Military Insurance Premiums Increasing as Much as 17 Percent

By Newsroom America Staff at 2 Oct 2012

(Newsroom America) -- Health insurance premiums for coverage available to members of the military and military retirees increased by as much as 17 percent on Monday, as the new fiscal year began, reflecting limits set by Congress last year.

Retirees and their families will see an increase of about 3.6 percent, but premiums for most others will rise 17 percent.

Military retirees who enrolled in the Tricare Prime program on or after Oct. 1, 2011, and all new beneficiaries, will pay $269.28 a year for an individual, up from $260, and $538.56 for a family, up from $520, the Navy Times reported.

"The Obama administration had pressed for heftier increases in its proposed fiscal 2013 defense budget along with new enrollment fees for Tricare Standard, Extra and Tricare For Life, the health benefit for Medicare-eligible retirees and their families," the military paper reported.

The fees are one-time increases established by the Defense Authorization Act of 2012. They result from a one-year freeze on enrollment fees for members and retirees already enrolled in Prime before Oct. 1, 2011.

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