Health Insurance Premiums and Federal Employees
There has been plenty of talk about health insurance premiums being on the rise with more of the financial responsibility being placed on the employee. The premiums on health insurance for Federal and Postal employees will slightly increase but with no real impact on the average employee because of the size of the Federal workforce. Some other employees outside of the Federal government might not fair as well. Much depends on the size of the organization and the strength of the company’s revenue stream.
Many Federal employees have spouses who work in jobs outside of the Federal service and have chosen to use the non-Federal benefits to cover health care costs for their families. As Open Season approaches, it is good time to evaluate the Federal health care benefits (FEHB) available to you and your family. If you are in the position of deciding between Federal benefits and non-Federal benefits just line up the offerings side-by-side and carefully assess what is offered for each and what your family is more likely to need.
Except for what is termed -Golden Handcuff- benefits, it will be hard to find benefits that out rival those offered by the Federal government because of shear numbers. Federal benefits cover over 10 million active and retired employees and their families. Therefore, before waiving your rights to Federal health benefits coverage make sure you are sitting down with your family and your benefits specialist to make certain you are not making a decision that will cause anxiety in the future.
Another thing to remember, don’t be embarrassed by asking a benefits specialist or some other professional with an in-depth knowledge of benefits to help you sort out your situation. I think it would be too presumptuous to say that no other benefits package can compare to what is offered to Federal employees. However, it is relatively safe to say that it will be hard to find a benefits package more comprehensive than what is offered to Federal employees at a highly affordable cost.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
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