s column by paul lietz - e-9er'stheda victor.....11/24 billie musslewhite .....11/25 karen...

November 2018

Volume 21, Issue 11

Election day is now upon us. Please remember to vote. In many ways the local elections have the most immediate effect on you. They decide how your property and sales taxes are spent. They decide the quality of life for its citizen as far as social services, police protection, fire protection, schools and roads. These are things that affect your daily life. So please remember to vote and do some research on the candidates and the propositions. Please don’t make a decision based on TV commercials. They distort and bend the truth and sometime outright lie. So please do your own research. A good non-political, non-profit website to go to is www.votesmart.org. It just states the facts and opinions of each candidate.

There is one proposition I would like to talk about – Proposition 111

(Limits on Payday Loan Charges). Payday loan centers purposely target active military personnel. If you go to any big military base's main gate you will find several of these loan shark businesses. In Colorado the current limit for interest rates for a loan is 36%. Some how these loan centers have skirted around this by charging a flat fee instead of an interest rate. They charge $119 per loan no matter what the value of the loan. This works out to interest rates of between 129% to 200%. They require the borrower to give them access to their bank account to recover these loans. Military personnel who use these services are really digging themselves a big hole, which can lead to major problems. Proposition 111 will require these loan centers to only charge 36% interest rate. So please vote in favor of Proposition 111 (yes vote).

Turn out for our meetings continue to be very good. Please attend

whenever you can. Hope all is well with everyone.

THE E-9ERS ASSOCIATION

NEXT MONTHLY MEETING

November 28, 2018

11:00 AM

Mr. Panda Restaurant 2852 S Havana St

Aurora CO

The E-9ers of Colorado

www.e9ers.org

The E-9ers Officers The following officers of the E-9ers Association are interested in hearing from you and what suggestions that you may have to improve our group. If you have any thoughts that you would like to share, please give one or more of them a call. They would love to hear from you. President: Paul Lietz 303-456-9588 [email protected] Vice President: Dick Stephenson 303-669-5727 [email protected] Secretary: Shirley Patenaude 720-851-9541 [email protected] Treasurer: Ann Kelm 303-955-2514 [email protected] Membership Director: Jack Hunter 303-797-3136 [email protected] Program Director: Bob Olsen 303-503-4884 [email protected] Social Director: Ann Kelm 303-955-2514 [email protected] Sergeant-at-Arms: Mike Phelps 720-284-4865 [email protected] Newsletter Editor: Andrew Grieb 303-204-3203 [email protected]

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN BY PAUL LIETZ

E-9

CALENDAR

November 2018 Daylight Savings Time Ends .......................................... 11/4 Election Day ...................... 11/6 US Marine Corps Birthday.11/10 Veterans Day ....................11/11 Thanksgiving ....................11/22 Giving Tuesday .................11/27 November Meeting ..........11/28 December 2018 Hanukkah Begins ............... 12/2 Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day .......................................... 12/7 Hanukkah Ends ................12/10 US National Guard Birthday ...... .........................................12/13 E-9ers Holiday Social......12/19 First Day of Winter ............12/21 Christmas Eve ..................12/24 Christmas Day ..................12/25 Kwanzaa Begins ...............12/26 New Year’s Eve ................12/31 No Meeting in December!

November - Happy Anniversary

Charles & Georgia Loveland ........ 11/1 (68)

Thormod & Trier Forseth ........... 11/11 (19)

George & Margaret Nowakowski ...............

