Fast Facts 2008 March

March 2008 Fast Facts

The HPSP website has been updated and the address has changed. The new address is: http://navmedmpte.med.navy.mil/accessions/index.cfm

Graduating Students: Please make sure that you finalize all financial accounts. You should submit your final reimbursement not less than 60 days prior to graduation and check with your school’s tuition department to assure all tuition/fees have been paid.

Medical Department Accessions Department (MDAD) has completed the annual survey of students and gone through the comments provided. To all that took the time and effort to respond, thank you. There were a number of issues that should be addressed as a result of this survey.

1) Travel - NROWS. Naval Reserve Order Writing System is the only way the program can put students on orders for annual training. It is a confusing and encumbering system. MDAD has no control over this system. Unfortunately, NROWS can and does change without notice to MDAD. Every effort will be made to assure that students have the most up to date instructions to use this site. The new website http://navmedmpte.med.navy.mil/accessions/index.cfm has instructions that were last updated in the middle of January. If you find that the posted instructions are not working, let us know immediately. You will often recognize there are changes before we do. - Funding for AT orders comes to MDAD in piecemeal fashion. There must be money available to pay for an AT prior to final orders being cut. This can occur in a less than timely manner especially at the beginning of the fiscal year if Congress has not passed a budget.

2) Reimbursements - E-mail is by far the most efficient means of submitting requests for reimbursement. It has the advantage of putting a time stamp on when a request was submitted and it provides a current point of contact should additional information be required. Fax is the second best, and regular mail is the least desirable. If you e-mail your request to OH@med.navy.mil, it is assured of reaching the correct person as well. - If there are no issues with the submitted request, reimbursements should be received within one month. If you have not received payment in that time, we need to know. If you are having problems, contact CDR McLean or Dr. Yerkes. - There are many government regulations which direct the process of reimbursements. These dictate what forms to use, need for receipts, and justification. It is not the intent of MDAD to make reimbursement onerous to the students, but there are rules to which we must adhere. Computers/PDAs. There is a great deal of frustration that MDAD cannot reimburse students for computers and PDAs required by the student’s schools. Government purchasing rules prohibit us from purchasing items which are not strictly single use for a professional/educational activity. To change this will literally require an “Act of Congress.” Our Legislative Affairs is actively working to change this. We can provide $500 per year to lease a computer and we can pay for educational software needed for the computers. - Uniform Allowance. All Officers in the Department of Defense are authorized a one time uniform allowance of $400 dollars. Does a full sea bag of uniforms cost more than $400? Yes. Sorry. - There are many expenses that are incurred during the process of your education that are not directly reimbursable. The true purpose of the stipend is to cover those costs. 3) Tuition This is the process for payment of tuition

a.Contract is generated for payment of Student’s tuition b.Student’s term begins c.School sends MDAD an invoice for tuition d.If invoice matches contract to the penny, the invoice is processed for payment e.If invoice does not match, invoice is rejected and/or contract is modified f.Once contract and invoice agree, payment is processed and sent to DFAS g.DFAS posts payment in 30 days.

Steps c through e can be repeated multiple times and vary in length. It is a laborious, tedious, and complex process that MDAD has been attempting to simplify and streamline this process for the past 2 years.

Students should not need to acquire loans to pay for tuition and fees. If your school is demanding payment, refer them to MDAD. We have educational service agreements with the school which state we will pay for our students.

If late fees or interest accrue, MDAD pays those as well.

If your school is withholding financial aid, contact us immediately. We will contact the school to release your funds. We can usually accomplish this within 24 hours.

4) Stipend/Bonus - As mentioned above, the stipend is to offset additional educational expenses and is not designed to be a living wage. The amount of the stipend is set at the Department of Defense level and not by MDAD. If a student lives in a high cost area or has a family, it will not cover living expenses and students may need to assume loans to cover the difference. Congress has authorized the total stipend to be UP TO $30,000 per year, but the funding did not accompany the authorization. In July 2008, the stipend will increase again to $1907 per month. No additional increases have been authorized by the Department of Defense. -The Critical Skills Accession Bonus for medical and dental HPSP students was instituted for students who entered the program after 1 October 2006. MDAD regrets that it is unable to provide these funds to students who entered prior to that date.

All students should understand the basics of what they are paid. Here is a synopsis:

a.Stipend - $1907 per month divided into 2 payments distributed on the 1st and 15th of the month. Taxes are withheld based on the W-4 form submitted at entry into the program. If there are changes to your status, please submit a new W-4. Stipend will stop when a student begins and AT and resume upon completion. b.Basic Pay – Unless a student has prior service, pay is as an O-1 with less than 2 years for the entire time you are in the program. This is $2555.70 per month. c.Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) – 202.76 per month. This is non-taxable and paid while on AT. d.Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) There are two types of BAH, BAH I and BAH II. Most students are authorized BAH I while on AT. The exception is students without dependants staying in government quarters while on AT. The current system is unable to pay students BAH I and pays BAH II. At the end of an AT, MDAD calculates the difference and submits a request to DFAS for payment. Examples of BAH Payments (all values per month):

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (Erie Campus)

On Travel At ODS School Orders

Orders < 30 days With Dependants $900 (BAH I) $900 (BAH I) $900 (BAH I) $767.40 (BAH II) Without Dependants $13.20 (Partial BAH) $13.20 (Partial BAH) $702 (BAH I) $565.50 (BAH II)

Washington D.C. (Georgetown/George Washington/Howard)

On Travel At ODS School Orders Orders < 30 days With Dependants $1878 (BAH I) $1878 (BAH I) $1878 (BAH I) $767.40 (BAH II) Without Dependants $13.20 (Partial BAH) $13.20 (Partial BAH)

$1580 (BAH I) $565.50 (BAH II)

e.Family Separation Allowance – If you are married and separated for more than 30 days (ie ODS) you will receive $250 per month.

- If you receive money that you cannot explain or understand, contact MDAD immediately. Errors can and do happen. Do not spend unexpected money until you have clarified its source.

5) Records - Lost paperwork seems to be a common theme. Regular mail to MDAD is unreliable and slow at best. E-mail to OH@med.navy.mil is the best option. This allows you to keep the originals and allows for new hard copies to be produced. - The annual verification form was changed in 2007 and does not require a visit to a health care provider. All we need is for you to inform MDAD of any changes in health status. - HIV status should be updated every 2 years. If there is no DoD clinic or reserve center that is convenient to your school, you may have it done at student health and you will be reimbursed.