EFMP (Exceptional Family Member Program)

[Whisky]

As someone stationed in Japan that has seen a lot of military members denied for EFMP, I personally would call the gaining location myself and see what care is available at the location, and if it is covered and available, I would do everything possible to make the EFMP application as "clean" as possible.  Obviously you want to make sure your wife is taken care of and appropriate care is available, and hopefully she is doing well.  But I've seen people denied EFMP for very silly things, in my opinion.  A couple of weeks ago I was TDY in Hawaii and an Army Major we visited with was denied to bring his family to Hawaii, because his daughter had seen a counselor a couple times for depression. His wife is a medical professional, a nurse I think, and there's obviously plenty of care available in Hawaii. He was denied by EFMP and did a 2 year unaccompanied tour instead of a 3 year accompanied tour, his daughter who is now 18 feels guilty for stopping the PCS, and is moving out to Hawaii on her own for College next year anyway.

In my opinion, EFMP has become a bloated, power hungry entity that abuses their power and doesn't care so much about the health of the force, but rather covering their a$$ for liability sake. They'll say no to reduce risk and liability for the DoD, vs looking to find healthcare solutions.

Take that for what it's worth, but it's just one example of many similar examples I've seen in Japan.  

 

 

[ClearedHot]

The EFMP system can be a maddening mess.  My son had chronic ear infections which resulted in a slight speech delay.  The pediatrician and state of Florida prescribed a year of speech therapy just as I was finishing command.  My assignment from NW Florida to National War College was TURNED OFF by the medical system, they invoked the EFMP clause saying they could not confirm my son would receive appropriate speech therapy care in WASHINGTON DC!  I tried to inject some common sense into the system for 10 days before my boss who was the Air Warfare Center Commander stepped in.  He was like me speechless and went VFR direct to the Surgeon General of the Air Force.  The SG called me personally to say it was all worked out and yes there was speech therapy in the Nation's Capital, but also told me "the system is just trying to protect you and your family."

[MCO]

2 hours ago, ClearedHot said:

The EFMP system can be a maddening mess.  My son had chronic ear infections which resulted in a slight speech delay.  The pediatrician and state of Florida prescribed a year of speech therapy just as I was finishing command.  My assignment from NW Florida to National War College was TURNED OFF by the medical system, they invoked the EFMP clause saying they could not confirm my son would receive appropriate speech therapy care in WASHINGTON DC!  I tried to inject some common sense into the system for 10 days before my boss who was the Air Warfare Center Commander stepped in.  He was like me speechless and went VFR direct to the Surgeon General of the Air Force.  The SG called me personally to say it was all worked out and yes there was speech therapy in the Nation's Capital, but also told me "the system is just trying to protect you and your family."

I’ve seen this happen all the time, and it almost always is overturned and allowed after causing a ton of stress and delays. Sometimes it happens during people’s pack outs. It’s ridiculous. And most of the time it’s the gaining doctor just not wanting to add anymore “non-normal” cases because it’s hard…….

[Skitzo]

Need to get awareness out there for this. The link is a dashboard for almost every conceivable assignment location linked to EFMP needs along with a two year running trend of need to approval or disapproval for EFMP clearance for PCS.

While it is only information and trends can change it certainly can provide powerful information to members on the VML to submit bids.

I just lost an assignment to Stuttgart and never would have put in for it given our families needs. I probably would have said don’t send me to Germany because they will deny me.

https://daffamilyvector.us.af.mil/MemberSite/ProviderTrends


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[osulax05]

Thanks for sharing Skitzo. This is the type of transparency Airmen have been asking about for years. I’d personally put this in the “what’s right with the AF” category.

Sorry to hear about the lost assignment.