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Fact Of The Day #51: Military Health Care Costs Skyrocket Over Past Decade (INFOGRAPHIC)

This Skyrocketing Cost Is 'Eating The Defense Department Alive'
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This picture taken 26 December 2011 shows the Pentagon building in Washington, DC. The Pentagon, which is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense (DOD), is the world's largest office building by floor area, with about 6,500,000 sq ft (600,000 m2), of which 3,700,000 sq ft (340,000 m2) are used as offices. Approximately 23,000 military and civilian employees and about 3,000 non-defense support personnel work in the Pentagon. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STAFF/AFP/Getty Images)

Health care costs for the Department of Defense have nearly tripled in the last decade, from $19 billion in 2001 to $53 billion in 2011. The cost of DOD's health care plan, called TRICARE, exceeds the entire foreign affairs and assistance budget of the US State Department. Uniformed services personnel receive free health care; starting in October 2012, retirees and dependents pay an annual fee of $260 for an individual, $520 for a family.

How does that compare to the average private insurance deal? Check out today's infographic for more.

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