Proposals would shift $8.4 billion in costs onto enrollees over decade
Simon testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service, and the Census. The hearing focused on the FEHBP and whether it is a good value for federal employees. A copy of the testimony is available here: http://bit.ly/14egKZe.
Simon’s testimony was critical of the proposals for FEHBP changes that the administration has put forth. As described in President Obama’s fiscal 2014 budget, released Wednesday, the proposals would shift costs for the program onto federal employees to the tune of $8.4 billion over 10 years.
“With federal pay frozen for three straight years, massive tax increases on FERS employees via increased retirement contributions, and furloughs of up to 14 days that may be repeated each year for the next decade, federal employees cannot withstand any more reductions in their compensation,” Simon said.
The proposals include charging more for federal employees who are ill or overweight, charging more to families with more than two persons, worsening the FEHBP’s already severe problems with risk segmentation by introducing regional PPOs, and making changes to prescription drug coverage. The administration would also support FEHBP coverage for domestic partners and other dependents.
“The administration’s FY 14 budget piles on with additional cuts to retirement benefits for both CSRS and FERS employees hired before 2013. It is astounding that they would add more than $8 billion in cuts to FEHBP on top of this,” Simon said. “The administration calls this ‘modernization’ of benefits; we call it cannibalization.”
Simon also called for the establishment of a statutory employee advisory committee for FEHBP that would be modeled on the Employee Thrift Advisory Committee for the Thrift Savings Plan, the Federal Salary Council for the General Schedule pay system, and the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Council for the Federal Wage System.
“Federal workers pay on average 30% of premiums and as much as 64% in some plans, yet we are denied information and denied any input in decisions about changes in benefits, changes in administration or changes in the program’s structure. Workers are apparently just supposed to keep quiet and keep paying,” Simon said. “But like all other middle class Americans, federal workers cannot afford to do this. Giving federal employees an opportunity to learn more about their health insurance program – and a chance to have their interests, views, and concerns receive serious consideration – is a reform worth supporting.”
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 670,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.
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SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees
The problem is collectivist (socialist) nature of the unions and the cover your-own-ass nature of government employment. Wages have accelerated faster than our customers (the public) wages. We are looked at as elites. Of course, Obama doesn’t dispel the notion with his 120 rounds of golf, parties and vacations galore while being totally deficient in effectively managing the economy. At least he could stop throttling it with his onerous pie-in-sky ideas and regulations.
We pay the highest skilled workers too little and the minimal skilled too much. Then we don’t enforce any accountability on our workforce. The bottom 5% of the workforce must go as a start.
The gravy train can only continue if the economy booms.
Dave, Obama isn’t caving to the conservatives but he is finally being honest to the realities we face. The democrats and the unions have been colluding for years in a incestuous relation ship designed to maintain a base of voters that only care about what’s good for themselves, and eager to by into the lies.
Didn’t this union endorse him both times for election/re-election along with all the other unions(..APWU/NALC/NMHPU/SEIU etc.)? How’s that working out for you now? Taxes are up, grocery prices are up, gasoline prices are high and I’m sure I don’t make anywhere near $250,000 dollars. My bet is that if he were running for re-election next week against any republican that the same dim wits would vote for him again after listening to the lame brain media lie and distort anything and everything about the republican candidate while ignoring some very serious flaws in this POS, like they did in the previous two elections. Don’t you just love this “class warfare stuff”?
Your votes have consequences…now STFU and pay up!
Those of us who knew better than to fall for this “pied piper” of a candidate could see this coming a mile away. The standard under Bush was “..it happened on his watch” and that “..he signed the legislation” so, you can try and blame republicans all day long but in the end Obama will sign this budget, Democrats will vote for it right along side of the republican wing of the democrat party…just like they did for the PAEA!
It’s unfortunate the president is caving in to republican opinion on this issue. The federal workers and their families should be rewarded with good wages and pay increases for years of dedicated service to the govermnment of the United States. Instead, feeling the weight of an ever increasing politically motivated agenda to shrink our debt the president and congress plan to sacrifice the federal workers current and future paychecks to help aleviate this debt crisis. Since they have no jurisdiction over private businesses big brother will take, take, take, from it’s own. The ripple effect of this is, very highly qualified individuals who protect this country by land, air, and sea will seek other positions out of the federal work force because they as all of us can’t afford wage freezes for years, or changes to shrink retirements, or increasing health care contributions. In turn these positions will be filled by less educated and poorly qualified individuals in positions of national security. Why would anyone highly skilled want to be a federal worker knowing that your country will rob your pockets every chance it gets to try and achieve gain from it’s own ineptness of spiraling this country into debt. There are other ways to lessen the debt besides strong arming the federal worker just because you can. It’s naive of the president to think this is an innocuous act being perpetrated on the federal worker who shares the same commitments as you Mr. president of selfless service to the american people in a vast array of ways. It is appalling to think that congress and more so the commander in chief of this great country would turn on his own loyal work force!
Alas we are seeing the REAL obama. He is a piece of crap and now federal employees will see the true obama and we will see he is a liar and will cater to republicans. I hope he falls off the face of the earth. can we impeach him? of course that would leave us with biden