AUSA’s Institute of Land Warfare has recently released a new publication."Military Retiree Health Care Faces Triple Whammy" (Torchbearer Issue Paper, November 2011) discusses the impact on and implications for military retirees in the context of numerous proposals to reduce health care costs.Quality of life and health care are vital to sustaining the All-Volunteer Force.The benefits earned from a lifetime of service affect not only retirees but the next generation of soldiers as well.Today’s soldiers are tomorrow’s retirees; the slow reduction in health care benefits places more of a burden on current retirees while also influencing the recruiting and retention of subsequent generations.Medicare premiums are already at an all-time high, yet cost-of-living adjustments are not keeping pace with the premium increases while means-testing is punishing retirees for success through higher annual fees. TRICARE Prime fees are also creeping upward (with a 13 percent increase this past year), potentially indicating yearly increases like that of Medicare. Further, Congress is considering enrollment fees for TRICARE-for-Life – to be levied on top of any existing or future Medicare premiums.The TRICARE Pharmacy Program has seen increased co-pays for prescription medications filled at local pharmacies. This policy negatively affects retirees who do not live near a military facility or require frequent adjustments to medications.Existing plans in Congress may further drastically increase co-pays for retail purchase of name brand drugs, regardless of the availability of generic equivalents. Ultimately, military health care benefits are being slowly squeezed, with cost burdens being shifted onto retirees and families.Uncertainty over potential reductions in Medicare threatens the long-term affordability and availability of care to military retirees. The United States can afford to keep its All Volunteer Force; to do so it must pay for the benefits earned by the select few who chose to serve.This Torchbearer Issue Paper can be found online athttp://www.ausa.org/publications/torchbearercampaign/torchbearerissuepa….Other ILW publications are available online at http://www.ausa.org/ilw and can also be obtained by calling (800) 336-4570, Ext. 630, or by e-mailing a request to ilwpublications@ausa.org.