FEHB Likely to Be a Model, Not Expanded, Official Says

The Obama administration likes the Federal Employees Health Benefits program as a model for its broader initiative on health insurance, but is not planning to open the program's doors to the general public, according to a top health adviser to President Obama.

That's a relief to federal employees and retirees who had feared that such an expansion would eventually result in their rates going up.

Neera Tanden, a health-care reform official at the Department of Health and Human Services, said the insurance program for federal workers has several features that make it an attractive model for expanding health-care coverage, including a large pool of enrollees, a range of insurance options within a structure that requires a base level of benefits and competition among plans.

"What we're very impressed by in the FEHB is that it's a large pool that functions very well," she said Monday at the annual FEHB carrier conference.

Some federal employees have expressed concern that the program -- which is restricted to federal employees, retirees and certain family members -- might be opened to new participants with an unpredictable effect on claims rates and, ultimately, benefits and premiums. But Tanden told the gathering that "our predisposition is to ensure that it's separate."

In a later interview, she said the FEHB is "just a model for reform."

The conference marks the start of the annual process of determining the FEHB's terms for the following year. The Office of Personnel Management likely will issue guidance to insurance companies in the form of a "call letter" in the upcoming weeks, a spokesman said. Negotiations between the carriers and OPM will follow, with an announcement in the fall of premiums and benefits in each plan for 2010.

Federal Managers Association

Members of the Federal Managers Association plan to converge on Capitol Hill today to present their legislative agenda to members of Congress. The association represents managers in 35 federal agencies and departments.

On Monday, the organization heard from Rep. Darrell Issa of California, the top Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He pledged to seek bipartisan solutions "to reinvigorate the federal workforce."

He briefly mentioned a variety of legislative items, including federal retirement plans, sick leave, telecommuting and outside contractors. Issa said he favors programs to encourage employees "to stay in the federal workforce . . . your skills are essential."

The organization's legislative agenda is in two parts, one for the general federal workforce and the other for its management. Here are some of the agenda's major points: