AFSPA Talks

In this episode of AFSPA Talks, COO, Kyle Longton discusses Medicare, Tricare, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program, and how they work together with Rear Adm. Christine Hunter (Ret.), MD Former Chief Medical Officer, OPM Co-Chair, NCQA Committee on Performance Measurement. AFSPA CEO, Paula S. Jakub, RHU also joins the conversation to give us more information on how Medicare coordinates benefits with the other two programs. 

Below are some helpful links: 

• AFSPA webinar on Medicare: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDzJnt4Rf6k 
• Medicare Overview: https://www.afspa.org/fsbp-and-medicare/ 
• OPM information on overseas coverage: https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare/plan-information/important-facts-about-overseas-coverage/ 
• Military Officers Association of American Post on Medicare and TRICARE for Life: https://www.moaa.org/content/publications-and-media/news-articles/2021-news-articles/65-and-beyond-understanding-medicare-and-tricare-for-life/ 
• Tricare4u: www.tricare4u.com  
• TRICARE: www.tricare.mil  

In this episode of AFSPA Talks, CEO, Paula Jakub brings us through a discussion on Medicare and the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program, and how they work together. Paula talks about Medicare regulations, benefit coordination, how to differentiate between Medicare Parts A, B, C, and D, and how the FEHB coverage works for federal retirees who do not take Medicare.

We highly encourage you to follow along with the visual slides from our recorded webinar presentation at Medicare & the FEHB - Updated for 2022 - YouTube. Also, visit our Medicare page to learn more on how the Foreign Service Benefit Plan works with Medicare at https://www.afspa.org/fsbp-and-medicare/. 

In this episode of AFSPA Talks, COO Kyle Longton takes us through a discussion of how AFSPA can help you with your 2022 new year's resolutions. Listen in as Kyle discusses wellness incentives, wellness programs, and more!

In this episode of AFSPA Talks, COO Kyle Longton discusses staying healthy throughout the holiday season with Dr. Jonathan Rubens, Chief Medical Officer of ActiveHealth Management. Senior Director Leah Briggs also joins the conversation to give us more information on Lifestyle and Condition Coaching and how a coach can help you stay on track this holiday season.

Jonathan S. Rubens brings more than 25 years of experience as a physician leader in both academic and community settings. As the CMO, Jonathan leads a multidisciplinary team of physicians, pharmacists and nurses focused on building effective population health management programs and clinical analytic tools to promote evidence-based patient care.

Leah Briggs is Senior Director of Clinical Solutions at ActiveHealth and a Registered Nurse with over 13 years of case management experience. Along with Dr. Rubens, Leah leads the strategic evolution of clinical programs at ActiveHealth Management, including the Lifestyle and Condition Coaching program.

For more information on the Lifestyle and Condition Coaching program, click here. 

In this episode of AFSPA Talks, COO Kyle Longton is the one being interviewed! That's right, this episode dives into Open Season and the questions members usually have this time of year. Kyle brings us through 2022 Foreign Service Benefit Plan plan changes and enhancements, and answers FAQs. 

In this episode of AFSPA Talks, COO Kyle Longton brings us through a discussion on Long Term Care for Long Term Care Awareness Month. For this episode, Kyle is joined by Linda Tsironis Caruthers, founder and CEO of Long-Term Care Consultants. 

Linda Tsironis Caruthers, CSA, LTCP is the founder and CEO of Long-Term Care Consultants, Inc., a dedicated long-term care insurance agency providing long-term care planning and caregiver support resources to individuals and employer groups. She has specialized in long-term care insurance since 2000 and earned the Long-Term Care Professional (LTCP) designation from America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) in 2005 and the Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) designation from the Society of Certified Senior Advisors in 2006.

In this episode of AFSPA Talks we hear from the Senior Living Foundation's caregiving webinar.

AFSPA CEO Paula Jakub, who also serves as the Executive Director of the Senior Living Foundation provides some background on the Foundation and introduces Heather Suri, an aging life care professional who runs a care management agency in Northern Virginia, and Kevin Montgomery, a licensed clinical social worker with AbleTo, a mental wellness program we’ve discussed previously. Heather will share some tools and resources available to help people caring for aging loved ones. Kevin will talk through some self-care strategies to help caregivers who usually are managing a lot.

Link to full webinar: https://youtu.be/ZmSDtXU7aLc

Link to SLF website: http://www.slfoundation.org/

About SLF: The mission of the Senior Living Foundation of the American Foreign Service is to provide support to retired Foreign Service personnel and their spouses (including surviving and divorced spouses) and, on the basis of need, to defray the cost of home health care services, senior housing, long term care, or other senior services that contribute to the health and security of the retired Foreign Service family.

In this episode of AFSPA Talks, COO Kyle Longton brings us through a discussion on healthy pregnancy with Dr.  Joanne Armstrong, Chief Medical Officer for Women's Health and Genomics at CVS Health. Kyle and Dr. Armstrong talk about preparing for pregnancy, advice for while you're pregnant, and post-pregnancy tips. 

Joanne Armstrong, MD, MPH is  She is responsible for women's health and genomics policy, strategy, and clinical program design across all CVSH enterprise units. Dr. Armstrong has practiced clinical obstetrics and gynecology for more than 25 years. Dr. Armstrong is Board Certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and has additional training in epidemiology and public health.

In this episode of AFSPA Talks, COO Kyle Longton brings us through a discussion of 2021 Open Season with AFSPA's CEO, Paula Jakub. The two talk plan enhancements, changes, and more, serving as your guide to this year's Open Season.

Open Season runs from November 8 - December 13. Go to afspa.org/openseason for more information, and visit afspa.org/events to register for one of our virtual Open Season events.

Visit afspa.org/blog for more information on Open Season, including all virtual event dates. 

In this episode of AFSPA Talks, COO Kyle Longton brings us through a discussion of diabetes with Teladoc Health's Director of Clinical Products, Dr. Tejaswi Kompala. 

Dr. Teja Kompala is the Director of Clinical Products and clinical subject matter expert for the diabetes and weight management/diabetes prevention programs. As a board-certified Endocrinologist, her responsibilities at Teladoc Health focus on clinical strategy, product development, and clinical analytics across chronic conditions.