Battleland

CBO Defense Option #3

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The Congressional Budget Office offers up another option that won’t affect troops or hardware — force retirees to pay more for their post-military health care. Half the military’s officers and 15 percent of its enlisted force retire from the service, allowing them access to this bargain. The family fee since the system was revamped in 1995 remains at $460 per year per family — the same as it was in 1995. CBO suggests boosting the family fee to $1,100 annually, which would simply have it reflect the inflation that has happened since then. That change, along with some other tweaks, would save $10 billion in outlays between 2012 and 2016.