Can Senior Leadership require a soldier to pay out of pocket to get a flu shot at a local pharmacy?

2015-07-10T04:47:22-04:00

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 10 at 2015 5:00 AM

2015-07-10T05:00:26-04:00

No!

Response by SFC Stephen King made Jul 10 at 2015 5:23 AM

2015-07-10T05:23:51-04:00

#WTF No way.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 10 at 2015 5:32 AM

2015-07-10T05:32:52-04:00

I don't know the regs on this, but what I do know is that if the regs say yes then the regs are stupid.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jul 10 at 2015 5:50 AM

2015-07-10T05:50:48-04:00

Definitely not!!! That's what military medicine is for! But I'll be the first one to ask. Can we get some background on this? Is this actually happening to you or one of your Soldiers?

Response by COL Vincent Stoneking made Jul 10 at 2015 11:16 AM

2015-07-10T11:16:18-04:00

No, But.
No, they cannot require you to pay out of pocket.
They can, however require to to be current on your flu shot. There is an actual order published on this every freaking year from echelons above reality. In painful detail, explaining who can be excused, by whom, for what reasons.

In the situation you describe in your other comment: Soldier misses drill where shots are provided... The requirement is still the requirement. More on this in a moment.

The chain of command would be within its authority to code someone "U" until it was done, regardless of if they attended. For the record, I have never seen it done, as it's kinda a jerk move, but it is authorized - if they have failed to meet mandatory requirements, they are NOT satisfactorily participating, by definition.

So, the requirement is still the requirement. The unit does not have the obligation to provide flu shots every drill, so this Soldier is going to have to come up with a way to make up this missed requirement. Here is where the "but I don't have $5!!! I don't wanna have to spend my own money because Army! I don't wanna have to do it on my own time! It's not faaaaiiiir!!!" wambulance siren starts. And quite honestly, it is BS and I have no sympathy for it. Not that I've ever had to deal with it for two years straight, but here are just a few options:
1. Show up to the scheduled drill at the scheduled time. What a concept.
2. Find another unit that is doing SRP that you can fall in with for the shot.
3. Swing by the nearest servicing MTF and get seen on a space-A basis.
4. Go to ANY MTF during their annual Flu shot campaign. If you have a CAC card, you'll get the shot. Probably if you don't as well/
5. Call LHI and have them create a voucher & schedule an appointment for you. That is what LHI is freaking for. It will cost nothing. Yes, you will have to travel to $Location. No, you probably won't get PAID if you have already used your two medical RMAs for the year.
6. Call your civilian provider. If you have insurance, it likely costs you nothing. If you don't have insurance, it likely costs less than $15.
7. Get the shot from one of the eleventy-billion damn organizations that provide them free every damn year. (My last year in command I kept a sheet that listed 25 such organizations within a 25 mile radius of the reserve center, it included several local pharmacies.)

Reserve Soldiers are still Soldiers and requirements are still requirements. No the command cannot require you to "pay out of pocket." They can require you to meet the requirement. They enabled you to do so by making the shots available. The rest is on the Soldier.

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Sep 17 at 2017 6:00 PM

2017-09-17T18:00:37-04:00

Is the infirmary broke?

Response by SFC Christopher Taggart made Sep 17 at 2017 6:11 PM

2017-09-17T18:11:11-04:00

"Out of pocket!"...are they kidding? I guess this was just a question asked, to see if anyone was "awake!"