RAO Subic Office will be closed on the following Philippine and/or U.S. Holidays below:

• February 20, 2023 (Monday) - Presidents Days
• February 25, 2023 (Sunday) - EDSA People Power Revolution

• April 6, 2022 (Thursday) - Maundy Thurs
• April 7, 2022 (Friday) - Good Friday
• April 8, 2022 (Saturday) - Black Saturday
• April 9, 2022 (Sunday) - Bataan & Corregidor
• April 9, 2022 (Sunday) - Easter Sunday
• April 22, 2022 (Saturday) - Eid-al-Fitr

The posts regarding the Army visit and Taxes need to be revised. Army visit is scheduled for 26 Jan vice 27, and Taxman will be at RAO on 20 Jan, vice 22 jan, thanks.

Millions of Americans are still awaiting their tax refunds from the IRS, but there is a silver lining: The money may be accruing interest – and rates are poised to jump in January.

The Internal Revenue Service generally pays interest on refunds that are delayed by more than 45 days after the filing deadline, according to its website.

Interest rates are adjusted every quarter depending on the federal short-term rate. The current interest rate is 6%, but it is slated to increase to 7% on Jan. 1. By comparison, one year ago, the interest rate stood at 3%.

Click here to read more.

Stubbornly high inflation is finally beginning to fall, but millions of Americans are still grappling with a cost-of-living crisis and plan to use their tax refund to pay for basic expenses.

About 30% of taxpayers say they will rely on their refund to make ends meet in 2023, according to a survey released Wednesday by Credit Karma, which polled about 1,000 U.S. adults at the beginning of December.

Click here to read more.

Starting Jan. 17, Veterans in acute suicidal crisis will be able to go to any VA or non-VA health care facility for emergency health care at no cost – including inpatient or crisis residential care for up to 30 days and outpatient care for up to 90 days. Veterans do not need to be enrolled in the VA system to use this benefit.

This expansion of care will help prevent Veteran suicide by guaranteeing no cost, world-class care to Veterans in times of crisis. It will also increase access to acute suicide care for up to 9 million Veterans who are not currently enrolled in VA.

Click here to read more.

Save the date. The U.S. Embassy’s American Citizen Services (ACS) Unit will provide the following services February 9 in Angeles City, and February 10 in Olongapo City:

• Accept U.S. passport applications
• Accept Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) applications
• Notary services

Pags, There seems to be some confusion in your healthcare views here. Hopefully I can clear some of that briefly, but likely you will have some remaining questions. First you need to recognize the 4 healthcare options the U S government provides here. I would suggest you Google each program for a better understanding, or for contact info to get specific answers.

Click here to read more.

Another warning against a dangerous Android app you should delete. Cyber experts at Zscaler ThreatLabz are warning all Android users to check their phones ASAP to ensure they don't have a popular task management app installed, urging everyone who does have it to delete it immediately.

Click here to read more.

I've had a number of Vets send me this article, some very concerned about their Tricare coverage here in the Philippines. If you are concerned with what's happening with Tricare in the U S as shown in the article, and how it affects your care here, likely you are not enrolled in the correct plan. Tricare in the Philippines is covered under Tricare "Select" which is further broken down by age generally speaking. If you are under 65 and a retiree you should be enrolled in Select. If over 65 you should be enrolled in Tricare for Life. Note: that to be eligible for TFL you need to be enrolled in Medicare parts A and B. If you are in the Philippines and enrolled in any other Tricare product, you should contact International SOS, and discuss your plan with them as shown below.

Click here to read more.

The Navy is halting separations of sailors over "high-year tenure" -- a program that dictates sailors can only serve so long at a certain rank before being involuntarily discharged from the service.

The move, announced in a message and press release Thursday, is aimed at improving "Navy retention efforts and Fleet readiness."

Click here to read more.

Military retirees who opted out of a valuable survivor’s benefit when they left active duty will get a rare second chance to enroll thanks to a new rule in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. The same measure allows currently enrolled users to leave the program.

Retirees typically get only one chance to enroll in the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). Those who opt in usually name their spouses as the beneficiaries, said Mark Belinsky, director of currently serving/retired affairs for the Military Officers Association of America and an Army retiree.

Click here to read more.

