Joint Base Langley-Eustis: Bringing Millions Back!

JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Virginia, Nov. 21 -- The U.S. Air Force issued the following news:

The Air Force Legal Operations Agency (AFLOA) Medical Cost Reimbursement Program (MCRP) recovers the cost of medical care provided to U.S. Air Force active duty Airmen, retirees and their dependents as a result of injuries caused by third parties.

The six-person MCRP Team at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, is one of eight regional offices in the Air Force. Langley MCRP is Region 2 and is comprised of individuals with various levels of paralegal, insurance, claims, and civil service experience. All the members of the team are very knowledgeable with the state and federal laws used for processing third party liability cases.

The MCRP team subrogate claims on behalf of the Defense Health Agency (DHA) that includes TRICARE and military medical treatment facilities (MTFs) and manages cases involving Air Force members and their beneficiaries in five states that include Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee.

Types of cases that are pursued include auto accidents, workers' compensation (non-federal employers), slip and falls, dog bites, product liability, medical malpractice (non-military hospitals and clinics) and assaults.

The Langley MCRP team recovered over $2.2 million in fiscal year 2019, which ended Sept. 30. This contributed to the $22 million collected by all eight MCRP regions.

"We are very happy that this fiscal year we collected over $250,000 more than last year," said Delvin Whitlock, MCRP Regional Chief at Langley AFB. "Our motto is 'Teamwork Makes the Dream Work.' We had manpower issues, but everyone worked together and we surpassed the collections from last year."

The money that is recovered goes back to the military health care system and TRICARE. In addition, "Thousands of dollars that are collected go back to individual squadrons' operational and maintenance accounts for time lost when squadrons are impacted by an Airman's injury. That money may be utilized as the commander deems appropriate," Whitlock said.

"We sort out claims with military treatment facilities, TRICARE, attorneys and insurance companies," Whitlock said. "We work closely with attorneys and insurance adjusters to ensure they get the correct medical billing which could have an effect on your personal injury claim."

If an Air Force beneficiary is injured and they are seen at another branch of service medical treatment facility, the money recovered for their treatment will be dispersed to that respective facility.

"In the coming year, we hope to recover $3 million on behalf of the United States, to surpass this past fiscal year's collections." said Whitlock. "We ask that anyone involved in an accident contact the MCRP for guidance on the MCRP process."

For more information about the MCRP, please call (757) 764-7938.