Feds, Retirees to Pay 6.2% More in Health Insurance Premiums

Federal employees and retirees will pay 6.2% more on average for health insurance premiums next year. This unacceptably high increase will hit millions of Americans in the pocketbook, making coverage less and less affordable and will cause many to drop coverage.

“Like most other Americans, federal employees and retirees have seen their standard of living decline due to stagnant incomes and cost increases for basic goods and services,” AFGE President J. David Cox Sr. said. “This is an unacceptably high increase that will force many families to make difficult decisions about how to pay their bills.”

While employees enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program will pay 6.2% more for their insurance premiums starting in January, the government’s share of those premiums will increase just 3.7%, according to the Office of Personnel Management.

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A Few Other Increases

• Biweekly premiums will increase on average $5.27 for enrollees who select the self-only plan, $10.32 for enrollees in the self-plus-one plan, and $12.97 for enrollees in the family plan.
• For enrollees insured by Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the largest insurer in the federal program, rates will increase $5.81 for self-only, $9.46 for self-plus-one, and $15.99 for family coverage.
• Premiums also are increasing an average of 1.9% for dental plans and 6.3% for vision coverage.

One Bright Spot

One bright spot for next year is that all health plans in the federal program will cover Applied Behavioral Analysis, the most effective known treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorders. AFGE lobbied OPM for 10 years to require FEHBP carriers to provide this coverage.