disease, and (10) allergic conditions requiring desensitization. (b) Other potentially disabling or chronic conditions may be referred to a medical board by the OMA with the concurrence of an appropriate naval clinical specialist and regional commander. § 732.20 Recovery of medical care payments. Evidence of payments shall be submitted to the action JAG designee in accordance with JAG manual, chapter 24, in each instance of payment where a third party may be legally liable for causing the injury or disease treated, or when a Government claim is possible under workmen's compensation, no-fault insurance, or under medical payments insurance (all automobile accident cases). (a) To assist in identifying possible third party liability cases, item 16 of each NAVMED 6320/10 shall be completed whenever benefits are received in connection with a vehicle accident. OMAS and the ODA shall return for completion, as applicable, any claim received without item 16 completed. (b) The front of a NAVJAG Form 5890/12 (Hospital and Medical Care, 3rd Party Liability Case) shall be completed and submitted by OMAS and the ODA with evidence of payment. Block 4 of this form requires an appended statement of the patient or an accident report, if available. To ensure that Privacy Act procedures are accomplished and documented, the person securing such a statement from a recipient of care shall show the recipient the Privacy Act statement printed at the bottom of the form prior to securing such a statement. The member shall be asked to sign his or her name beneath the statement. (c) In States with no-fault insurance laws, the procedures outlined in § 732.18(e)(3) shall also be followed. § 732.21 Collection for subsistence. (a) General. Each OMA shall initiate subsistence collection action for enlisted personnel upon receipt of a bill for inpatient care from nonnaval facilities or under circumstances described in § 732.21(c)(3). OMAS shall also ensure that pay adjustment action has been initiated by the member's command, as appropriate. Commands submitting claims to OMAS without a locally prepared pay checkage form or a DD 139 shall be requested to provide a copy. If the claim is otherwise payable, payment action shall be held in abeyance pending receipt of the form. (b) Officers. The accounts of officers (Navy and Marine Corps) receiving treatment in Veterans Administration facilities, the Canal Zone Hospital, or in civilian hospitals at the Department of the Navy's expense are required to be checked for subsistence. Collection action is initiated by completion and submission of a DD Form 139, Pay Adjustment Authorization, by the officer's commanding officer or the Pay/ Personnel Administrative Support System (PASS) office to the disbursing officer having custody of the member's pay record. The Pay/Personnel Administrative Support System office is responsible for ensuring that checkage has been accomplished in accordance with DOD Military Pay and Allowances Entitlements Manual 30137. When officers are hospitalized in an Army, Air Force, or designated USTF, the charge for subsistence will be collected by the facility. (c) Enlisted Members. (1) The passage of the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (DOPMA) placed a requirement on the uniformed services to collect subsistence from hospitalized enlisted personnel. To accomplish collection, it is necessary establish a pay checkage system similar to that described in § 732.21(b) for officers. Generally, the DD Form 139 can be used for this purpose; however, the Medical Department representative (or other appropriate individual) who completes or assists in the preparation of the NAVMED 6320/10 may attach thereto a locally prepared statement in the following format before submission of the claim to the OMA: (i) Name, rate, and social security number of the hospitalized member. (ii) Inclusive dates of hospitalization. (iii) "NAVMEDCOM 00018", COMNAVMEDCOM's Unit Identification Code (UIC), as the organization providing meals. (iv) Date forwarded to disbursing office. (2) The pay checkage form shall be forwarded to the disbursing officer (DO) or Personnel Support Detachment (PSD) holding the member's pay record. Copies shall be provided COMNAVMEDCOM (MEDCOM-112) and shall accompany each inpatient claim submitted to an OMA. § 732.22 Appeal of denied claims. When a claim for care under this part is initially denied, the member shall be advised of the appeal procedure in the denial letter specified in § 732.18(c)(5). Responses at all levels shall be prompt and courteous. The appeal procedure consists of three levels: (a) Reconsideration by the OMA or ODA making the initial denial. The member should submit any additional information that may mitigate the initial denial. (b) Consideration by the commander of the regional medical command having cognizance over the OMA or ODA which upheld the initial denial on reconsideration. (c) The third level is consideration by COMNAVMEDCOM (MEDCOM333). § 732.23 Records. The NAVMED 6320/10 or a copy of the Public Voucher for Medical Services (NAVCOMPT Form 2160) or other paid voucher and the Accounting Card (NAVCOMPT Form 632) containing the accounting classification and cost code information received from Navy finance centers, provide all the management information needed by COMNAVMEDCOM under normal circumstances. Except for the monthly letter report required in § 732.12(a)(2), no other records need be forwarded to COMNAVMEDCOM by approving authorities except, when in the judgment of the approving officer, copies of correspondence or other pertinent documents of a controversial nature might assist in improving administration of the program. 