Decision Time for Federal Workers

Federal employees have until Dec. 10 to review their coverage options during health insurance open season. For those seeking help beyond that provided by the Office of Personnel Management, one source is the guide to federal health plans compiled by the nonprofit Washington Consumers' Checkbook. The guide has been comparing federal offerings for 29 years. Some of its findings for 2008:

* Plans offering the greatest family savings are most HMOs, the Blue Cross Basic plan, several consumer-driven plans and the GEHA Standard Option plan.

* HMOs aren't always cheapest. Budget HMOs available locally -- Kaiser Mid-Atlantic Standard Option and Aetna Open Access Basic Option -- will save an average family about $1,000 per year compared with Blue Cross Standard. But the priciest HMO plans cost more than the cheapest traditional plans.

* Consumer-driven and high-deductible plans will save most employees money over traditional plans and have nearly comparable protections against high costs.

* Claims disputes are more likely in some plans than in others: The SAMBA and Blue Cross plans have about six to seven disputed claims for every 10,000 enrollees. GEHA and APWU have at least double that rate.

* Satisfaction rates also differ. The NALC plan won a top quality rating from 51 percent of its surveyed members; only 22 percent of surveyed members gave that rating to the Blue Cross Basic plan.

Dozens of federal departments and agencies give employees free access to Checkbook's guide, at http://www.GuideToHealthPlans.org. Individuals can also subscribe by paying $9.95 for online access or $12.45 for a paper version.

For details about health insurance offered to federal workers: http://www.opm.gov/insure/health.

For information on flexible spending accounts: http://www.fsafeds.com.

For information on Medicare: http://www.medicare.gov, http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/medicare.