APO ending for Military Retirees Overseas

APO Ending for Miltiary Retirees

Folks,

I sent the following letters to my Florida senators, the President, Vice President, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and the Director of Tricare to ask them to reverse two policies that negatively affect my life overseas as a retiree. We are about to lose access to the APO system and have been effectively kicked out of the military hospital system overseas. If you are able and concerned enough to join me in taking action, please do so. Where to send letters is listed at the end.

I will update this is I get any responses or if the policies are reversed.

Thanks for anything you can do.

Letter to Senator Rubio etc

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Dear Senator Rubio,Re changes to Military APO system and Tricare for retirees

I am a long-term dedicated voter in Florida and have been a long-term supporter of you. I urgently need your help and respectfully urge you to stop and reverse two pending federal government policies that will negatively affect military retirees and their family members living overseas, which will happen on August 24, 2022. There are over a million American retirees overseas, and many of them, are registered voters in Florida like me. I will be very disappointed in you if you fail to take action to reverse these anti-military family and anti-retiree policies.

My wife retired from the US military as a major and I retired from the US foreign service and have been Florida residents voting in Florida since 2016 although we live in South Korea.

The first policy I wish to address is ending military APO privileges for retirees living overseas, and the second is Tricare requiring military retirees and family members to sign up for Medicaid part b even if they have other insurance, knowing full well that Medicare part b is useless overseas.

It is with great concern I write to you regarding the planned discontinuation of APO/FPO privileges for military retirees and widows living overseas. I have just been informed that my APO/FPO box and privileges will end on August 24, 2022. This is a devastating change that will affect every military retiree living overseas. Not only will it affect the veterans, but also their families and survivors. We have never left the US In our hearts, but it now appears the US Is about to leave us. We military veterans and widows living overseas use the APO/FPO privilege to receive not only mail, but also lifesaving medications, pension, and benefit checks, important Government correspondence, banking needs, and the ability to cast absentee ballots, just to name a few.

The alternative is the local foreign postal service or private companies such as FedEx. Most foreign postal systems are unfortunately replete with theft, loss, and misdirection of important mails and medications. Here in Korea, the local post office is inadequate and Amazon and other US firms will not ship internationally. Thus cutting off APO service means that we can't easily shop by mail in the U.S.

The couriers are extremely expensive and at times also as ineffective as the postal systems. At no time in our history have Veteran benefits and privileges been so fragile as now.

In the past twenty years, Veterans indisputably earned and promised benefits to have been under attack ,once again as U.S. military veterans, we are being treated as second-class citizens because for various reasons we have chosen to live outside the US. We are still contributors to the economy of the country we served and remain patriots and advocates for the United States in the countries where we live. The term ex-pat does not mean any longer a patriot of the US.

Many have paid the ultimate price and have survivor spouses worldwide who also contribute. Just because we have chosen to live in quiet solitude, or because our loved ones hail from international locations, seems to be a reason to force us into the forgotten citizen group. I request you give your full attention to change and stop this injustice that is about to be perpetrated. Upon your joining the leadership of those who represent us, just like we who have served in the Armed Forces of America, you took an oath to defend and protect our laws and your fellow citizens.

I now request you honor that pledge and ask you submit legislation to prevent this drastic and extremely damaging change to a community of Americans who have served their country well. At a minimum, hold on to the execution of this action, pending a more in-depth review of the impact on veterans and their survivors worldwide.

The second issue is that Tricare is now requiring military retirees and family members to have Medicare Part B insurance if they wish to continue to use military health care facilities, even if they have alternative health care. Medicare does not require people to enroll in part B and if you have alternative insurance that is more than adequate for them.

The problem this poses for overseas retirees and their family members is that without signing up for Medicare Part B we are effectively cut off from using the military hospital system overseas. Part B is not usable overseas, so TRICARE is frankly ripping off military retirees and their family members who reside overseas.

I urge you to look into both of these issues that directly affect the lives of military retirees and family members, many of whom are residents and voters in Florida such as ourselves.

Thank you for reading our concerns and looking forward to your help in reversing these anti-retiree actions by the Federal government.

Thank You

Jake Aller, retired US foreign Service

Angela Lee, Retired US Army