CBO: Health-Care Funding, Expenses To Skyrocket

Funding of military medical care could double by 2025 — to $80 billion from $39 billion in 2008 — according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The largest single portion of the increase will apply to beneficiaries above age 65. Pharmaceuticals could nearly triple, to $11 billion in 2025 from $3 billion this year. Purchased and civilian-sector contract care would increase to $18 billion, a 117-percent increase from present figures. Care provided directly by military treatment facilities could grow 114 percent, to $20 billion annually by 2025. Care for uniformed personnel could grow 14 percent by 2025 as well. The figures factor in potential unbudgeted costs, which add significantly to each estimate.