Welcome to the website of the Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service. COA is dedicated to improving and protecting the public health of the United States by addressing unmet health needs and providing support for more than 7,000 members.
Need Help with Absentee Voting?10/04/2012 - Uniformed service members and their family members who seek to vote by absentee ballot in the upcoming election on November 6th can visit the Federal Voting Assistance Website at FVAP for information and assistance in obtaining absentee ballots.
Be sure to exercise your rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Every vote counts! TRICARE Prime Fees Raise for Retired Members10/02/2012 - TRICARE Prime fees raised by as much as 17% for some uniformed service retirees on 1 October. Affected retirees were notified in August of the impending increases, approved by Congress last year, which were set to take effect on 1 Ocotber. PHS officer retirees who enrolled in the system on or after Oct. 1, 2011, and all new beneficiaries will pay $269.28 a year for an individual, up from $260; and $538.56 for a family, up from $520. Those who were in Prime before Oct. 1, 2011, will see their annual fees increase from to $269.28 from $230 for individuals and to $538.56 from $460 for families. The Obama administration had pressed for heftier increases in its proposed fiscal 2013 defense budget along with new enrollment fees for Tricare Standard, Extra and Tricare For Life, the health benefit for Medicare-eligible retirees and their families. The proposal was struck down by the House and Senate Armed Services committees on a bipartisan basis. Survivors of personnel who die on active duty or medically retired uniformed service members and their families are exempt from the fee increases. Their enrollment fees remain frozen at the rate they paid when first enrolled, as long as they do not have a break in Prime coverage. The fee increase marks the second since the program was created in 1995.
Davis Named DCCPR Senior Policy Advisor09/26/2012 - COA member CDR Greg Davis has been named as Senior Policy Advisor in the Division of Commissioned Corps Personnel and Readiness (DCCPR) in the Office of the Surgeon General. The announcement was made on 24 September by Rear Admiral Scott Giberson, DCCPR Director. Davis, a pharmacist, takes over the billet formerly the Director of Commissioned Corps Force Management (OCCFM). OCCFM reported to the Assistant Secretary for Health until the reorganization announced last year. Davis has been a mainstay in OSG throughout a turbulent period which saw turnover in every senior officer billet. Davis takes up his new repsonsibilities effective 1 October.
09/18/2012 - Former acting Deputy Surgeon General, Rear Admiral Bob Williams, USPHS (Ret.), has been named as the recipient of the 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Presidents' Award. Admiral Williams currently serves as a director of the PHS Commissioned Officers Association and as a trustee and vice president of the PHS Commissioned Officers Foundation. ASCE established the Presidents' Award during America's Bicentennial year to commemorate our nation's first president who was a civil engineer and land surveyor. The award is presented to recognize an ASCE member who has given distinguished service to the member's country. Admiral Williams' award citation will read: "For more than 33 years of dedication and experience in the fields of environmental engineer and public health service, and his service as Chief of Staff, Office of the Surgeon General, United States Public Health Service." The award will be presented during the ASCE annual conference on October 19th in Montreal, Canada. COA extends our hearty congratulations to Admiral Williams for this well-deserved recognition of his commitment to service. Compensation and Medical Branches to Realign Under OSG - Achieving Long Sought COA Goal09/14/2012 - Rear Admiral Scott Giberson, Director, Division of Commissioned Corps Personnel and Readiness (DCCPR), announced today that the Commissioned Corps Compensation and Medical Branches will be realigned under OSG/DCCPR effective October 1, 2012. This reorganization achieves a long-sought goal of COA to return all administrative and operational headquarters functions for the Commissioned Corps under the authority of the Office of the Surgeon General. The former Division of Commissioned Personnel (DCP) that included recruiting, assignment, policy, operations, compensation and medical functions was dismantled in 2004 by the then acting assistant secretary for health, Cristina Beato. The separation of Corps admin and ops functions among three different assistant secretaries was vigorously opposed by then Surgeon General VADM Rich Carmona as well as COA. COA's prediction that the new organzational arrangment would be dysfunctional was sadly borne out in the years that followed. In 2008, Assistant Secretary for Health Howard Koh launched a management review of the Corps that ultimately recommended reorganizing the Corps' admin and ops functions again under OSG. The first steps were taken in 2010 when the operations and policy functions were combined again into the new DCCPR. We anticipate the integration of compensation and medical branches back into a single organzational structure resposnble to the Surgeon General will result in improved efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability.
12/02/2010 - The PHS Commissioned Officers Foundation's third book is available! Caring & Curing: A History of the Indian Health Service is written by James P. Rife, a senior historian with History Associates, and CAPT Alan J. Dellapenna, (Ret.), Jr., USPHS of the Indian Health Service. This thoroughly researched volume chronicles the history of Indian Heath Service (IHS) from its earliest beginnings, as part of the Department of the Interior, through multiple reorganizations including the 1955 transfer to the U.S. Public Health Service. Focusing upon the intense, often shifting political, tribal, and healthcare dynamics; Caring & Curing traces IHS's evolution over time. The book follows the agency through myriad trials and triumphs in its long-running fight to elevate Indian health to a level comparable to that of the rest of the nation. Brought to life through compelling personal stories, a crisp narrative, and archival imagery, the book not only looks at past successes and failures of Indian health care, but keeps an eye towards the future and the remaining work to be done by the agency in consultation and cooperation with American Indians and Alaska Natives. Caring & Curing is hardcover, with 170 full color pages, and measuring 8 ½ x 11 inches. Place your single book orders for a retail price of $34.95. If you are interested in purchasing wholesale, 22 or more copies, you will always receive 15% off per book ($29.71). Please keep in mind, the shipping cost and a $2 handling charge will be added to all orders under 10 copies. For 10 or more copies, the handling price will go up to $25. If prompted when ordering, please use "phscof" as the username and "order" as the password (without the " " marks). Click here to order.
12/02/2010 - The PHS Commissioned Officers Foundation's fourth book has been published, and is available! Written by U.S. Public Health Service officers with expertise in responding to public health emergencies nationally and internationally, the book provides a much-needed reference for all uniformed service and civilian emergency medical response personnel. It organizes a vast array of emergency public health organizational and practice information in a form that allows ready understanding of the principles and practice norms within the field, and their inter-relationships. As noted by the book's Senior Editor, former U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, the book will "...serve to enhance the knowledge and professionalism of those who are tasked with an emergency response mission." Public Health Emergency Preparedness & Response is an essential resource in learning about the actions and approaches that are utilized in dealing with public health related disasters in this Nation and within the complex global community. This book measures 8 3/4 x 5 7/8 inches with a soft multi-color cover, and is 344 pages. This book is edited by, VADM Richard H. Carmona, MD, MPH, (Ret. USPHS), 17th Surgeon General of the United States; CAPT Robert G. Darling, MD, (Ret. USN); CAPT James E. Knoben, PharmD, MPH, (Ret. USPHS); and RADM Jerrold M. Michael, DrPH, ScD (Ret. USPHS). Place your book orders for a retail price of $22 per book. Please keep in mind, the shipping cost will be $5 per book. Please fill out this form, and either fax or mail it to COF. If you are ordering 10 or more copies, please call COF at (301) 731-9080.
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| ©2012 Commissioned Officers Association of the USPHS Inc | Revised 10/04/2012 |
