Bush Proposal Would Increase What Military Retirees Pay

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON – The Bush administration wants many military retirees to pay more for health care, a proposal that could force the Republican-run Congress to choose between savvy politics and budget discipline.

Annual health-care costs for the military have doubled to nearly $38 billion in the past five years, nearly one dollar of every $12 the Pentagon spends. The price tag is projected to soar to $64 billion by 2015.

To help contain those costs, President Bush’s proposal includes higher prescription drug co-payments for all beneficiaries of military health care except those on active duty, and increased annual enrollment fees for military retirees under age 65.

If lawmakers want to follow Bush’s lead and control spiraling health care expenditures, they will have to vote to boost costs for some of the nation’s military families in a year in which the entire House and one-third of the Senate is up for re-election.

Congressional support for the proposal is uncertain.

The Pentagon says curtailing health care costs is an urgent matter.

Critics, including some lawmakers, accuse the administration of seeking to save money by raising fees to steer military retirees toward health plans their current employers sponsor. That would take a burden off the Pentagon’s health care system, called TRICARE.

Private employers, as well as some state and local governments, increasingly are asking military retirees on their payrolls to use TRICARE to avoid having to pay insurance premiums for those employees.

The Pentagon projects it could save $14.8 billion over the next five years if Congress approves Bush’s plan.

Rep. John McHugh, chairman of the House Armed Services military personnel subcommittee, questioned the projections. He said the Pentagon appeared to be counting on savings from military retirees choosing their current employers’ plan rather than the military coverage once the proposed increases kick in.

Critics say the Pentagon calculations assume that 600,000 military retirees will not enroll in TRICARE after the changes take effect. About 9 million current or former military personnel are eligible for TRICARE coverage. Of those, advocacy groups say about a third are retirees under age 65 and their families.

The federal government’s share of health care costs for the military totaled $19 billion in 2001 and accounted for 4.5 percent of the defense budget.