From now through December 9, more than two million active and retired federal employees will qualify to change their health, dental, vision and flexible spending account benefits without a qualifying life event. The U.S Office of Personnel Management (OPM) found that less than five percent of federal enrollees change their health plans during Open Season.
The Challenge of Choosing the Right Plan
John Hatton, Staff Vice President of Policy and Programs of National Active and Retired Federal Employee Association (NARFE) has seen, “What we find is that people often aren’t making a choice because it’s confusing and it’s complex and it’s overwhelming. So we try to be there as a resource for them. We walk you through the decision making process. What factors to consider. Giving you more confidence in your decision and better peace of mind about that decision. So you’re not worrying that by saving money on premiums, you’re not going to have the coverage that you need.”
Rising Premiums Demand Attention
With the federal workers health care programs seeing the highest increase in premiums in over a decade federal workers both active and retired should take time this Open Season to reassess their Health Care Coverage. Premiums went up an average of 13%, with a popular plan going up $100 a month. That’s a huge increase to a family or fixed income budget. Now that cost has to find a way to be covered.
Federal employee need to look at what your plan covers and be aware of the potential new costs to their health care plan. Federal employees should also take the time to see if there is a better option for you and your family. It could save you thousands of dollars. And while it can easily feel overwhelming, there are resources that can help make the process easier.
Strategies for Savings
John Hatton shared, “When you combine the net deductible from the Health Savings Plan with the the general deductible, so you may have a difference of a $900 change in deductible, but gain a savings of $6,000 for the year. So, a lot of different strategies that you can use to save money and still have pretty good coverage.”
The National Active and Retired Federal Employee Association (NARFE) released survey results showing that there can be a lot of confusion in trying to decide what health plan is best for them. It also discovered that three out of four active and retired federal employees shared concerns about the election’s potential impact on their benefits, making this an ideal time to reassess coverage.
Too Few Employees Make Changes
Not enough federal employees are taking time to relook at their health care plan. And while there isn’t an ideal number of people who should be making changes, Hatton said, “I think 5% is too low, especially given the options exist that are out there in terms of options. Especially when you compare the plans that have the highest enrollment. And then you look at their costs compared to similar plans. We don’t preference any particular plan. We don’t tell anybody take a specific plan, but again, we provide the factors to consider and the decision break making process to go through.”
Resources for Federal Employees
NARFE has a full list of resources on their website and a dedicated page for Open Season. They provide information along with webinars for their members that federal employees active and retired can attend to get help in determining what health care option is right for them.
Hatton also added, “Don’t miss this opportunity is something I would continue to tell federal employees, there are a lot of different options. But if you are not taking advantage of those options, you are very likely paying more money than you need. When you have options that provide you very comprehensive, valuable health insurance coverage.”
Both active and retired federal employees can learn more about Open Season, and tools to navigate enrollment, by visiting narfe.org/open-season for helpful resources.
