Federal Daily - October 30, 2008

Army Expands Wounded Warrior Eligibility

The Army announced Oct. 28 that it was expanding the eligibility criteria for its Wounded Warrior Program (WWP) to allow a larger proportion of severely wounded, ill and injured servicemembers to participate. Under the expanded criteria, servicemembers with a combined disability rating of 50 percent will be eligible for the program as long as the injuries are combat-related. Now, a servicemember with, for example, a 10-percent disability rating on his hand, 20-percent on his leg and 20-percent due to traumatic brain injury, would qualify under the expanded criteria. Previously, servicemembers were required to have a 30-percent disability rating for a single injury or illness before they were WWP-eligible  Servicemembers with a disability rating of 30 percent for a single injury or illness, whether combat-related or not, still remain eligible for the program as well. About 3,400 servicemembers currently are enrolled in the program. “It is the right decision to make,” said Army Sgt. Maj. Brent Jurgersen. “This population captures what our mission is and that is to take care of the most severely wounded and ill.” To see more, go to: www.army.mil/-news/2008/10/28/13679-aw2-opens-its-doors-to-more-wounded-warriors.

:: Back to Top ::

NALC-USPS Sign MOU Extending Outsourcing Ban

The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will extend the moratorium on outsourcing some mail delivery routes through 2011. The MOU would ban new contract delivery service routes in offices where city carriers work alongside rural carriers for the remainder of the 2006-2011 National Agreement—extending the existing moratorium for another three years. For those routes, new deliveries would be assigned to career letter carriers rather than to contractors, NALC President William H. Young said in a statement. The MOU also sets out new rules for assigning new deliveries in offices where city carriers work with highway contractors or rural letter carriers. “At a time when the Postal Service and the country are facing an economic crisis of historical magnitude, I am encouraged that we have been able to work with postal management to find win-win solutions to our common problems,” Young said. The MOU was signed Oct. 22. To see more, go to: www.nalc.org

:: Back to Top ::

TRICARE’s eCareConnect Proves Popular With New Families

More than 20,000 TRICARE beneficiaries have participated in eCareConnect, an email service that helps DoD hospitals communicate more effectively with expectant parents and new families, TRICARE said in an Oct. 27 announcement. The service sends free weekly e-mails that provide research-based health information customized to the stage of the beneficiary’s parenthood. For example, the service sent to subscribers who were between weeks 10 and 21 of their pregnancies an update noting that TRICARE had updated dental coverage for pregnant women. The service has been embraced by TRICARE beneficiaries, officials said. “Patients have come to rely on the trusted content, and find that the family-friendly service helps loved ones who are deployed feel like they are included during the child-birth experience,” said Col. Peter Nielsen, OB/GYN Consultant to the Surgeon General and residency program director at Madigan Army Medical Center. DoD now has more than 20,980 active subscribers to the weekly e-mails, TRICARE said, noting that 18 Army and Navy hospitals participate. To see more, go to: www.tricare.mil/Pressroom/News.aspx?fid=471.

:: Back to Top ::