.................................................. 11/14 (48)

November - Happy Birthday

Barbara Dick ........................................11/2

Akiko Palka ..........................................11/2

Sam Pitzen ..........................................11/7

Donald Gier .........................................11/7

Rosalyn Mitchell ..................................11/8

Paul Lietz ...........................................11/11

Willie Roundtree ................................11/11

Violet Hoffman ...................................11/12

Ann Ellington .....................................11/13

Perry Gore .........................................11/14

Loy A. Brown ..................................... 11/15

Jerry Gamache .................................. 11/15

Troy Engholm .................................... 11/17

Cheryl Six .......................................... 11/17

Bill Allan ............................................ 11/18

JoAnne Sube ..................................... 11/18

Debbie Gamache .............................. 11/18

Susan Allen ....................................... 11/19

Vince Patton III .................................. 11/21

Susan Gallik ...................................... 11/22

Theda Victor ...................................... 11/24

Billie Musslewhite .............................. 11/25

Karen Schwanke ............................... 11/28

Charles Loveland .............................. 11/29

NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS

Articles and photographs are due to the Newsletter Editor by the 15th of each month for publication in the next month’s newsletter.

Articles will be reviewed and edited for content, grammar and spelling.

Photographs should be submitted in JPEG format and with original file names. Please submit names of people in pictures from left to right, front to back.

Submission of articles and photographs does not guarantee publication.

Thank you,

Andy Grieb

Military.com | 8 Oct 2018 | By Jim Absher It's that time of year again: flu season is coming. Did you know the flu shot is available for free to most military members, their families and veterans? What Exactly Is The Flu Shot? We call it the flu shot, but really is a vaccination that can be given in many ways. The vaccine causes antibodies to develop in the body about two weeks after given. These antibodies provide protection against the viruses in the vaccine. The vaccine given in the U.S. protects against three different versions of the flu. There are also some vaccines that protect against four different strains of the flu. Every year the World Health Organization consults with health officials across the globe to learn which versions of the flu are circulating in each country, and based on this data and other studies recommend which strains of the flu are most likely to hit during flu season. This must be done at least six months in advance since it takes a long time to develop specific vaccines. Sometimes the experts are caught off-guard and a different version of the flu appears out of nowhere to sicken people. Over the years though, the flu vaccine has had a success rate averaging at around 60 percent. Getting the vaccination can also lessen the symptoms of the flu and assist you in getting over the flu an average of one to two days faster than someone who doesn't get the vaccine. The flu vaccine was first used on -- you guessed it -- the military. During the 1940's the military developed the first approved vaccine for the flu which was used during the World War II. How Can You Get The Flu Vaccine? While we call it the flu "shot", there are actually many ways you can get

(Continued on page 3)

FREE FLU SHOTS FOR VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES

2

the vaccine: The standard dose flu shot, this is administered into the muscle with a needle. There are also versions that can be given to some people with a jet injector Special high-dose shots, or shots with added medicines for older people Live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) -- or the nasal spray vaccine Should You Get The Flu Shot? While that is a personal choice, here's what the statistics say.

• Last year there were 80,000 flu related deaths in the U.S., the highest death toll in at least four decades

• Last year, more than 12,000 people over 65 died from the flu

• Last year there were 900,000 people hospitalized from the flu

• Those most at risk for developing complications from the flu are the pregnant, the very young and old, and those with underlying conditions

How To Get The Flu Shot For Free If you have TRICARE, you can get the vaccine for free in three ways: At a military hospital or clinic - you should call ahead to make sure it is available, active duty personnel have priority At a participating network pharmacy - you can find one by searching online or calling 877-363-1303. You should call the pharmacy first to ask when you can get the vaccine, and who gives the vaccine. Only vaccines given by a pharmacist are covered. If your vaccine is administered by a provider at an onsite clinic, it may not be covered and you may have to pay the entire cost At your primary care provider - you may have to pay the office visit copay Remember, all active duty and Guard or reserve members are required to get the flu vaccine. Veterans enrolled in Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) health care can get a flu shot at their nearest VA health care facility. The VA is also partnering with Walgreens to offer eligible veterans free flu shots at the 8,200 local Walgreens locations nationwide. Just go to the local Walgreens, tell the pharmacist you are an eligible veteran and want to get your flu shot. You just have to show them your VA Health ID Card and another form of photo ID to get the shot for free. Walgreens will even automatically add the information to your VA health record. If you aren't enrolled in VA healthcare, your insurance may offer flu shots for free, or for a small fee. Check with your insurance company for details. Medicare Part B covers 100 percent of the cost of a flu shot as well.