A 9-year-old Mariela Peña and her family were in their car on a California freeway when her mother broke the news that the young girl and her siblings shouldn’t expect much of a Christmas that year.

The family of six had come to live with Peña’s aunt in San Jose, California, earlier in 1986, having fled violence in Nicaragua amid the Sandinista Revolution.

Click here to read more.

The phrase “shell shocked” took on new meaning last week when a man in Gloucester, England, managed to lodge a 2-inch-wide World War II anti-tank shell inside his rectum.

The rectum’s owner, who (understandably) chose to remain anonymous, told medical staff at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital that the 57 mm round, part of the man’s WWII memorabilia collection, became embedded inside his anus after he “slipped and fell,” as one is known to do in England.

Click here to read more.

A watchdog group advocating on behalf of veterans on Friday asked a federal judge to force the Department of Veterans Affairs to follow a prior court order and explain its implementation of a law giving veterans the option of private sector care, including details of how senior officials may be trying to discourage veterans from using that option.

The bipartisan MISSION Act gave millions of veterans the right to access private care outside the VA system if wait times at VA are too long or when it’s in a veteran’s best interest. But veterans and lawmakers have said the Biden administration's VA has worked to limit access to this new benefit, and VA officials have said publicly they are worried about the prospect that too many veterans might prefer private care to VA care.

Last year, Americans for Prosperity Foundation sued the VA to gain access to documents related to VA's implementation of the MISSION Act, and in July 2022, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered VA to comply with that request. The order committed VA to producing 500 pages of records per month.

Click here to read more.

A lot of questions on this item, The link is the best info I can find on getting answers. It appears the actual registration process will begin on 27 Dec, As that is when supposedly the Sim companies will have released the registration links. Of particular note this law also requires registration of the sims in modems for internet you use for your TV. also this clarifies how tourists can use their sims for more than 30 days. Contrary to the initial law, which just required new sim registration, the implementing instructions requires all sims to be registered regardless of when you got them. Stay tuned, for when they release the sites to use for registration, you'll find it here.

Click here to read more.

TBI and the Price Paid by Vets Please take the time to listen or watch this link. You can still listen if you dont have apple products, Click on the "listen" link and find a quiet place. It is very hard hitting and brings the info home.

Click here to read more.

The Navy unveiled new guidelines Monday that allow the service to enlist thousands of sailors with entrance test scores that fall into the lowest aptitude percentile allowed by military standards as it faces a higher recruiting goal, according to a notice from Navy Recruiting Command reviewed by Military.com.

Under the program, the service can recruit and contract up to 7,500 prospective sailors this year who fall under what the military calls "Category IV" recruits, or high school diploma-holding applicants who score within the 10th and 30th percentile on the Armed Forces Qualification Test, or AFQT. Up to 20% of this year's active-duty enlisted pool could fall into the lowest allowable aptitude percentile.

Click here to read more.

Some of our members are running into problems getting meds now that VA is closed down. A member has forwarded the below info regarding a Dr friend of his who is interested in helping our vets. The member has known him for years and vouches for him enthusiastically!

The RAO does not know him and can't endorse but if you need help give him a try and see.

DANIEL SALVADOR L. REDOÑA, MD

Ophthalmologist-Natural Medicine

09281952272

Clinic Address: JH ORIENTAL MEDICAL CLINIC Blk 48 Lot 10 Friendship Highway Bgy Cutcut, Angeles City 2009 Pampanga

Making Subic Experience Awesome! SubicGo.com is a tourism portal designed for local and international tourists visiting the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

SubicGo

GREAT NEWS!
Its official, as of today 16 August 2018, Ace/Baypointe is authorized to accept Tricare patients under the Preferred Provider category. You will have to check with the HMO office to ensure your Dr. is also on the Preferred Provider list. There are currently 31 Dr's who are, but check to be sure or you will have to pay the Dr's fees.

And oh by the way, please resist the urge to repeat the bad news bears (you know the ones who have their names stenciled on the back of their bar stool) who are spreading rumors about ACE BAYPOINTE and Medical City Clark suspending FMP due to non payment. IT DIDNT HAPPEN! Medical city Ortigas did due to non payment by FMP. Come to find out they gave FMP the wrong mailing address to which FMP mailed the payments. All is fixed now and they have withdrawn the suspension.Â

Old saying better to be quiet and be thought a fool, than opening mouth and leave no doubt.

