Company Profile
Veteran Health Indiana
Company Overview
The Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center is the flagship medical center for Veteran Health Indiana, the VA’s healthcare system in central and southern Indiana. The medical center is located in downtown Indianapolis, and is collocated with three large community hospitals and the campus of the Indiana University Schools of Medicine and Nursing. The health system has been serving Hoosier Veterans since 1932. As Indiana’s Level 1a, tertiary care Veteran facility, the medical center serves as home base for a system of inpatient and outpatient care locations serving more than 62,000 Veterans, including 5,000 women, who utilize 736,000 outpatient appointments each year and 7,000 inpatient care episodes each year. Our Veterans come from communities across Indiana and eastern Illinois.
Medical center programs include acute medical, surgical, psychiatric, neurological, and rehabilitation care, utilizing 159 inpatient beds, as well both primary and specialized outpatient services Some noteworthy specialized services provided in the medical center include
Women Veteran Health
Suicide Prevention
Cardiac Surgery
Cardiac Catheterization
Radiation/Oncology
Mental Health Clinic
Polytrauma Center
Inpatient and Home Hemodialysis Programs
Audiology and Speech Pathology
Alcohol and Drug Dependency Outpatient Treatment
Nuclear Medicine Services
Orthopedic Surgery
Computerized Tomography/PET/MRI
Homeless Outreach Programs
Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
Prosthetics & Sensory Aids
Electron Microscopy
Sleep Lab
Palliative Care
Veteran Health Indiana operates community clinics in Bloomington, Columbus, Crane, Indianapolis West, Martinsville, Shelbyville, Terre Haute, and West Lafayette. A Veteran Wellness Center is located inside the nation’s only Veteran-centric YMCA in northwest Indianapolis, and two shared clinics are operated with the Department of Defense. More than $200 million in community clinic construction is underway in Brownsburg, Terre Haute, and Lafayette with a new clinic planned for Lawrence. Community-based programs conduct suicide prevention, Veteran justice outreach, and homebased primary care and mental health programs, and a newly built, 50-bed homeless residential treatment facility is operated in Lawrence. Veteran Health Indiana is a leader in providing convenient care to Veterans and offers a wide variety of specialty appointments through cutting-edge telehealth technology.
Affiliated with Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSOM), Veteran Health Indiana provides medical education to over 150 fellows, residents, and medical students and another 1850 allied health professionals each year. There is an affiliation with the Indiana University School of Nursing as well as education arrangements with 31 universities representing 94 fields of study involving dentistry, pharmacy, social work, allied health, psychology and others. The Pharmacy Residency program features a strong affiliation with both Purdue University and Butler University.
In collaboration with Indiana University , the medical center's research program operates 245 active research protocols involving human subjects, laboratory animals, and hazardous agents, with a budget of approximately $21 million.
Company History
The Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center, located 2 miles northwest of the heart of downtown Indianapolis, has been serving Indiana Veterans since 1932.
As Indiana’s tertiary care facility, we receive referrals from VA facilities at Ft. Wayne and Marion, Indiana, and from nearby Danville, Illinois. We provide acute inpatient medical, surgical, psychiatric, neurological, and rehabilitation care, as well as both primary and specialized outpatient services. Some noteworthy specialized services include comprehensive cardiac care, radiation oncology treatment and community based extended care.
The medical center operates VA Clinics in Bloomington, Martinsville, Indy West, Lafayette, Camp Atterbury, Crane Naval Base, Shelbyville and Terre Haute, Indiana. We also partner with the YMCA in Pike Township. We are building a new 80,000 square foot health care facility in Brownsburg that will have 16 primary care teams serving 20,000 Veterans yearly. The more than 63,000 patients (nearly 5,000 women Veterans) treated by your VA medical center require over 613,000 outpatient visits (over 2000 a day on average) and almost 8600 inpatient episodes of care yearly (35,400 bed days). The medical center conducts 245 research protocols with a research budget of $21M. VHI provides education to over 150 fellows, 775 residents, 832 medical students, 680 nursing students, 48 PA students, 51 pharmacy students and 2500 allied health professionals annually.
Benefits
FEDERAL BENEFITS OVERVIEW
The Federal government offers a number of exceptional benefits to its employees. The following Web addresses are provided for your reference to explore the major benefits offered to most Federal employees.
