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DAVID GREENE, host: Healthcare costs are important to consider when planning for retirement. This weekend, those costs will go up for military retirees. It’s a modest increase but premiums for this group haven’t gone up since the mid-’90s. The Defense Department announced this week the premium for retirees with a family plan will be $520 a year – up from $460. Active military members do not pay for healthcare. The military health program called TRICARE has been around for decades, and it may be under scrutiny as lawmakers work to cut spending. The cost of TRICARE in 2001 was $19 billion. Estimates say it now costs $53 billion.
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