CHAMPVA coverage secondary after age 65

Dear Sgt. Shaft:

My CHAMPVA will expire October. At this time I will be 65. Please explain.

Thanks,

Patricia W.

Cheverly, MD.

Dear Patricia:

Your CHAMPVA has not expired. When you become eligible for Medicare, there are changes in coverage under CHAMPVA. CHAMPVA becomes the second payer to your Medicare insurance.

Approximately two months before turning 65, you routinely will receive information from CHAMPVA describing benefit information after age 65. Be assured you will continue to have CHAMPVA, but as a secondary payer to Medicare.

You can contact CHAMPVA at 800/733-8387 for additional information. I did confirm your name and address in the CHAMPVA system and it is recorded correctly for future mail. Should you move before October, be sure to report your change of address.

Shaft notes

Pitney Bowes Inc. recently announced that it has made a $10,000 contribution to a new charity dedicated to helping the families of U.S. Marines wounded in ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As noted in past Shaft columns, the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund provides supplemental assistance to injured Marines, sailors and their families on the road to recovery from service-related injuries. The fund is a California-based nonprofit that, among other things, provides financial support to military families to facilitate an extended stay near the hospitals where their loved ones are being treated.

Pitney Bowes Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael J. Critelli presented the company’s check to Rene Bardorf, vice president of the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, before a visit to wounded sailors and Marines at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. I was honored to accompany Mr. Critelli and Mrs. Bardof on their visit. Mr. Critelli was so touched by the visit that he wrote a personal check of $5,000 to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.

Since its founding last year, the fund has given away more than $1 million.

• The Sarge is looking forward to once again joining the Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program (VVLP) at its 16th annual Partners in Leadership Awards Dinner at 6:30 p.m. May 12 at the Westin Convention Center in Pittsburgh. The event is recognized as Western Pennsylvania’s premiere celebration in honor of outstanding veterans.

Chris Moore will host the event. The dinner is expected to be the biggest so far as we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II with a tribute to the original “Band of Brothers,” as featured in the HBO miniseries. The “Band of Brothers” has had a tremendous effect on all veterans and citizens of our community, helping us realize the immense commitment and sacrifice that veterans of all wars make to our daily freedom and quality of life. This year, all Western Pennsylvania veterans of that era will be recognized with our 2005 Veteran of the Year Award.

Other awards to be received at the dinner will be the President’s Award, to be given to friend Ronald Zola. He recently retired as executive director of VVLP, where he spent 10 years making a significant difference in the lives of veterans and their families. He spent 25 years in the Army before retiring as a colonel.

Abie Abraham (the Ghost of Bataan) will receive the John Heinz Community Advocate Award for his tireless efforts on behalf of veterans in Butler County. He survived the Bataan Death March and then led the effort to save the lives of other GIs forced to endure that terrible event of World War II. At 94, he remains a vital force of compassion to veterans, especially with his continued volunteer work at the Butler Veterans Administration Medical Center.

Special recognition will be given to Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) National and the Women’s Overseas Service League to honor women who served during World War II and up to the present time.

Founded in 1982, the VVLP focuses on providing employment, housing assistance and support services to unemployed, underemployed and homeless veterans and their family members in Southwestern Pennsylvania. All programs and services are offered to veterans and their families at no cost. For additional information, contact Margaret Schumacher at 412/281-8100.

• Send letters to Sgt. Shaft, c/o John Fales, PO Box 65900, Washington, D.C. 20035-5900; fax 301/622-3330; call 202/257-5446; or e-mail sgtshaft@bavf.org.