Physician Pay –
• Pay is set by Compensation Panel – a peer review of qualifications
• Basic Pay – Based on longevity in VA service. May contain annual pay adjustment
• Market Pay – Based on recruitment need, level of experience, healthcare labor market, board certifications, accomplishments within the specialty, and prior VHA experience.
• Performance Pay – Intended to recognize the achievement of specific goals and performance objectives annually
Leave –
Most Federal employees earn both annual and sick leave.
For additional information visit: http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/index.asp
Annual Leave Accrual rate
• Full-Time – 26 days per leave year – cannot carry more than 86 days into next leave year
• Part-time – 1 hour for each 10 hours in pay status – cannot carry more than 240 hours into next leave year
Sick Leave Accrual rate
• Full-Time – 13 days per leave year
• Part-Time – 1 hour for each 20 hours in pay status
• There is no cap on the number of hours of sick leave that you can carry over into the next leave year
Health Insurance –
The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program offers over 100 optional plans.
For additional information visit: http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/index.asp
• You have several different plans available to choose from, all with different premiums
• You pay an employee portion and the government picks up the rest (based on your employment status)
• You will be given a comparison chart that lists all plans and premiums during new employee in-processing
• You have 60 days from your start date to sign up
• Health Insurance will become effective the first day of the following pay period after you sign up
Dental and Vision Insurance –
• In addition to the Health Insurance Plans, you are eligible to pick up supplemental Vision and Dental Plans
• Note: Only limited Vision and Dental are included in some of the Health Insurance Plans mentioned above- our supplemental plans offer more extensive coverage at a separate cost
• You have 60 day from your start date to sign up
Life Insurance –
The Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance Program (FEGLI) offers: Basic Life Insurance plus three types of optional insurance.
For additional information visit: http://www.opm.gov/insure/life/index.asp
• You are automatically covered under Basic Life Insurance – Basic insurance is your salary rounded to the nearest thousand plus two thousand- this is not free, it is a small cost to you. Basic Life Insurance is automatic and will come out of your first check unless you waive coverage!
• You are also eligible for more coverage on yourself – an additional 10,000 and/or up to 5 times your salary
• Family coverage on your spouse and children under age 22 are also available
• You have 60 days from your start date to pick-up additional coverage
Retirement Program –
Almost all new employees are automatically covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). FERS is a three-tiered retirement plan. The three tiers are: Social Security Benefits, Basic Benefit Plan, and Thrift Savings Plan.
For additional information visit: https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/fers-information/
• The Federal Government considers their retirement a three part plan (Social Security, FERS, TSP)
• Social Security, Basic Benefit Plan and Thrift Saving Plan
• You will receive a monthly annuity from the eligible FERS plan (i.e. FERS, FERS-RAE, FERS-FRAE; whichever is applicable depending on status of new hire) once you retire
• If you are a veteran- the ability to pay back 3% of your total military salary earned to add to your creditable years of service for retirement purposes. This is Military Buyback Post-56 Deposit (FERS).
• Vested after 5 years of Federal Civilian Service
• FERS is approximately 0.8 percent of your salary
• FERS – RAE employees pay approximately 3.1 percent of their salaries
• FERS – FRAE employees pay approximately 4.4 percent of their salaries. This is what all new employees who do not have prior federal civilian service with time counting towards another federal retirement system will be designated.
Thrift Savings Plan – https://www.tsp.gov/index.html
• you can contribute up the current IRS elective deferral limit
• The government matches your savings up to 5% after a waiting period and you will automatically receive and agency 1% whether you contribute or not.
• No set time periods to start, stop or change contributions
• There are 5 different funds to invest in and also a plan called “Lifecycle” Funds
• TSP can except transfers and rollovers from a traditional IRA or another eligible employer plan
• Vested after 3 years
Flexible Spending Accounts –
The Federal Flexible Spending Accounts Program (FSAFeds) allows you to pay for certain health and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.
For additional information visit: https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/flexible-spending-accounts
• This program allows you to set aside pre-tax funds to pay for a wide range of common out-of-pocket expenses, such as over the counter drugs, daycare, and much more.
• You have 60 days from your start date to sign up
Long Term Care Insurance –
The Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP) provides long term care insurance for Federal employees and their parents, parents-in-law, stepparents, spouses, and adult children.
