Federal Employees Health Benefits Program
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During open season, feds and retirees in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program have dozens of choices ranging from low-premium health maintenance organizations to plans that provide national and worldwide coverage, says Senior Correspondent Mike Causey.
October 21, 2014 -
The Office of Personnel Management released the latest costs for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program Tuesday, which show an increase of less than 4 percent for the fourth straight year.
October 07, 2014 -
Pay, pensions and health insurance premiums are all going up in the next several months. But definitely not at the same rate, says Senior Correspondent Mike Causey. White collar workers know what their January 2015 raise will be. But the cost of living adjustment for retirees is still to be decided, and new (and in some cases higher) health premiums will be unveiled in October.
September 29, 2014 -
Are you going to have to work three, four or five years longer than you expected to ensure that you'll retire with coverage from the federal employee health program? Senior Correspondent Mike Causey explains some of the ramifications of the "five-year rule."
August 26, 2014 -
The Office of Personnel Management just issued a final rule that lets a subset of federal employees enroll in or switch dental and vision plans outside of the open enrollment periods. The amendment goes into effect next month.
July 17, 2014 -
While federal employees gave high marks on usefulness and importance to the Thrift Savings Plan, only a small percentage said they had flexible spending accounts because they saw little value in the program. The results are part of a survey that OPM has been doing since 2004 to gauge worker opinions on the health and wellness benefits it offers.
July 10, 2014 -
Office of Personnel Management Director Katherine Archuleta says she wants to keep premium increases for federal employees' health coverage "in check." In a keynote speech at the annual FEHB Program Carrier Conference in Arlington, Va., Thursday Archuleta also called on insurance carriers to make prescription drugs more affordable and urged more federal employees to sign up for wellness programs.
March 27, 2014 -
If you are in perfect health and plan to stay that way, or if $1,200 a year more or less means little to you, you can skip this column. Otherwise, listen up, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
March 24, 2014 -
The White House's fiscal 2015 budget proposal released Tuesday aims to boost funding for federal-employee training, which has been hard hit by across-the-board sequestration cuts in recent years. The budget also proposes a 1 percent pay increase for federal employees and leaves untouched federal retirement programs.
March 04, 2014 -
Lots of people inside government are excited about the pending self-plus-one health plan option, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. It will cost more than self-only, but less than the standard family plan. So who are the winners and losers?
January 16, 2014 -
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has filed a lawsuit against Katherine Archuleta, the head of the Office of Personnel Management, seeking to overturn an OPM regulation that allows lawmakers and their staffs to continue receiving government contribution toward their health insurance premiums. Under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, lawmakers and their staffs were booted from the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), under which the government typically kicks in about three-fourths of the cost of federal employees' premiums, and required to purchase health insurance on the federal exchange.
January 06, 2014 -
The Office of Personnel Management recently filed two proposals to change how feds enroll in the Federal Employee Dental and Vision Insurance Program and to expand the regulations of the Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance.
January 02, 2014 -
AFGE's public policy director Jacqueline Simon explains why her organization is opposed to the self plus one plan, and Sean Reilly and Andy Medici from the Federal Times will discuss what's ahead for feds and retirees in 2014. December 18, 2013 (Encore presentations December 25, 2013 and January 1, 2014)
December 18, 2013 -
On this week's Your Turn radio show, host Mike Causey examines what's in the most recent budget deal that will impact feds.
December 11, 2013 -
Is the upcoming weekend a time for dinner, dancing and romance or are you going to curl up with a batch of health-insurance brochures? The latter might the smarter choice, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
December 06, 2013