You are seriously disturbed, WTF. Does your handler know what you are doing?
Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy
What part of the highlighted quote don't you understand?
What part about retired military being means tested don't you understand. Now I do not know if JD pays only 460 dollars a year for healthcare but if he does....is that right? Should I pay for his and his family's healthcare for the rest of his life? 460 dollars a year? If a retired military person is in the private sector then they should get private sector healthcare as far as I am concerened, unless they were disabled while in the military.
Maybe JD can step in and explain exactly how this area of the system works. He had no problem chiming in earlier in this thread.
I agree with COG about current military not being effected. But for people like JD, who are retired military, that constantly come on here talking about the need to cut government spending ....not being for means tested healthcare benifits is somewhat ironic. Ironic in the fact that they would rather put their needs above future men and women that may head to combat.
But COG's point was not to present a balanced debate on this subject matter. It was to go on the offensive towards the current President to score political points with those not versed in the actual subject.
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The battle over Tricare pits the efforts of the Pentagon to contain the exploding cost of health care for nearly 10 million eligible beneficiaries against the pain and emotions of those who say they have already “paid up front” with service in uniform, particularly those who deployed to America’s two current wars. The 10 million figure includes active-duty personnel, retirees, members of the National Guard and Reserves and their families.
The arguments reflect the broader debate over the huge Pentagon budget that will intensify next year when Mr. Gates, who says he will step down in 2011, continues his campaign to cut off what he calls the “gusher” of defense spending. Total health care costs for the Pentagon, which is the nation’s single largest employer, top $50 billion a year, a tenth of its budget and about the same amount that it is spending this year on the war in Iraq. Ten years ago, health care cost the Pentagon $19 billion; five years from now it is projected to cost $65 billion.
But Tricare fees have not increased since 1995.
“Health care costs are eating the Defense Department alive,” Mr. Gates said in a much-noticed speech in May. Defense budget analysts say that rising health care costs will make less money available for new weapons, repairs to a worn-out arsenal and quality-of-life programs like schools on military bases.
“In the long run, it could actually limit our ability to field a military of sufficient size,” said Todd Harrison, a senior fellow for defense budget studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington.
Originally Posted by WTF