For additional information visit: http://www.ltcfeds.com/
• You (and your spouse, if you're married) have 60 days from your entrance date to apply for Long Term Care Insurance using the abbreviated underwriting application with only a few health-related questions.
• If you apply AFTER the 60 day period, you will have to use the long underwriting application with numerous health-related questions, and possibly a review of medical records and/or an interview with a nurse.
• The Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP) provides long term care insurance for Federal employees and their parents, parents-in-law, stepparents, spouses, and adult children.
• If you're newly employed in a position that conveys eligibility for FEHB coverage, you can apply for long term care insurance, even if you don't enroll in the FEHB Program. Check with your human resources office if you are unsure about your eligibility.
FAQ
1. What are the details about carrying health insurance into retirement?
The Office of Personnel Management provides answers to frequently asked questions about Federal Employee Health Benefits. https://www.opm.gov/FAQS/topic/insure/index.aspx?cid=880bfba8-8f8b-4e64-9a72-fae98408fd0e
I know you have to be enrolled in the FEHB Program for 5 years before retirement to continue coverage in retirement. Does previous enrollment count towards 5 years or does it have to be five continuous years? This employee was enrolled for about two years in the past and wonders if this counts towards the 5 years. View less
It depends. FEHB law requires a retiring employee to be covered under FEHB for the 5 years of service immediately before retirement or, if less than 5 years, for all service since the employee’s first opportunity to enroll in FEHB. In the above situation, the employee’s 2 years of previous FEHB coverage would count toward his 5-year FEHB coverage requirement if he had a break in service and therefore could not have had FEHB as an employee.
For example: The employee was enrolled in FEHB from 2003-2005 and then separated from Federal employment. He returned to Federal service in 2010 and was enrolled in FEHB from 2010-2013. The 2 years he was enrolled in FEHB from 2003-2005 along with the 3 years he was enrolled in FEHB from 2010-2013 enable him to meet the 5-year coverage requirement.
However, if the employee had been continuously employed and eligible for FEHB, but had a break in his FEHB coverage from 2003-2009 because he cancelled his FEHB, he would have to begin the 5-year period over again.
2. How are benefits adjusted with 8ths (i.e. working only 1/8, 2/8, 3/8 etc. are you eligible for different benefits at different appointment levels)?
The Office of Personnel Management provides information about part-time employment here:
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/part-time-and-job-sharing/#url=Benefits
The benefit eligibility appears to be the same regardless of the number of part-time hours worked. However, benefits are prorated.
3. TSP – at what point are you able to keep the government match money?
Vesting
Being vested means that you are entitled to keep your Agency/Service Automatic (1%) Contributions (and their earnings) after you’ve completed a time-in-service requirement. All years of service count toward vesting, not just the years in which you were a TSP participant. Most FERS employees become vested in Agency Automatic (1%) Contributions after three years of federal civilian service.
The date your vesting period begins is determined by your TSP Service Computation Date (TSP-SCD) or your PEBD,4 which your agency or service reports to the TSP. Your SCD or PEBD is shown along with other vesting information on your quarterly and annual TSP participant statements.
If you leave government service before you satisfy the vesting requirement, your Agency/Service Automatic (1%) Contributions and their earnings must be forfeited. However, if you die before separating from service, you are automatically considered vested in all of the money in your account.
4. TSP – Can you contribute the maximum and still contribute the maximum to an outside 401k?
The Internal Revenue Code places a number of specific limits to the dollar amounts of contributions you can make to TSP and other retirement accounts. For details, you’ll need to consult the applicable IRC or accountant.
5. FERS Pension- at what point are you able to keep the benefit? How and when are the benefits received? How is it different from retirement?
Information about eligibility for FERS benefits is available here:
https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/fers-information/eligibility/
If you leave your Government job before becoming eligible for retirement:
• you can ask that your retirement contributions be returned to you in a lump sum payment, or
• if you have at least five years of creditable service, you can wait until you are at retirement age to apply for monthly retirement benefit payments. This is called a deferred retirement. View the deferred retirement web page.
6. FERS Pension – what is the difference between being vested and eligible for retirement (MRA+10, regular etc.)
Information about eligibility for FERS benefits is available here:
https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/fers-information/eligibility/