Vets oppose bill that raises health-care fees

WASHINGTON (AP) —Health-care fees for working-age military retirees would increase slightly under a defense bill unveiled Monday that drew fierce opposition from the 2.1 million-strong Veterans of Foreign Wars.

The Pentagon is reeling from health-care costs that have jumped from $19 billion in 2001 to $53 billion in the latest budget request. Determined to slash expenses, President Barack Obama is seeking a boost in fees that have remained unchanged for 11 years.

The defense bill proposed by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., goes along with a small increase in the next budget but limits long-term increases by linking them to cost of living adjustments for retirees.

The VFW, one in a network of powerful groups of retired officers and veterans, is resisting any increase, urging its members to contact lawmakers in a full-court challenge.

The military health-care program, known as TRICARE, "is the cornerstone of a military retirement package that the armed forces must provide in order to entice someone to voluntarily give up 20 or more years of their youth to serve their nation," Robert E. Wallace, the executive director of the VFW, said in a May 4 letter to McKeon.