Nurturing the Roots of Healthful Eating Habits

Nurturing the Roots of Healthful Eating Habits

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Nurturing the Roots of Healthful Eating Habits

Children from the Youth Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, MA, and volunteers from the US Family Health Plan teamed up to plant a community vegetable garden at the Youth Center on May 28. The children tend the garden, and are permitted to harvest the vegetables for use at their homes, or for food preparation lessons at the Youth Center. This is the fourth year that the US Family Health Plan operated by Brighton Marine Health Center has sponsored the event and helped plant the garden. Brighton Marine Health Center is one of six US Family Health Plans that provide care to military families under Defense Department contracts.

Seven Seals Boss Lift eventSeven Seals Boss Lift event

Seven Seals Boss Lift event

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Jeffrey Bloom, executive director, Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers, participated in the New Jersey Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve’s annual Seven Seals Boss Lift event at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. The event, held May 14 -15, provides civilian employers an up-close view of their employees’ military service. Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers is one of six US Family Health Plans that provide health care to military families under Defense Department contracts.

House Armed Services Committee Report Acknowledges “important role” of US Family Health Plans

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A powerful congressional committee has formally recognized the contributions that the US Family Health Plans (“USFHP”) have made to the health of military families.

In a report accompanying the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015, the House Armed Services Committee acknowledged the USFHP’s high quality of health care and customer satisfaction.

The congressional committee went one step further and encouraged the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission to consider the US Family Health Plans as the commission formulates its recommendations about how best to shape the future military health benefit.

“On behalf of the US Family Health Plan Alliance and its member plans, we are extremely gratified that the House Armed Services Committee has formally recognized the value of the US Family Health Plan program to the beneficiaries and the Military Health System,” said David Howes, President and Chief Executive Officer of Martin’s Point Health Care.  “We are equally pleased that the Committee has encouraged the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission to evaluate the US Family Health Plan program as it deliberates about the best way to improve the Military Health System,” said Howes.

The Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission was established by Congress in the Fiscal Year 2013 National Defense Authorization Act. Its mission is to review military pay and benefits, and recommend how to modernize the systems so that the United States can maintain a strong, all-volunteer force, in both peacetime and wartime, and the systems are fiscally sustainable. The commission has been soliciting information from military members, retirees and others. It will submit its recommendations to the President next year.

In the House Armed Services Committee report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (H.R. 4435), the committee wrote:

“The committee is aware of the important role of the US Family Health Plans in providing quality health care, which consistently exceeds customer satisfaction expectations, to military beneficiaries. The committee notes that the Department of Defense strives to provide quality health care to its beneficiary population, which has grown significantly over the last decade. Given the budget challenges the Department is facing, it is important that all segments of the military health system make every effort to ensure that they are providing the most cost-effective quality services available. The committee recognizes the contributions provided by the US Family Health Plans to the health of service members and their families, particularly retirees. Therefore, the committee encourages the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission to address the role of the US Family Health Plan during deliberations regarding the future military health benefit.”

The US Family Health Plans provide high quality, managed care that utilizes the patient-centered medical home model. The plans place a strong focus on wellness and prevention, and also offer a full-range of specialty care. US Family Health Plans’ patient satisfaction rates are the highest in TRICARE, and patient satisfaction rates are far higher than the national average of commercial plans. In 2013, the plans achieved an overall patient satisfaction rating of 92.5 percent.

Heroes of Military Medicine Awards dinner

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USFHP executives and guests, and senior military leaders discuss health care issues at the annual Heroes of Military Medicine Awards dinner, presented by the Center for Public-Private Partnerships of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc.

Heroes of Military Medicine Awards dinner

Left to right: Major General James K. Gilman, M.D., USA (Ret.), executive director, Johns Hopkins Military & Veterans Health Institute; Major General Nadja Y. West, M.D., USA, Joint Staff Surgeon; David Howes, M.D., president and chief executive officer, Martin’s Point Health Care, and chair, US Family Health Plan Alliance board of directors; Jeffrey Bloom, executive director, Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers.