Army Echoes Latest Blog Posts

Summer's Fun, Just Avoid Too Much Sun

Posted on August 02, 2019

Summer is here, and that means sunny weather is here to stay. Soaking up the sun is one of the best parts about summer. However, make sure to protect your skin when enjoying the sun-filled days ahead. Too much unprotected exposure to the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays can cause sunburn, eye damage, and skin damage in the form of premature wrinkles, according to the American Cancer Society. It can also cause skin cancer. Depending on your risk for developing skin cancer, TRICARE covers your skin cancer screening exams.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "Skin cancer is

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Checking Your SBP Coverage on Your Retiree Account Statement

Posted on July 31, 2019

If you have Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) coverage, it's important to regularly check your Retiree Account Statement (RAS) to verify your account information is current. The following explanations will help you understand the SBP information on your RAS.

The first page of your RAS has a lot of information on it about your pay, deductions, taxes and SBP.The SBP section has five lines on it for members who participate in SBP:

Type of Coverage

The first line is "The Type of Coverage" and can be the most confusing line, especially for retirees who have had more than one spouse. The options for this line are Spouse, Spouse and Child, Child Only, Former Spouse and NIP or Natural Interest Person.

Spouse coverage entitles your spouse to an SBP annuity at the time of your death.

If a retiree is married to one person at retirement, divorced, and the

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VA MISSION Act: Answers to the top five questions about urgent care

Posted on July 29, 2019

Urgent care is one of the new benefits offered as part of the VA MISSION Act that gives Veterans greater choice in their health care. The benefit is offered in addition to the opportunity to receive care from a VA provider, as VA also offers same-day services. We are working to ensure Veterans understand how to use the new urgent care benefit as part of VA's comprehensive benefits package. In this article, we answer some common questions about the new urgent care benefit.

  1. What is urgent care? Urgent care is a type of walk-in health care for situations where you need help but don't have an emergency, such as colds, ear infections, minor injuries, pink eye, skin infections, and strep throat.
  2. Why are there different

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