(Continued from page 2)

FLU SEASON STRIKES AGAIN

3

• Last year, more than 12,000 people over 65 died from the flu

A nurse readies a flu shot. (U.S. Army National Guard/Erica Knight)

With apologies to Warner Bros. Studios.

Military.com | Week of September 24, 2018

A four-year clinical trial of revealed that 20% of veterans fail to respond

to traditional treatments for depression. Since Transcranial Magnetic

Stimulation (TMS) was cleared by the FDA in 2008, about 30 VA

veteran centers throughout the country have been using TMS

machines to treat patients suffering from various mental health

problems and finding success where pharmaceuticals have not. TMS

'helmets' fire electromagnetic pulses into a patient's dorsolateral

prefrontal cortex, stimulating and activating nerve cells in the cerebral

cortex that regulate mood and motivation. The treatments are non-

invasive, and the short-term side effects are minimal. For more

information, read the VA VAntage Point Blog.

https://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/52214/va-is-making-breakthroughs-

in-tech-centric-mental-health-treatments/

VETERANS AND HEADACHES

Military.com | Week of

October 01, 2018

While treatment for

headaches is available at

all VA medical centers,

seven hospitals are

specifically working to

help polytrauma and

traumatic brain injury

(TBI) Veterans.

Headache management

for veterans with TBI and

multiple co-morbid

conditions is challenging

and is best managed by

an interdisciplinary team.

Chronic Headache

Management Program

(CHAMP) participants are

required to keep a diary,

noting the time a

headache starts, what

they were doing, what

they were eating and

other aspects of their

lives that can be critical to

understanding what might

be triggering the

headaches. About 60

people are in CHAMP at

any given time, including

those patients who are

followed after discharge.

For more information,

read the VA VAntage

Point Blog.

BREAKTHROUGH IN DEPRESSION TREATMENT

Military.com | Week of October 08, 2018

The TRICARE Retiree Dental Program (TRDP) will end on Dec. 31, 2018. New dental plan options for those enrolled in TRDP will be available through the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP). FEDVIP vision coverage will also be available for the first time for both retirees and active duty families. For 2019 dental coverage, retirees and their family members must take action to enroll in a FEDVIP plan. Visit the FEDVIP website for dental plan options. If you are eligible, your first chance to enroll in FEDVIP is during the 2018 Federal Benefits Open Season, which runs from Nov. 12 through Dec. 10, 2018. Your coverage will then start Jan. 1, 2019.

VA AND COMPLIMENTARY MEDICINE

TRICARE DENTAL PLAN CHANGES SOON


A recent major shift in practice by the Veterans Health Administration

(VA) now means that complementary and integrative health (CIH)

therapies such as meditation, yoga and acupuncture are increasingly

being offered to VA patients as non-drug approaches for pain

management. A recent study has looked at the use of CIH use by

gender among veterans with chronic musculoskeletal pain. The

research is featured as the 'Editor's Choice' in the September/October

issue of Women's Health Issues. The research found that the rates of

use of CIG range from 25-42 percent among women and 15-29 percent

among men, depending on race/ethnicity and age. 4

“To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story here.”


The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced that it has

reached an agreement with TriWest Health Care Alliance (TriWest) on

a one-year extension of its current coverage of the Patient-Centered

Community Care (PC3) and Veterans Choice Program (VCP). VA has

also reached an agreement with TriWest that will expand TriWest’s

services to all regions across the country under this program. Finally,

VA has extended its current dialysis contracts with multiple partners for

six months, until March 31, 2019. VA will issue a Request for Proposal

for the replacement contracts in October 2018, with ultimate contract

awards anticipated in spring 2019.

The Military Update | 27 Sep 2018 | By Tom Philpott

TRICARE, the health insurance program for military personnel, retirees and their families, recognized by 2015 that it had become the target of corrupt pharmacists, doctors and marketers peddling wildly overpriced compound drugs, mostly ointments and creams touted to ease joint pain or fade scars.

