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Still Time To Change Your Health Care Plan; Enrollment Period Extended To Jan. 30
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Copyright 2008 The Washington Times LLCAll Rights Reserved The Washington Times
December 30, 2008 Tuesday
SECTION: NATION; FEDERAL REPORT; A05
LENGTH: 683 words
HEADLINE: Still time to change your health care plan; Enrollment period extended to Jan. 30
BYLINE: By Mike Causey, THE WASHINGTON TIMES
If you have picked your 2009 federal health plan, that's great. Relax and let your co-workers continue to shop until they drop. For them, the hunt is still on through Jan. 30.
The Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan open enrollment period ended Dec. 8, but the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has given agencies the green light to continue to enroll people through the end of next month. Call it the "Stealth Open Season." Workers who want to enroll or change plans will go through their respective agencies. Retirees go through OPM.
The extended enrollment period means that if you failed to sign up for optional dental or vision insurance, you still have time. The same for the Flexible Spending Account (FSA) program. FSAs permit you to contribute pretax dollars via payroll deduction to a special account. That money can be used for almost any medical- or health-related expense, from suntan lotion to extra charges if you go to a doctor or hospital that is outside your health plan's network.
Walton Francis, author of Checkbook's Guide to Health Plans, says active-duty feds, retirees and their survivors should remember a few things when looking for health insurance:
* The primary reason you get health insurance is to protect you and your family from staggering medical bills resulting from a catastrophic - usually unexpected - illness or accident. Check the "limit to you" feature of your health plan. For a single person, that catastrophic limit (the amount you will have to pay out of pocket) can be as low as $2,500 for the United Health Care plan to as much as $13,000 for the GEHA standard plan.
* Pick a health plan in which your favorite doctor or doctors are listed as preferred providers for 2009. When in doubt, ask your doctor. Most of the plans now sock it to you if you go outside their networks for non-emergency treatment.
* Be aware of the five-year rule. That is in order to be able to continue with the federal health program for life, and the life of your surviving spouse, you must have been enrolled in one of the FEHBP plans (any plan will do) for the five years before retirement. Some feds piggyback on their private-sector spouses' plans. That may be good, unless you two divorce, or he or she dies or loses a job. For insurance that you can keep your FEHBP in retirement, choose a low-cost plan (like Mail Handlers Benefit Plan Value). It will cost less than $600 for an individual in 2009, and it's worth having even if you don't lose it. Kaiser and Coventry also have low-premium plans that are ideal for satisfying the five-year rule. Think of it as insurance so you can have insurance.
* Never, ever give up your federal health plan if you are retired. If you do, you can't come back in. There are some instances in which a retiree with Medicare (or Tricare) may want to "suspend" FEHBP enrollment to save on premiums. Under a suspension, you can return later. But if you drop coverage, you are on your own.
If you've made your choice (as most feds have) and plan to stick to it (as most probably will) that's OK. Don't think you have to do it all over again. Reason: All of the plans are good, so it is hard to make a big mistake covering yourself and your family for 2009.
Fed and postal workers, retirees and their survivors have the best health program in the nation. And the government pays about 70 percent of the premium tab (more for postal workers), which is a generous employer match. Eligibles can't be denied coverage for any reason, and most people have about 20 plans and options from which to choose.
Premiums for a self-only plan range from $790 (Kaiser) to $2,700 for the Aetna high-option health maintenance organization. Among fee-for-service plans, the individual premium range is $560 per year for the Mail Handlers plan to $2,550 for SAMBA's "Cadillac" high option.
In fact, the FEHBP - which covers President-elect Barack Obama - is expected to be the model for the universal health plan of the incoming administration.
* Mike Causey, senior editor at Federal News Radio AM 1050, can be reached at 202/895-5132 or mcausey@federalnewsradio.com
LOAD-DATE: December 30, 2008
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