I have taken the opportunity to compile a list of what Drs, and Specialties AT ACE BAYPOINTE, to the best of my knowledge are also certified as preferred providers. The hospital is in the process of adding to this list. As you all are aware this list changes without notice, so before getting treatment it would be to your benefit to check with the hospital HMO office to ensure the Dr you will receive treatment from is in fact still certified as preferred. The HMO can be reached at 047-250-6070 ext 283 or 507.

Name Name	Specialization Specialization	Gender Gender
Ablang, Alberto Mariano, MD	Pediatrics, Critical Care	Male
Ablang, Marietta, MD	Internal Medicine, Cardiology	Female
Aguila, Beverly, MD	Internal Medicine, Cardiology	Female
Aguila, Beverly, MD	Internal Medicine, Cardiology	Female
Aguilar, Rodrigo	Gastronology/Int Med	Male
Alconga, Rudy	Pediatrics	Male
Bernal, Gerald, MD	Internal Medicine, Cardiology	Male
Bongco, Jesusa	Anesthesiology	Female
Bongco, Rosario	Endocrinology	Male
Bustamante, Rodrick	Anesthesiology	Male
Calapatia, David, MD	Family Medicine	Male
Cepeda, Armando, MD	Surgery, General	Male
Cepeda, Monette, MD	Neurology	Female
De Castro, Felicisimo, MD	Ophthalmology	Male
De Castro, Ma. Gloria, MD	Obstetrics & Gynecology	Female
Dela Cruz, Anthony, MD	Internal Medicine, Diabetology; Occupational Health	Male
Dela Paz, Emmanuel, MD	Orthopedics	Male
DeLeon, Roberto	Gen Surgery	Male
Edejer, Karl Erjon, MD	Anesthesiology	Male
Guevara, Luis, MD	Radiology	Male
Hipolito, Charina	Internal Medicine, Pulmonology	Female
Mallari, Lourdes	ENT Ear, Nose,Throat	Female
Mangahas, Rolan	Opthamology	Male
Manuel, Jesse Jewel, MD	Surgery, Orthopedic	Male
Mendoza, Arturo, Jr., MD	Surgery, General (Laparoscopic)	Male
Ocampo, Armida, MD	Internal Medicine, Pulmonology	Female
Pasqual, Jeanette	Orthopedics	Male
Rojo, Margaret, MD	Anesthesiology	Female
Santos, Wilfredo, MD	Surgery, General ; Surgery, Oncology	Male
Soriano, Maria Agnes, MD	Internal Medicine, Diabetology	Female
Tablan, Apolonario Jr	Urology	Male
Velchez, Carlos	Hematology/Int Med	Male
Hipolito, Charina	Internal Medicine, Pulmonology	Female
Villareal, Paolo, MD	Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology	Male

FMP/Tricare

We continue to see vets who are receiving EOB's and checks for treatment at Medical City and Baypointe (ACE). Please be aware you should not cash these checks. They should be given to the hospitals. Should you cash the check a few things can happen, 1st FMP or Tricare may demand repayment, if you don't they can notify the IRS and either a garnishment or 1099 will be received and they get their money in the end possibly including interest. It can also be placed on your credit report. Secondly, you may be refused future treatment at the hospitals as you have an outstanding balance. Worst of all we may lose the hospitals as providers for FMP or Tricare. Sure wouldn't want to be the guy who causes all your fellow vets to lose that, they might be a little pissed when they find out it was you! You know how quickly word spreads around here!

Videos

Just want to draw your attention to some very useful videos being offered for free through va by psycharmor. View their catalog at PsychoArmor Institute.

Urgent Update: Reimbursment Checks:

It appears there is a malfunction with both TRICARE and FMP regarding reimbursement checks. They incorrectly recently have been sending the checks to the veteran vice the provider. Both have been notified this is the incorrect way to handle these checks! If you receive a check for a claim that was filed by the Hospital, please do not cash it. The hospitals participation was negotiated so that the hospital would receive payment. If they do not we will lose their services. The payment must be taken to the hospital and signed over to them to be encashed.

Special thank you to police station 6 Barrio Baretto for notification of recently deceased American Citizen! Their handling of situation was extremely professional, thanks SPO De Leon.