Health care costs for the Department of Defense have nearly tripled in the last decade, from $19 billion in 2001 to $53 billion in 2011. The cost of DOD’s health care plan, called TRICARE, exceeds the entire foreign affairs and assistance budget of the US State Department. Military personnel receive free health care; civilian DOD employees pay $250 a year. Starting in October 2012, retirees and dependents pay an annual fee of $260 for an individual, $520 for a family.
How does that compare to the average private insurance deal? Click on today’s infographic for more. Check out “What Do Others Say?’ below for views on health care costs, then add your own to our discussion thread. What should people pay toward their own coverage, in or out of uniform?
