Benefits Guide Helps Decode Alphabet Soup

About 250,000 federal employees signed up for flexible spending accounts last year, and officials hope that the four-year-old program will grow as employees become comfortable with the "use it or lose it" rule governing pretax payroll deductions to cover out-of-pocket medical and other expenses.

While the OPM hopes to use this year's open season to stress the broad scope of benefits available to federal employees, the health insurance program will likely continue to draw the most attention, in large part because the insurance premiums are a major expense for federal employees and retirees.

The overwhelming majority of federal employees and retirees stick with their health insurance choices from year to year, but many employees may be more willing to consider switching plans to get lower premiums or lower co-payments and deductibles, or to improve their coverage, especially for prescription drugs.

Here's a snapshot of a few of the changes for 2008:

The most popular federal plan, Blue Cross and Blue Shield standard option, with about 2 million members, will increase premiums by 8.5 percent for an individual and by 8.1 percent for a family next year.

The Mail Handlers Benefit Plan, another large carrier, is discontinuing its high-option coverage, which had grown expensive for enrollees. The plan will continue to offer a standard option, where premiums will rise by 7.3 percent for an individual and 4.5 percent for a family. The plan's "consumer option" will not increase premiums.

Mail Handlers also is introducing a "value option" featuring low premiums -- $20.50 biweekly for individuals and $48.89 biweekly for families. For most services, enrollees must meet a deductible of $500 for individuals and $1,000 for families.

The Government Employees Health Association, known as GEHA, will be reducing premiums for its high-option coverage and making no change in premiums for its standard option and high-deductible health plans.

Plans sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers and the American Postal Workers Union will reduce their premiums.

A popular HMO plan, M.D. IPA, will be raising premiums by about 3 percent for individuals and families.

A plan that has been attracting new enrollees, the Aetna HealthFund consumer-driven option, will be increasing premiums by about 15 percent. Aetna has increased the plan's benefits, though, including a 25 percent increase in the fund provided to cover medical expenses.

Federal Diary Live will focus on the federal benefits open season with a series of discussions over the next five weeks. At noon Wednesday, Kathy McGettigan, deputy associate director for the OPM's Center for Retirement and Insurance Services, will kick off the series, taking questions and comments onhttp://washingtonpost.com.