733.1 Rates of basic allowance for quarters. 733.2 Delegations. 733.3 Information and policy on support of dependents. 733.4 Complaints of nonsupport and insufficient support of dependents. 733.5 Determination of paternity and support of illegitimate children. AUTHORITY: 5 U.S.C. 301; 10 U.S.C. 5031; 37 U.S.C. 101, 401, 403; 50 U.S.C. App. 2210; E.O. 11157, 29 FR 7973, 3 CFR 1964 Supp. p. 139, as amended. SOURCE: 44 FR 42190, July 19, 1979, unless otherwise noted. § 733.1 Rates of basic allowance for quarters. (a) Except as otherwise provided by law, a member of the naval service entitled to basic pay is entitled to a basic allowance for quarters at the monthly rates according to the pay grade to which he or she is assigned, in accordance with 37 U.S.C. 403. (b) The term "dependent" with respect to a member of the naval service, as used in this part, means: (1) His or her spouse; (2) His or her unmarried child (including any of the following categories of children if such child is in fact dependent on the member: A stepchild; an adopted child; or an illegitimate child whose alleged member-parent has been judicially decreed to be the parent of the child or judicially ordered to contribute to the child's support, or whose parentage has been admitted in writing by the member) who either: (i) Is under 21 years of age; or (ii) Is incapable of self-support because of a mental or physical incapacity, and in fact dependent on the member for over one-half of his or her support; and (3) His or her parent (including a stepparent or parent by adoption, and any person, including a former stepparent, who has stood in loco parentis to the member at any time for a continuous period of at least 5 years before he or she became 21 years of age) who is in fact dependent on the member for over one-half of his or her support; however, the dependency of such a parent is determined on the basis of an affidavit submitted by the parent and any other evidence required under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Navy, and he or she is not considered a dependent of the member claiming the dependency unless: (i) The member has provided over one-half of his or her support for the period prescribed by the Secretary; or (ii) Due to changed circumstances arising after the member enters on active duty, the parent becomes in fact dependent on the member for over one-half of is or her support. The relationship between a stepparent and his or her stepchild is terminated by the stepparent's divorce from the parent by blood. § 733.2 Delegations. The Director, Navy Family Allowance Activity, Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building, Cleveland, Ohio 44199, with respect to personnel of the Navy, and the Head, Personal Affairs Branch, Manpower Department, Headquarters United States Marine Corps, Washington, D.C. 20380, with respect to personnel of the Marine Corps, have been granted the authority by the Secretary of the Navy to make determinations including determinations of dependency and relationship when required by legislation or policy for eligibility for basic allowance for quarters, transportation and medical care in behalf of dependents of Navy and Marine personnel and to administer matters involving adequacy of support for dependents and waivers of support of a spouse, and on the basis of new evidence or for other good cause to reconsider or modify any such determination. § 733.3 Information and policy on support of dependents. (a) Policy (1) General. The naval service will not be a haven or refuge for personnel who disregard or evade their obligations to their families. All members of the naval service are expected to conduct their personal affairs satisfactorily. This includes the requirement that they provide ade quate and continuous support for their lawful dependents and comply with the terms of separation agreements and court orders. Failure to do so which tends to bring discredit on the naval service is a proper subject of command consideration for initiation of court-martial proceedings or other administrative or disciplinary action. (2) Adequacy of support. Every member has an inherent natural and moral obligation to support his or her spouse and family. What is adequate and reasonably sufficient support is a highly complex and individual matter dependent on numerous factors, and may be resolved permanently only in the civil courts. Salient factors that should be considered are the pay of the member, any other private income or resources of the member and the dependents, the cost of necessities and every day living expenses and financial obligations of the dependents, and the expenses and other financial obligations of the member in relation to his or her income. The Department of the Navy does not and cannot act as a court in these matters. It is desired that the amount of support to be provided for dependents either be established by mutual understanding between the parties concerned or adjudicated in the civil courts. The support scales set forth below are not intended as a fixed rule. They are intended as guidelines and the actual support may be increased or decreased as the facts and circumstances warrant until the amount of support to be furnished is settled by agreement of the parties or adjudicated by the civil courts. Because of the inherent arbitrary and temporary nature of the support scales set forth below, it is not intended that they be used as bases for any judicial proceedings, for to do so would lend excessive credence to administrative tools which have been designed for use only within the Navy and the Marine Corps. (i) Number of dependents and amount of support to be