Posted on 08/27/2009 4:35:10 AM PDT by Thebaddog
HEALTH Federal Employees Health Benefits Program
The Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program can help you and your family meet your health care needs.
Federal employees, retirees and their survivors enjoy the widest selection of health plans in the country. You can choose from among Consumer-Driven and High Deductible plans that offer catastrophic risk protection with higher deductibles, health
savings/reimbursable accounts and lower premiums, or Fee-for-Service (FFS) plans, and their Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO), or Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) if you live (or sometimes if you work) within the area serviced by the plan.
Use this site to compare the costs, benefits, and features of different plans. We chose the different benefit categories based on enrollee requests, differences among plans, and simplicity. However, we urge you to consider the total benefit package, in addition to service and cost, and provider availability when choosing a health plan. The plan brochures show you what services and supplies are covered and the level of coverage. Review the brochures carefully. The brochures are formatted to ensure they are all organized alike. You can get brochures from the health plans or your human resource office. When it comes to your health care, the best surprise is no surprise.
NEW - Benefits Administration Letter 09-202: Assistance for certain employees who are eligible for Temporary Continuation of Coverage (TCC) based on Public Law 111-5 [40 KB]
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, enacted February 17, 2009, provides a new health insurance opportunity for former employees who were or are involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009. Under this new law, former Federal employees may request premium assistance for their temporary continuation of coverage (TCC) under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program. Premium assistance means your former agency will make a Government contribution of 65 percent of the TCC premiums for your FEHB plan enrollment.
ARRA-TCC premiums for FEHB plans [58 KB]
Health Information Technology (HIT) Transparency Health Information Technology and Transparency Report for 2008 [248 KB]
Health information technology, based on broadly accepted standards, will allow patients, health care providers and payers (insurance carriers) to share information securely, driving down costs by avoiding duplicate procedures and manual transactions. More importantly, HIT will reduce medical errors; for instance, from misread, handwritten prescriptions and emergency care medical decisions made without complete and accurate information. Since privacy and security considerations are central to Federal HIT implementation plans, patient records will be protected from inappropriate disclosure.
Even in Chicago where I live at least 70,000 employees reside and are the largest employer in the area.
As far as I know, the new bills being considered exempt federal employees as Obama famously declined to decline the federal coverage.
In my humble opinion, this could be an explosive avenue of attack on the plans if it were to be highlighted by Limbaugh and Hannity and used in the debate and conversations about the whole issue.
IMHO
...
The problem for any federal employee is that if he or she has a "life change" (marriage, divorce, relocation) he has to "change his coverage" ~ and can "change his policy".
However, the only policies federal government employees can sign up with are the private sector plans that exist in his or her area (or the state they live in). As Obamacare takes hold there will simply be fewer and fewer such plans and federal government employees will find themselves tossed into the same insurance exchange as everyone else.
Theres really no substance to something called an "exception for federal government employees" ~ it's just noise coming from Obama's bowels and means nothing.
The 65% premium support here is pretty steep for a guy with no income other than unemployment. While an employee he had 75% covered by his agency (or 90% if postal). There will be some who sign up for it ~ but most won't be able to afford it.
The point is that the federal plan has many more options than you or I will have in the new bills and the federal employees will be exempt from the new plan being considered.
WE ARE SCREWED.
Do not believe Obama ~ he's lieing to you.
BTW, about half the medical coverage plans shown in the FEHB handbook affect only State Department employees who travel overseas regularly. They aren't really open to other people.
The big plans regularly used by federal government employees are pretty much the same ones available to everybody else ~ and are limited by statelines, et al.
But too good for the hoi polloi.
So why would he tell the truth about stealing your medical care.
Thanks for the post. This comes up all the time.
My understanding is that many states like Maryland forbid employers or consumers from buying health insurance from out of state companies. Anyone know how this affects ferderal employees? Seems like I only have one health insurance option at work and they have dozens. Anyone?
"More importantly, HIT will reduce medical errors; for instance, from misread, handwritten prescriptions and emergency care medical decisions made without complete and accurate information. Since privacy and security considerations are central to Federal HIT implementation plans, patient records will be protected from inappropriate disclosure."
I have mixed feelings on this. My brother-in-law was recently in for a minor procedure and just before starting the anesthesia, the nurse said he was having his cancerous urinary bladder removed. Panic stricken, he started to check himself out of the facility, but the Dr. cleared up the mistake (misread notes on his chart) and convinced him to continue.
These records contain you life and we've seen everything from inappropriate access by employees (Joe the plumber), to Chinese and Russians hacking into high security Pentagon systems and our electric grid. The 1st scenario is most likely.
But it sure would be nice to have all of my medical records, charts, tests, prescriptions, financials, etc. in a centralized, readable, searchable, authoritative electronic file system.
You have a link or is that a rumor? If it's true than that would be good; the more people exempt the better. My bet is that any federal employee exemption would at best be temporary, like their exemption for social security was.
I’m a federal employee, and I can only choose plans that serve me locally, but I made my choices years ago, so I dont know if that’s still a requirement. Open season begins soon, and I’m considering switching from Humana to a HSA.
Thanks for the link; unfortunately while it mentioned that Congress is exempt it did not specifically say that federal employees are exempt too just the hint with how congress would be using the FEHBP so maybe all fed emps would be safe.
Even if it does include an exemption, the bill is such a con game that it could easily be like the clause Obama toots of how illegals not being covered. The fact that another clause allows illegal coverage without penalty means illegals get tax funded care.
the bill is here
http://www.orgsites.com/or/bentoncrw/HouseHealthcareReform_HR3200.pdf
if you search the pdf for “REINSURANCE PROGRAM” you will see the section on I believe is what you are looking for
http://www.littlegreenfootballs2.com/2009/07/22/inside-the-health-care-bill-aka-hr3200/
has all the claims made so far
Of course the big question is not a tech/nuts'n'bolts query of what's in the bill, but rather a people question of what they're going to try next. My guess is that if the shameless graveside pleas for blind faith don't work then maybe we can shelve this whole health industry takeover;
--and then deal with the next big industry takeover...
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