At the same time the House passed a bill requiring civilian federal employees to contribute more to their pensions, lawmakers on the Armed Services Committee rejected the Obama administration's proposals to increase the amount military retirees pay for their health care insurance/.../
Increasing health care costs for service members and retirees has long been a politically sensitive subject, with lawmakers and military advocates wary of appearing ungrateful for the sacrifices of service members. Participant fees under TRICARE were set in 1995 and have remained at $460 per year for the basic family plan. “This has become one of those third-rail issues in American politics,” said Todd Harrison, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, who follows Defense issues.
Defense implemented TRICARE Prime fee increases for new retiree enrollees beginning in fiscal 2012. New beneficiaries in TRICARE Prime now pay an additional $2.50 per month for individual members and $5 per month for family enrollment -- bringing the total annual fee to $260 and $520, respectively. Costs for retirees already in the program, as well as survivors of active-duty service members and medically retired participants, remain at $230 per year for individuals and $460 per year for families.
Like most federal agencies, Defense is under pressure to cut costs and streamline its operations. The $554 billion authorization bill Armed Services approved is $3.7 billion more than Obama’s 2013 request, which has put lawmakers and administration officials at odds over where and how to make budget cuts. “They [committee lawmakers] are making the cost of military personnel higher than it would have been under the president’s request,” said Harrison. That means the department and Congress will have to come up with savings elsewhere, possibly in areas such as troop readiness, research and development, or procurement, he added.
The Senate’s version of the authorization legislation, including the provisions related to TRICARE, likely will be different from the House version, Harrison said. As it relates to TRICARE, the Senate’s bill will look more like the administration’s plan, according to Harrison. “They’ll be more inclined to let some of these savings stand,” he said.