2024 Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, TN April 29 - May 2, 2024 |
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I am sorry for this newsletter going out so late, but I was waiting for the 2024 rates from some of the events for next year's reunion. Everything is set up for us to pull up anchor and set course for Tennessee. We are coordinating this reunion with the help of Smoky Mountain Tour Connection, Inc.. To get the Tutuila Rate all hotel reservations will be made through them. Click on the button below for details, registration and payment. Please register ASAP so we get reservations in to guarantee our rates. Note: CANCELLATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED 30 DAYS PRIOR TO THE REUNION. |
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Shipmates Corner & Updates Membership We currently have 155 members and, of those, we have 50 members that are past due. We need to continue to solicit new members. Please try to contact shipmates and ask them to join. If you are behind in your membership, please send them in. We need membership to keep this organization going. Dues are very important to keep the Association together. I apologize that I did not mention in the last newsletter that we had 4 new people attend our reunion this year. Three (3) shipmates and a close Army friend that have stayed in touch over the years. Please welcome James Bandy, Joseph Hartado, & Robert Eck. I must mention that their friend, Bill Dyke, fit right in with us. We didn't even hold it against him for being ARMY. :-) DOOZ-R-DUE NOW!! Please check to see if you have paid your 2023 DUES. You can check them online or contact me. The Membership Directory now includes your dues information so you can know when you last paid (those of you receiving a paper newsletter, your expiration date is on your address label). In the Membership Directory you can search by last name, and by year onboard to look up other shipmates that are members of the Association. You now have the option to include a picture too. If you want your picture added, send it to me by mail or use the website to upload it. |
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Arlene Janis, who won the $100 prize at our 50/50 raffle wrote: "Guy, thank you for sending the money from the raffle. It was a pleasant surprise." |
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Please continue to send in your REMEMBER WHEN pictures and anything else you would like to share. I am sure the crew would love to hear your stories or comments. |
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HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW & REMEMBER ABOUT THE TUTUILA? If you need help you can find all the information in the Ship's Library. Answer key on last page. |
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2023 VA health care copay rates Effective January 1, 2023 Note: Some Veterans don’t have to pay copays (they’re “exempt”) due to their disability rating, income level, or special eligibility factors. Learn how we determine whether you’ll pay copays |
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Urgent care copay rates (Care for minor illnesses and injuries) There’s no limit to how many times you can use urgent care. To be eligible for urgent care benefits, including through our network of approved community providers, both of these must be true: You must be enrolled in the VA health care system, and You must have received care from us within the past 24 months (2 years)
If you’re only getting a flu shot at your visit, you won’t have to pay any copays, no matter your priority group. Learn more about urgent care benefits Aid & Attendance for Qualified Veterans VA Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefits provide tax-free monthly payments added to the amount of a monthly VA pension. In addition it is available for Veterans, single surviving spouses and dependent children are also eligible for this benefit. To qualify for these benefits, the Veteran or their surviving family member must meet income and asset thresholds. If you need help with daily activities, or you’re housebound, find out if you qualify. VA Aid and Attendance eligibility You may be eligible for this benefit if you get a VA pension and you meet at least one of these requirements. At least one of these must be true: You need another person to help you perform daily activities, like bathing, feeding, and dressing, or You have to stay in bed—or spend a large portion of the day in bed—because of illness, or You are a patient in a nursing home due to the loss of mental or physical abilities related to a disability, or Your eyesight is limited (even with glasses or contact lenses you have only 5/200 or less in both eyes; or concentric contraction of the visual field to 5 degrees or less)
Housebound benefits eligibility You may be eligible for this benefit if you get a VA pension and you spend most of your time in your home because of a permanent disability (a disability that doesn’t go away). Note: You can’t get Aid and Attendance benefits and Housebound benefits at the same time. |
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A BROKEN PROMISE: WHAT IF VA HEALTH CARE GOES AWAY? POSTED ON JUL 6, 2023 BY BRIAN BUCKWALTER | CHRIS MAYHEW | KEVIN C. MILLER For the harshest critics of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the storyline often shared in the media is convenient to their cause. Reported long wait times and an annual budget of $120 billion offer a target for outrageous headlines that call for VHA’s demise. But these views contradict academic studies, patient experience surveys and VHA employee consensus that the health care system developed to care for our nation’s veterans is, in fact, high quality and irreplaceable. | | |
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SHIP’S STORE New items in our Store Wicking Polo Shirts in Three (3) Colors! $35.00 Check website or contact Noel. Ship’s Store is Open 7 days a week 24 hours on the website. ORDER NOW! Online or call Noel Cotton 865-233-3684 nandacotton@gamil.com |
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Well That's it for Now.... Remember this our Shipmates Newsletter so please remember to send me stories, pictures, jokes or anything you would like to see in the next newsletter as well as on the website. Thanks, Guy Veni Answer Key: 1D-Byington, 2D- Mince, 3 D-China, 4A-Dolphins, 5A-Rear |
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