provided in the absence of a mutual agreement or court order: (A) Navy members: For purposes of this support guide, gross pay will include basic pay and basic allowance for quarters, but does not include hazardous duty pay, sea or foreign duty pay, incentive pay, or basic allowance for subsistence. (B) Marine Corps members. If the question of support is in dispute, the following will be used as a guide for support: For spouse only-BAQ plus 20% of basic pay. For spouse and one minor child-BAQ plus 25% of basic pay. For spouse and two or more minor children-BAQ plus 30% of basic pay. For one child-% of basic pay. (1) The amount of support to a dependent for whom basic allowance for quarters is claimed should not be less than the applicable rate of basic allowfor quarters to which the member is entitled. ance as (2) A Marine's obligation to provide for the support of children by a former marriage has as high a priority an obligation to provide for a present wife and family. In those cases of a legitimate financial inability to provide support for all dependents, commanders shall attempt to assist the Marine in the equitable distribution of income for the assistance of all dependents, utilizing the guidelines set forth above. (3) It is to be emphasized that the guidelines set forth are to be used only as an interim measure, and that the commander's decision as to the quantum of support to be provided will be, prima facie, the appropriate conclusion of the Marine Corps, pending civil court or extrajudicial resolution among the involved parties. (3) Support of a lawful wife. The laws of jurisdictions in the United States impose a legal obligation upon a husband to support his wife. Exemptions from support of a lawful wife may be in the form of an order of a civil court of competent jurisdiction, relinquishment by the wife or mutual agreement of the parties, or a waiver of the naval support requirement granted by the Director, Navy Family Allowance Activity or the Commandant of the Marine Corps, as appropriate. (4) Payments of alimony. Dependents for whom basic allowance for quarters or other allowances are payable are defined by law. For purposes of qualifying for basic allowance for quarters, medical care or other benefits, a former spouse is not a dependent even though alimony has been decreed. Members are expected to comply with the terms of court orders or divorce decrees which adjudge payments of alimony even though basic allowance for quarters is not payable. (5) Support of children. The duty of a member to support his or her minor children is not affected by desertion or other misconduct on the part of the spouse. The obligation to support a child or children is not affected by dissolution of the marriage through divorce, unless the judicial decree or order specifically negates the obligations of the member to support a child or children of the marriage. The fact that a divorce decree is silent relative to support of minor children or does not mention a child or children will not be considered as relieving the service member of the inherent obligation to provide support for the child or children of the marriage. In many cases, the courts may not be cognizant of the existence of a child or children, or may not have jurisdiction over the child or children. A commanding officer has discretion to withhold action for alleged failure to support a child under the following conditions: (i) Where the member cannot ascertain the whereabouts and welfare of the child concerned. (ii) Where it is apparent that the person requesting support for a child does not have physical custody of the child. (iii) Where the member has been granted custody of the child by court order but does not have physical control of the child and the member is ready, willing, and able to care for and support the child if physical control is obtained. (6) Adopted children. The natural parents of an adopted child are relieved of the obligation to support the child as such duty is imposed on the adoptive parents. A Navy or Marine Corps member who contemplates the adoption of a child should be aware of the legal obligation to provide continuous support for such child during minority. (7) Entitlement to basic allowance for quarters. Entitlement of members to basic allowance for quarters on behalf of dependents is provided by statute. No member should be denied the right to submit a claim or application for basic allowance for quarters, nor should any command refuse or fail to forward any such claim or application. In cases involving parents, the member should furnish an estimate of the dependency situation to the best of his or her knowledge. Commanding officers should not contact parents for dependency information to include in the member's application. This delays the application and serves no useful purpose, as such cases are thoroughly investigated by the Navy Family Alowance Activity or Headquarters Marine Corps, which obtains necessary dependency affidavits directly from the parents. Any person, including a service member or dependent who obtains an allowance by fraudulent means is subject to criminal prosecution. (8) Application of the rule based on Robey v. United States 71 Ct. Cl. 561. Determinations that no dependency exists may be made in disputed cases— if a member does not contribute to the support of spouse and child at least to the extent of: (i) The full amount of his/her basic allowance for quarters, or (ii) An amount specified in a court order or legal separation agreement, or (iii) An amount agreed to by the parties as acceptable, adequate support, whichever is lesser. Pertinent decisions of the Court of Claims or Comptroller |