By the time TRICARE officials imposed a new method to flag and deny coverage of compound drug prescriptions favored by scammers, the military pharmacy program had been bilked out of an estimated $1.5 billion.

In June that year, officials from the Defense Health Agency, which oversees TRICARE, met with senior officials at the Department of Justice to share their experiences with compound medication scams and to seek help.

DHA representatives that day included Bryan Wheeler, a retired Air Force lawyer, former military judge and current DHA deputy general counsel, and Navy Capt. Edward Norton, with the agency’s pharmacy operations division.

“We told them we had gotten a fix on the ongoing problem but we had all this money already spent that we needed assistance in recovering. And we got their enthusiastic assistance,” Wheeler said in a phone interview Tuesday. “We have been working those cases pretty strongly now for the last three and a half years.”

Results so far include 60 arrests or indictments, at least 50 fraud convictions, and recovery of more than $280 million restored to the


VA ANNOUNCES TRIWEST EXTENSION

TRICARE RECOUPS $280 MILLION SO FAR FROM COMPOUND DRUG SCAMS

5


The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has released national

and state-level findings from its most recent analysis of veteran suicide

data, from 2005 to 2016. The analysis is part of VA's ongoing examina-

tion of non-veteran and veteran death records that is being used to

evaluate and improve VA's Suicide Prevention Program. Overall, the

fact remains that on average about 20 current or former servicemem-

bers die each day; six have been in VA health care and 14 were not.

The rate of suicide among 18-34-year-old veterans continues to in-

crease. The 'VA National Suicide Data Report 2005-2016,' and the ac-

companying state data sheets, are available online.

https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/mentalhealth/suicide_prevention/

data.asp

UPCOMING SPEAKERS

November

Barbara Martin-Worley;

Consumer Fraud Protec-

tion, 18th Judicial District

Attorney’s Office

December

No Meeting in December

January

Ken William, Provider

Relations Representative

for Healthnet Federal

Services, TRICARE West

Region contractor

February

Barbara Martin-Worley,

Consumer Fraud Protec-

tion, 18th Judicial District

Attorney’s Office

VA RELEASES VETERAN SUICIDE REPORT

TRICARE program.

“We can use that on health care -- either TRICARE beneficiary care at military treatment facilities or for legitimate prescriptions, or to provide care to children with autism or whatever the benefits are we have out there. That’s money that is repurposed consistent with [the TRICARE] statute,” said Wheeler.

More than 100 pharmacies nationwide likely were involved in the compound drug fraud against TRICARE. There is a five-year statute of limitations on prosecuting crimes of fraud against the federal government. Therefore, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, law enforcement partner agencies and U.S. attorney offices across the country are battling the calendar.

On progress to date with criminal prosecutions, Wheeler said “we are probably close to half way there.” However, there is no statute of limitations on recovery actions for money stolen from TRICARE or other federal programs.

Pharmacists create compound drugs by combining more than one medicine to produce a product not available from commercial drug manufacturers. There are legitimate uses for compound medications, Wheeler said.

For example, if a child is unable to swallow pills, a local druggist might grind pills and mix them with a suspension liquid that the child can drink. Or for a patient who has lost thyroid function, to avoid a yoyo-like regimen of shots and pills, a physician might titrate the level of hormone treatment delivered by prescribing a compound medicine as a cream that can be applied topically, Wheeler said.

What bad actors in the pharmacy industry did over the last decade or so was produce compound drugs of unproven effectiveness; conspire



TRICARE RECOUPS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS

6

IN MEMORIAM

It is our sad duty to inform

the membership that

CMSgt David Howard,

USAF (Retired) passed

away on October 2, 2018.

David was a Charter

Member of the E9ers and

his wife, Elsie, has been

a member for 18 years.

Services were held at

Fort Logan National

Cemetery on October 15.

with unscrupulous health care providers to write prescriptions for them, and create marketing networks to target health insurance plans with relaxed rules on compound drugs.

