raise, which would align with the administration’s FY 2020 budget request and with MOAA efforts to sustain pay comparability with the private sector. While nothing’s settled until passage, this appears to be one of few issues that won’t be affected by ongoing debate – a key House member said as much at a recent news event.
- Halfway on health care? While House Armed Services Committee (HASC) members included language that would put a stop to a proposal to cut up to 18,000 medical billets, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) has not. House committee members shared MOAA’s concerns about the potential consequences of cutting roughly 20 percent of the military’s medical force. They included language requiring DoD to study the issue further and report back to Congress.
What the HASC Version of NDAA 20 Says About Medical Billet Cuts
Here is a summary of the House Armed Service Committee’s (HASC’s) version of the FY20 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bullet point about medical billets says:
– Prohibits the Secretary of Defense and the Secretaries of the military departments from realigning or reducing military medical end strength until analyses are conducted on potential manpower realignments and the availability of health care services in the local area.
Health Care Transition Looks to Improve Processes for Wartime Missions, Beneficiaries
Here’s a link to this DoD article about the changes we’re all in the middle of:
Health Care Transition Looks to Improve Processes for Wartime Missions, Beneficiaries
DoD Restructures Management of Medical Treatment Facilities
Here’s a link to the article:
US News & World Report: Pentagon Plans Massive Reorganization of Military Medicine
Here’s a link to this recent and controversial article:
Transformation Underway Across the Military Health System
This is a really good article by the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs that summarizes all the changes we are experiencing. If you feel like you could benefit from a good summary of what is going on, read this article:
Stripes.com Article – Military Pay Raise, 15,000 New Troops, Promotion Reforms: 5 Key Aspects of the 2019 Defense Budget
Here’s a link to the article, and here’s the most relevant sections for us:
With a 2.6 percent pay raise in place, which is slated to go into effect Jan. 1, servicemembers will see their wages increase at its highest level in nine years.
Servicemembers should see the increases in their first paychecks of the new year on Jan. 15, 2019.
“It clearly signals that Congress wants military pay to be competitive,” said Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Washington think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The pay increases still aren’t as high as ones in 2008, 2009 and 2010, when servicemembers saw hikes of 3.4 percent or more. Also, servicemembers’ pay raises will compete against rises in inflation. On Friday, the Department of Labor reported the cost of living rose 2.9 percent for the year ending in June 2018.
“Always tough to get it right, because we will not know the inflation rate for calendar year 2019 until January 2020,” said Andrew Sherbo, a University of Denver finance professor who has tracked government and defense budget issues.
Under the plan, an E-5 with 8 years of service could see their monthly basic pay rise $80.81 a month from $3,126.16 in 2018 to $3,206.97 in 2019, or an annual gain of $969.72, Sherbo estimated.
The legislation also directs benefit improvements and personnel reforms. For example, it enhances reforms of the Military Health System and installs the most widespread changes to the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act since it was enacted in 1980.
DOPMA, which standardized military promotions across the armed forces, will now let the services use civilian experience to establish new ranks for entering servicemembers, let certain officers promote faster and the expectation of retirement if a servicemember fails to promote twice could be removed.
In addition, servicemembers could also see higher per diem reimbursements in cases where they travel more than 30 days under the NDAA’s changes.
Military Times – Pentagon Braces for Massive Change to Officer Promotions
Here’s a link to this article:
Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog 