7 - Virginia Federation of Chapters

F e l lo w s hi p - L eg is la t i on - B e ne f i ts - Su p p o r t
REACHING OUT
NARFE Chapter 7
National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association
Next meeting:
Saturday, Dec. 13
Holiday
Luncheon
Social time: 11:30 a.m.
Lunch: noon
Rock Bottom
4238 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA
Speaker:
Charles Clark
Author of
Arlington County
Chronicles
(reservations required; see
page 2)
Executive Board meets
Dec. 18, 10 a.m.
Welcome,
new members
Eileen Parish
Welcome,
reinstatements
Mary A. Barrett
Helen DeThomas
Patricia G. Garfinkel
Bernardo J. Guiliano
Alice G. Tenenbaum
In Memoriam
Phyllis Jean Lee
Margaret I. Rodger
December 2014
President’s message:
Wrapping up another year
By Mark McLachlan
At our November General
Meeting, we swore in the chapter’s officers for 2015: President,
Mark McLachlan; First Vice President/Legislative Chair, Ed Weiler;
Second Vice President/ Membership Chair, John Harms; Secretary/Web Coordinator, Nancy
Palmerino; and Treasurer, Bill
Thomson. They will take office in
January.
Meanwhile, the new NARFE
National officers took office on
November 1. We now have only
two National officers: the Secretary and Treasurer positions were
merged and the Vice President
position was eliminated. Dick
Thissen is now President; he’s
been the National Treasurer
since 2011. And, Jon Dowie is
the new Secretary/Treasurer.
Save-the-dates: The VA Federation of Chapters (VFC) is hard
at work planning the annual convention. This year it will be held in
Fredericksburg (fairly close to
home) on April 13-15, 2015. The
theme will be “NARFE - Embracing Change.” Plan to attend and
hear the latest; last year Senator
Warner gave us his perspectives
- nothing like hearing it directly
from someone in the middle of it
all. Also, the National Legislative
Training Conference will be held
March 14-17, 2015, in Crystal
City (very close to home). Held
every other year, the conference
addresses the issues facing the
federal community, NARFE’s leg-
islative agenda, and how to organize locally. Please contact me
for more details on either event.
Gift-giving-made-easy: A
NARFE membership makes a
perfect gift! Give a gift that keeps
on giving for 12 months. Introduce a friend or relative to the
benefits of a NARFE membership. Contact our Membership
Chair, NARFE HQ (703/8387760), or me for more information.
And, finally, my column
wouldn’t be complete without an
appeal for help! We need folks to
volunteer for our Audit Committee
(takes only a couple of hours to
look over the books for 2014); the
Publicity Committee (takes a little
bit of time each month to send
news about the chapter
(meetings, etc.) to various media
outlets); and the Social Committee (makes sure we have refreshments before our monthly meetings; arranges the June and December luncheons). Please let
me know if you can help the
chapter.
Happy Holidays!
Recruiting bonus extended
through 12/31/14
Recruit a new member for NARFE by
December 31, and National NARFE
will pay you a $10 bonus. In addition,
National NARFE will award a Kindle
Fire tablet to one randomly selected
recruiter.
Good luck!
PAGE 2
R E A C HI NG O U T
NA R FE C HA P T E R 7
Notes on legislation from NARFE Headquarters
Lame Duck

The Lame Duck session is not expected to be a
cantankerous session, nor is it expected to go
later then mid-December.
their own is enough to oppose the larger bill.
NARFE members should be using this time to let
their Senators know they oppose the bill.
Re-Employed Annuitants

One of the top priorities for the Lame Duck Con- 
gress will be to pass an appropriations package.
The current continuing resolution expires on December 11 and Congress will have to pass legislation to take us into the New Year.

They can pass another CR and let the new Congress pass a package to finish FY16 or they can
pass an omnibus package that will include
spending through the end of the fiscal year.


