Secretary of Defense Robert Gates addresses airmen at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, in Goldsboro, N.C., Friday May 6, 2011. Gates awarded the Bronze Star to Senior Master Sergeant Arnel Abad and gave coins to members of the 4th Fighter Wing and the 916 Air Refueling Wing. (AP Photo/The News-Argus, Michael K. Dakota) MANDATORY CREDIT
WASHINGTON (AP) — A military built for fighting wars is looking more and more like a health care entitlement program.
Costs of the program that provides health coverage to some 10 million active duty personnel, retirees, reservists and their families have jumped from $19 billion in 2001 to $53 billion in the Pentagon's latest budget request.
Desperate to cut spending in Washington's time of fiscally austerity, President Barack Obama has proposed increasing the fees for working-age retirees in the decades-old health program, known as TRICARE. After years of resisting proposed increases for the military men and women who sacrificed for a nation, budget-conscious lawmakers suddenly are poised to make them pay a bit more for their health care, though not on the president's terms.
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