"...On Monday, most military working-age retirees will see a hefty 17 percent increase in what they annually pay for medical coverage under the military’s top managed care plan.
Tricare, the military’s health care program, was launched in 1993 and serves about 9.7 million active, reserve and Guard members, retirees and their family members. Until last fall, out-of-pocket costs for Tricare never had increased. But after years of Pentagon complaints and effective counter-lobbying by veterans’ groups, the billowing cost of military health care – $52.7 billion for the fiscal year about to end – gave birth to a compromise plan under which working-age retirees’ Tricare Prime fees would rise between 3.9 percent and 17 percent.
The legislation also allowed for annual increases limited to the military cost-of-living adjustment. Co-payments for pharmacy drugs were increased by $2 to $3, depending on the drug..."