The Pentagon’s plans to cut billions of dollars from its budget likely means that military health care costs won’t be spared, but will also come under the knife.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Monday that he was making major cuts in his budget, including shutting one military command center as well as firing thousands of contractors.
Gates also specifically made reference to health care for the military, and was quoted on the matter.
“There are no sacred cows,” he said. “Everybody knows that we are being eaten alive by health care.”
Gates, pointing out that military health care will hit $50 billion next year and $65 billion by 2015, added, “It’s unsustainable, and therefore it has to be part of our effort.”
The Defense Department’s announcement comes at a time when the military is trying to stem a dramatic rise in soldier suicides, and to deal with the brain damage and emotional problems that troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering from.
The Pentagon’s plans have already prompted comptaints and warnings, according to AOL News. For example, the American Legion and the Heritage Foundation, a conservative group, both said that veterans and troops overseas shouldn’t have their health care benefits reduced.
A Heritage Foundation analyst said that Congress should have addressed the issue of rising military health costs during the bitter debate about national health care reform.