A new study projects U.S. veteran healthcare costs to reach up to $2.5 trillion in cumulative costs by 2050—a figure that nearly doubles previous forecasts, raising concerns about whether government will take care of its war vets in the coming decades. According to research from Brown University’s Costs of War Project, the total costs of caring for post-9/11 war veterans will reach between $2.2 and $2.5 trillion from 2001 to 2050. This includes the amount already paid in medical care and benefits, as well as the projected future costs already “baked” into the system, the Aug. 18 report said. The study noted that federal expenditures for veteran care have doubled over the last two decades, from 2.4 percent of the U.S. budget in 2001 to 4.9 percent in 2020—even as the total number of living war vets declined from 25.3 million to 18.5 million during that time. Harvard University professor Linda Bilmes, …
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