Key Elements of the Proposed U.S. Postal Service Health Care Plan: Element: 100% participation of eligible retirees in Medicare Parts A and B; Description: The U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) plan is designed so that all Medicare-eligible retirees would enroll in Medicare Parts A and B. Those who do not enroll would have their benefits reduced […]
C-SPAN: Health care funding the focus of September 26, 2013 hearing on Postal Reform.
Washington, DC – The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has announced the average premium rate for the 8.2 million people covered by the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program will increase by 3.7 percent in 2014. That percentage is only slightly higher than last year’s increase of 3.4 percent and less than the national […]
The National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) recently sent comments opposing OPM’s proposed rule to remove members of Congress and their staff (employed by their official / personal office) by the federal government from the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP).(The closing date for comments on the Federal Register notice was September 8, […]
Three organizations representing current and retired federal worker have called on Congress to reject provisions in pending legislation that would sharply undercut the federal employee health care and workers’ compensation programs. The groups expressed their deep concerns about provisions in pending postal reform legislation in a letter to members of the Senate Homeland Security and […]
The Office of Personnel Management is launching an outreach and education effort to prepare human resources officers to address employee questions and concerns regarding the impact of the Affordable Care Act on the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. Elaine Kaplan, OPM acting director, announced the effort in an Aug. 27 memo. While the ACA has sparked […]
In a letter to the editor sent to several media outlets, PMG Pat Donahoe explains the primary benefits of the Postal Service’s proposal to manage its own health care program for employees and retirees. The letter is in response to a recent assessment by the General Accountability Office (GAO). Among its conclusions, the GAO report […]
President Obama’s budget proposes that health plans covering federal and postal workers offer a third option: Self plus one coverage. So when would it happen, and how would it work?
A report [PDF] by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) confirms it: The Postal Service’s proposal to take postal workers out of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program would weaken Medicare and would result in reduced coverage and increased costs for postal workers.
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) would likely realize large financial gains from its proposed health care plan, primarily by increasing retirees’ use of Medicare. Specifically, USPS estimates that its plan would reduce its retiree health benefit liability by $54.6 billion, thereby eliminating its unfunded retiree health benefit liability. The plan would also reduce USPS’s required […]