One piece of legislation that may be debated
during the Lame Duck is the postal reform bill
pending in the Senate, S. 1486. NARFE opposes
the bill for a variety of reasons, all of which on

Language allowing for the 5-year extension of
the Re-Employed Annuitants provision has been
included in the Senate Manager’s Amendment of
the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
A must-pass piece of legislation, it is expected to
pass the Senate during the Lame Duck.
There will either be a conference committee between the House and Senate to iron out any differences or the House can pass the Senate’s bill.
The legislation allows agencies to hire retirees
on a limited, part-time basis without a reduction
in their salary.
(Continued on page 3)
Last call for the Dec. 13 holiday luncheon;
Charles Clark will be our speaker
By Nancy Palmerino
This year our holiday luncheon will be on Saturday, December 13, at the Rock Bottom Restaurant &
Brewery, 4238 Wilson Blvd, Arlington. VA. Social
time will begin at 11:30 a.m. Lunch will be at noon.
Our guest speaker for the event will be Charles
Clark, a journalist with the Falls Church News-Press,
who writes the column “Our Man in Arlington.” His
talk will contain anecdotes from his recently published book, Arlington County Chronicles, which
features vignettes from the County’s history dating
back to colonial times.
For lunch you may choose from the following
menu options:
Mac and Cheese – Cavatappi pasta tossed in
house made cheese sauce.
Tuscan Chicken Pasta – Linguini pasta in a
balsamic tomato sauce with grilled chicken.
Sautéed Tilapia – Fresh Tilapia sautéed and
served with lemon rice.
Chicken Fried Chicken – Chicken breast golden fried topped with chicken gravy. Served with
mashed potatoes.
All entrees include a salad served with balsamic vinaigrette dressing, a non-alcoholic beverage
and a dessert brownie. Alcoholic beverages will be
available for purchase.
The restaurant is located on the first floor of
Ballston Common Mall and is accessible through
the mall. Persons may also be dropped off on
Glebe Road and enter directly into the restaurant
from Glebe Road. Parking is available for $1 on the
upper levels of the parking garage. We hope you will
join us.
The price is $20. ALL RESERVATIONS MUST
BE RECEIVED BY DECEMBER 5. Sorry, no refunds
To reserve, make check payable to "NARFE
Chapter 7" and mail to: Nancy Palmerino, 4503 4th
Road N., Arlington, VA 22203.
December 13, 2014 - Luncheon Reservation
Name: ___________________________________
Entrée: Mac/cheese___ Pasta ___Fish___ Chicken___
Name:___________________________________
Entrée: Mac/cheese___ Pasta___ Fish___ Chicken___
Price: $20 per person. No refunds.
Total Enclosed: $________
Make check payable to “NARFE Chapter 7.”
Mail to: Nancy Palmerino, 4503 4th Road N., Arlington, VA
22203.
Questions? Special dietary needs? Call Nancy at (703)
243-6546
ALL RESERVATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY DEC 5.
NA R FE C HA P T E R 7
PAGE 3
R E A C HI NG O U T
Legislative corner:
Outpatient Observation Status: a controversial hospital billing
practice incites growing clamor for legislative redress
By Ed Weiler
Imagine this scenario. You
spend several days in the hospital,
receiving a physician’s care, diagnostic tests, medications, food,
and you even sport the hospital
wristband. Only when you get
home and the bills start coming do
you learn that you weren’t
“hospitalized,” but instead the attending physician had classified
you as an “outpatient” under
“observation status.”
As a cognoscente of medical
billing practices, you’re aware that
Medicare Part A covers hospital
costs...so long as you have been
admitted. But if you’ve only been
“under observation?” Ooops! In
this case, Part B kicks in, assuming you have Part B, which many
FEHB retirees do not. Depending
upon the specifics of your plan,
your share of this anomalouslylabeled outpatient care could be
hefty. Moreover, outpatientobservation care does not count
toward the 3-day inpatient care
required before Medicare will pay
for post-hospital rehabilitative
and/or nursing care.
It is with all of the above considerations in mind that, as part of
its 2015 Legislative Program for
the Virginia General Assembly,
the Northern Virginia Aging Network (NVAN)* has called for legislation that would require hospitals
to provide patients with written notice when they are placed under
“observation status.” While such
notice won’t help pay the bills, at
least you would have the opportunity to explore other treatment
options in order to pre-empt a nasty cost-sharing surprise after the
fact....assuming you’re in an adequate state of mental acuity at this
point. OK, maybe not full resolution of the problem, but a reasonable start.
On the federal level, companion bills have been in the hopper
since early 2013: Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of
2013 (HR 1179; S 569). Specifically, these bills would amend Title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social
Security Act by deeming an individual receiving outpatient observation services in a hospital to be
an “inpatient” for purposes of Medicare’s 3-day inpatient hospital re-
quirement regarding eligibility for
post-hospital extended care coverage in a skilled nursing facility.
Here again, only a partial solution,
in that these bills do not address
the potentially hefty cost-sharing
issue noted above. Although neither of these bills have been
sprung from committee since their
introduction, they have been slowly gaining co-sponsors over the
past two years (some as recently
as last month) from both sides of
the aisle. It’s reasonable to expect
they will be reintroduced in the
next Congress. Outreach on your
part to Congressman-elect Beyer
and Sens. Warner and Kaine
could help make this happen.
* NVAN includes the Commissions
on Aging and Area Agencies on
Aging of Alexandria, Arlington,
Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William, as well as regional service
and advocacy organizations (of
which VANARFE is one). For
more information, see:
www.Novaregion.org .
Legislative Notes
Capitol Hill on March 17. Hotel registration is
available online. NARFE negotiated a reduced
rate of $175 a night, plus fees and taxes.
(Continued from page 2)
Legislative Conference