While the rest of the health care industry gradually got wise to compound drug scams, TRICARE became the juiciest remaining target with its generous pharmacy benefit, lax rules on compound drugs, and mail order pharmacy software that would cover the cost of multiple medicines in a single prescription.

Captain Norton, the DHA pharmacy expert who joined our phone interview, said the schemes typically involved ointments or creams because, though not shown to be medically effective, they typically don’t endanger patients.

“It was almost like the perfect fraud,” Norton said, “because they could make a lot of money [without] risk of an adverse medical effect.”

Like thousands of other military retirees, Wheeler became a target in May 2015, the same month TRICARE adopted new policies to block compound drug fraud. He got a robocall at his office in DHA headquarters in Virginia, advising that his health insurance would cover the cost of a special medicine for joint pain.

Wheeler and a colleague returned the phone call and took careful notes to share with the TRICARE program integrity office and law enforcement.

“Turns out the call came from a call center. The individual didn’t want to tell me where it was located but [t]his was a fairly sophisticated crime. Somebody had fronted money to set up the center, hire individuals to make calls [and urge] people to request a prescription” for a pain cream. Wheeler was told he could “verbally authorize” the pharmacy during that call “to fill a prescription on my behalf.”

“Do you want me to go see my doctor about this?” Wheeler asked.

“He said, ‘Oh no. We don’t want to interfere with the patient relationship. But we have a doctor who will give you a call and we will take care of this.’ ”

Beneficiaries enticed to try the medicine began seeing exorbitant charges to TRICARE, often tens of thousands of dollars. Drug refills, which beneficiaries often hadn’t requested, arrived at a pace far exceeding need. Wheeler said one doctor participating in the fraud wrote just over 100 prescriptions that cost TRICARE more than $1 million.

Recent guilty pleas spotlight how enormously profitable the scams were. Last month, Thomas Edward Spell Jr, a pharmacist who owned compound drug pharmacies in Mississippi and three others states, pleaded guilty to fraudulent claims that totaled more than $243 million.

Mike Hurst, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, said Spell and co-conspirators formulated compound drugs, and marketed them to TRICARE beneficiaries, not to meet patient needs but to maximize profits.

“Ripping off our veterans and members of the military is despicable, and that is exactly what this defendant and others have done by defrauding TRICARE and the American taxpayer,” said Hurst Aug. 8, as Spell entered his guilty plea.

To encourage TRICARE users to try their pain drugs, Spell and co-conspirators would waive copayments. Pharmacy employees bought prepaid debit cards and money orders to cover the copays and then were reimbursed. Kickbacks and bribes were paid to doctors who wrote prescriptions.

Spell personally gained $29 million, filling bank and investment accounts not only in his name but for family members and various businesses. From




7

The E-9ers Association

Andrew Grieb, Editor

PO Box 31261

Aurora CO 80041-1261

Phone: 303-204-3203

E-mail: [email protected]

Return Service Requested

these accounts he made loans and bought vehicles, boats and real estate.

Spell’s scheme relied on cooperation “throughout the highest professional levels in the medical and pharmaceutical industries,” said Thomas J. Holloman, III, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigations. “Without the participation of those individuals in executive and decision-making positions, these schemes would often not materialize or profit those involved,"

Spell will be sentenced Oct. 16 in Hattiesburg, Miss. Related prosecutions continue in California, Tennessee, Arkansas and Connecticut. To date, fraud from his operation alone has resulted in 12 people charged and nine convictions.

Assets recovered by federal law enforcement are found not only in bank accounts, investments and real estate but in boats, mobile homes and exotic cars. The Department of Justice has specific guidelines for converting seized assets into cash before returning proceed to the government agency victimized.

Wheeler and Norton said many TRICARE dollars lost to the compound drug scandal likely won’t be recovered. And, while TRICARE is more effective today in blocking such scams, Wheeler said fraudulent activity continues.

“It’s like the metaphor of the old hotel burglar,” he said. “There are still people going down the hall, rattling doors.”



s column by paul lietz - e-9er'stheda victor.....11/24 billie musslewhite .....11/25 karen...

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