Shopping while naked can be fun and easy. No prep required. But it is not always smart.

Between now and Dec. 10, millions of federal workers, retirees or their survivors will be shopping for their 2015 health plan. Picking the right plan can save them as much as $1,000 next year in premiums and out of pocket costs. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that while most feds and retirees are smart, successful people, many don’t have a clue about what to do during open season. That’s despite the fact that the government puts out lots of information. The media is full of information and many federal agencies subscribe to the top on-ine shopping guide for workers. Employees can shop at work or home.

Despite all the help and information out there, the vast majority of shoppers — about 96 percent — do nothing. They stick with the same health plan they’ve had for five, 10, 20 years. Even if its premiums rise dramatically. Retirees are even more likely to stay in the same plan year after year.

This year, premiums on “average” are going up 3.8 percent. The government will continue to pay the lion’s share (70 plus percent) of the total premium for white-collar feds and retirees. The Postal Service will pay even more of the premium in 2015 for its clerks, carriers and other employees.

By contrast, health premiums for many nonfeds will rise much — as much as 20 percent for some people according to estimates — because of the Affordable Care Act. Members of Congress and many congressional staffers left the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program last year for the D.C. exchange created by the ACA.

Every federal shopper — active or retired — needs to shop around. Questions they need to ask include will their doctor be in their health plan network in 2015? What’s the difference between a fee-for-service plan and a health maintenance organization? Do you want the standard or basic option? What are the out-of-pocket limits to you? If retired, do you need Medicare Part B? What is Medicare Part B? Will your HMO work if you are out of area, or if you spend summers in D.C. or New York, and winters in Florida or Arizona? What about coverage overseas?

If you don’t know the answer to those questions, you are shopping in your birthday suit. So where to you get the proper coverage? Start with us, today.

At 10 a.m. today (EST), Walton Francis is our guest on our Your Turn radio show. He literally wrote the book: Consumers’ CHECKBOOK Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees. It is also available online.

Over the next several weeks, we’ll have a series of columns, radio shows and special features on the FEHBP open season. Listen, learn and save a lot of money by doing a little informed shopping.

If you have questions for Francis send them to me (before showtime) at: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com or you can call in during the show at 202-465-3080 or on your computer at FederalNewsRadio.com.

Listen if you can, and tell a friend.

Immediately following the radio show, Walton Francis and I will be doing an online chat. If you have any questions send them here.

NEARLY USELESS FACTOID:

By Michael O’Connell

During World War I, baseball greats Ty Cobb, Christy Matthewson and Branch Rickey served in the Chemical Warfare Service of the U.S. Army.

Source: Bleacher Report

MORE FROM FEDERAL NEWS RADIO:

Are you in the wrong health care plan?
Roughly half of all federal employees are in health plans they shouldn’t be in, says Walton Francis, editor of the Consumers’ CHECKBOOK Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees and Annuitants. He says feds are spending way too much on their insurance because they’re not taking advantage of lower premium plans. With the start of Open Season on Monday, there’s now a chance to change that.

What are you doing to help our returning heroes transition to civilian jobs?
With troops returning from Afghanistan and the Department of Defense reducing the size of forces deployed overseas, more than 1 million veterans are expected to re- enter the workforce during the next five years. That’s a workforce large enough to staff a company that would instantly be one of the world’s biggest employers.

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