Walton Francis, author of the CHECKBOOK Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees, will answer your calls and emails about FEHBP open season. November 12, 2014
Health plan expert Walton Francis says that about half of all federal employees are paying too much for heath care. Now that it's Open Season, feds have a chance to turn that around.
Benefits expert David Snell of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, joins Federal News Radio's Mike Causey for an online chat about Open Season and federal benefits.
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.
Federal employees' health care premiums are going up once again by 3.8 percent on average. That's less of an increase than what feds saw in 2014 and below the industry average. Federal News Radio's Executive Editor Jason Miller joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with details on the changes to federal employees' 2015 health care coverage.
How did the US Healthcare system evolve? What's surprising about the history of healthcare reform in the U.S.? What are the Six Megatrends in Healthcare? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with, Dr. Zeke Emanuel, author of Reinventing American Healthcare. That's next week on The Business of Government Hour.
The Defense Health Agency is predicting savings of over $2.4 billion in the next five years by reducing duplication between the services, Lt. Gen. Douglas Robb, director of DHA, tells Agency of the Month Host Lauren Larson.
From health records to rubber gloves, the Defense Health Agency is streamlining health care at the Pentagon. In this week's Agency of the Month radio show, host Lauren Larson speaks with Navy Capt. James Poindexter, acting division chief of Medical Logistics Shared Services, and Dave Bowen, director of health care IT and chief information officer at the Defense Health Agency.
The Pentagon's current proposals for wringing savings out of its health care system involve additional fees for beneficiaries, but also try to induce them to use less-costly treatment options.
"For the first time, you have an operational level organization that can directly interface with all the services — get their input, organize themselves, really solicit and collaborate with the services — so we can build a better military health system," Major General Richard Thomas, chief medical officer and director of DHA Healthcare Operations, told Federal News Radio.
The administration considers cutting IT spending to fund Obamacare.
Health care data comes from unexpected places.
TRICARE, the military family health care provider, is set to close 189 of its U.S. customer service centers. Customers will be able to access all of the same services online or by telephone.
Walton Francis, author of the Checkbook Guide to Federal Health Plans, will answer your calls and emails about open season. December 4, 2013
Walton Francis, author of the Checkbook Guide to the Health Plan for Federal Employees, and NARFE's David Snell will answer your open season questions. November 20, 2013 (Encore presentation November 27, 2013)