health care

  • Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) has introduced a bill to link the Veterans Affairs Department with private sector technology, in the hope of creating an opportunity for veterans to self-schedule medical appointments.

    March 28, 2016
  • Federal workers and retirees will have a limited option to downsize their health premiums next month. Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says it's a good deal for some people.

    January 14, 2016
  • The popularity of the self-plus-one option during the 2015 Open Season helped make it the busiest enrollment period on record. This year was so busy that the Office of Personnel Management has scheduled a limited enrollment period in February to make certain changes to plans regarding self-plus-one.

    December 23, 2015
  • Senior Correspondent Mike Causey asks, how would you like to work for a place where management offered you a wide variety of health plans, paid for a majority of your premium and let you shop at home or on company time?

    November 30, 2015
  • Thanks to the immense interest in the new self-plus-one option under the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, the Office of Personnel Management is processing twice as many transactions than average.

    November 25, 2015
  • Anticipating what procedures and medicines work and don't work before illness or injury treatment starts can save lives. It can also reduce pain and suffering and lower the cost of health care. Sriram Vishwanath is a professor at the University of Texas, Austin in the Cockrell School of Engineering and co-founder and CEO of Accordion Health. He tells Federal News Radio’s Lauren Larson on Federal Drive with Tom Temin how health care providers are beginning to understand all of the benefits predictive analytics can bring.

    November 17, 2015
  • Guess how many federal health plan brochures are among the best selling plans? Zero, says Senior Correspondent Mike Causey.

    November 12, 2015
  • VA wants to focus on the specialized care related to veterans' service that other facilities cannot do. But it may stop providing services commonly found elsewhere.

    October 30, 2015
  • The defense authorization bill agreed upon by House and Senate negotiators would affect military pocketbooks in ways both big and small. It includes a 1.3 percent pay increase for uniformed service members but chips away at the military's pension system. In exchange for shrinking pensions, it encourages current troops — and mandates that future ones — invest in the Thrift Savings Plan.

    September 30, 2015
  • The Senate passed a piece of legislation Wednesday that will help the Veterans Affairs Department avoid a budget shortfall that could impact the care some veterans receive.

    July 30, 2015
  • In England and in some parts of this country, a "take away" is when you order a popular fast food and take it home with you. In Washington "take away" is the legislative-political equivalent of bend-over-and-smile-this-is-going-to-hurt-you-more-than-me, says Senior Correspondent Mike Causey.

    March 27, 2015
  • Expect some new health care options when open season rolls around later this year. We break down the Office of Personnel Management's letter to insurers about 2016 coverage.

    March 19, 2015
  • The Department of Veterans Affairs investigated a security hole in a telehealth program. VA said personal information for more than 7,000 vets was been exposed, but the Federal Times reports both the VA and the vendor that provided the service said no data was stolen. Keith Trippie, chief executive officer of The Trippie Group, was former executive director of the Enterprise System Development Office at the Department of Homeland Security. In his Top 3 for 2015, he tells In Depth with Francis Rose even with the security risks telehealth initiatives will help government serve citizens better and save the government money in a couple different ways.

    December 29, 2014
  • Although most people realize the government picks up part of the premium, a lot of people don't realize what a difference that makes, says Senior Correspondent Mike Causey.

    December 04, 2014