Military Health Care Costs Skyrocketing

One key aspect of the ongoing debate about the health care system in the United State is the sky rocketing cost to employers.  The burden of providing health insurance means large corporations have less money to invest or to hire more people, while smaller business must fight to survive.  There is still debate as to how effective the new health care law will be in curbing costs, but there seems to be general agreement that the problem of health care cost inflation is far from solved.

One organization’s concern about their ballooning health care costs highlights the problem and shows that not addressing the rising cost of health insurance could lead to dangers for our country and our citizens beyond just inadequate health care.

That organization: the United States military.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, annual health care costs for the Defense Department will reach $65 billion, or 11 percent of the defense budget, by 2015.  As reported in this weeks Economist magazine, Robert Gates, the outgoing defense secretary, “warned in a speech on May 24th that pay, pensions and health care would all need to be restructured, or they would crowd out the purchase of vital new weapons.”

Regardless of political affiliation or ideology, it seems imperative that we address the rising cost of health care in this country.  Our military should not have to make the choice between providing the best health care for those who are currently serving and have served in the military, and being able to purchase vital technology needed to protect our country.