Premium increases ease for federal employees' health program
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WASHINGTON—Health insurance premiums for the program that covers federal employees and retirees will increase an average of 3.8% next year, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
The increase for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program—the nation's largest group plan, which covers more than 8 million people—is sharply lower than this year, when premiums rose an average of 7.3%.
It also is the smallest increase since 2008, when premiums increased an average of 2.1%, according to OPM.
The 3.8% average premium increase is in line with the 4.1% average premium increase for 2012 reported by the California Public Employees' Retirement System, the nation's second-largest group program with 1.3 million members.
Officials attribute the easing of cost increases to several factors, including competition among insurers offering coverage in the federal employee program.
“Negotiations with FEHB carriers kept premium increases as low as possible, without increasing out-of-pocket costs for deductibles, copays and coinsurance,” OPM said Tuesday in a question-and-answer sheet.
“With an emphasis on preventive medicine and keeping costs low, we've been able to deliver quality care at affordable rates,” OPM Director John Berry said in a statement.
Federal officials said 280,000 young adults gained or retained coverage this year due to complying with a provision in the health care reform law that requires employers to extend coverage to adult children prior to age 26.
Next year, slightly more than 200 health plans will be offered to federal employees and retirees, about the same as this year. Many plans, though, operate only in specific geographic areas.
Federal employees, who can make their 2012 health plan selections between Nov. 14 and Dec. 12, pay an average of 30% of the premium, while the federal government picks up the remaining 70%.
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Premiums to rise 7.3% in federal employees' health program
WASHINGTON—Health insurance premiums for the program that covers federal employees and retirees will increase an average of 7.3% next year, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