NARFE’s Legislative Training Conference will be
held March 14 – 17, 2015 at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel. The three-day conference includes training opportunities, national
speakers, and the opportunity to network with fellow NARFE grass-roots activists. The conference
culminates in a visit to Capitol Hill, where you will
take your new skills and meet with your legislators.
Online Registration is available now. The $175
registration fee includes six meals, all of your
training materials and transportation to and from
Looking Ahead

The remainder of the 113th Congress will probably bring little excitement, as the Lame Duck session is expected to end mid-December.

Next year, however, will be anything but slow, as
the budget process will begin in early February.
Now is the time to plan and prepare so that you
are able to take quick grassroots action when
asked by the Legislative Department.
(from Monthly Legislative Update for NARFE Chapters, November 2014)
NONPROFIT
US POSTAGE PAID
Merrifield, VA
Permit No. 942
NARFE
Arlington Chapter 7
P.O. Box 100971
Arlington, VA 22210
Return Service requested
Last call for holiday
luncheon, see page 2
Please deliver by Dec. 5
Chapter 7 Officers
President Mark McLachlan
703-528-3158
mark.mc.528@gmail.com
1st VP & Legislative Chair
Edward Weiler
703-241-8798
cantilever55@yahoo.com
2nd VP, Membership Chair
John Duran
703-528-6510
NARFEmembrshp@aol.com
Sunshine Chair Madge Selinsky
703-527-2182
Program Chair Norbert Erickson
703-528-1168
Alzheimer’s Chair Bonnie Franklin
703-578-1935
bfrank317@aol.com
Historian Elsie Cunningham
703-370-4062
carpercon@aol.com
Secretary /Web Coordinator
Nancy Palmerino
703-243-6546
nancyolive0110@yahoo.com
Past President
Max Scruggs
703-536-9148
maxscruggs.narfe@yahoo.com
Treasurer
John Harms
978-235-3633
johnkharms@gmail.com
Social Chair
William (Bill) Thomson
703-358-9549
jbwt42@gmail.com
Parliamentarian/Service Officer
Richard Simpson
703-527-3867
rsimpson02@comcast.net
Newsletter Editor/Distribution Mgr
Mary Knox
703-524-3499
mhknox681@verizon.net
Contact your elected officials
United States Senate
The Honorable Tim Kaine
B40C Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Ph: 202-224-4024
Fax: 202-228-6363
Web: www.kaine.senate.gov
The Honorable Mark R. Warner
475 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Ph: 202-224-2023
Fax: 202-224-6295
Web: www.warner.senate.gov
United States House of
Representatives (District 8)
The Honorable James P. Moran
2252 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Ph: 202-225-4376
Fax: 202-225-0017
Web: www.moran.house.gov