Health Insurance premiums for employees covered under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program will increase an overall average of 3.4 percent in 2013 the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced yesterday. The 2013 increase is lower than the 3.8 percent average increase in 2012.
The FEHB program covers 8.2 million people who can choose from among 230 health plans. FEHB plans cover about 90 percent of all federal employees.
In releasing the new rates, OPM Director John Berry said that OPM had “used our market leverage and previous years’ experience to negotiate the lowest possible premium rates without sacrificing benefits.” OPM advised there will be no significant benefit changes in 2013.
While premiums vary with each plan, enrollee’s average bi-weekly payments in 2013 will increase by $2.75 for self-only and by $6.39 for family plans. Premiums for specific plans will be available on the OPM website.
OPM also announced that the 2013 premiums for the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) will increase less than one percent.
The 2013 Open Season for health, dental and vision, and flexible spending accounts will start on November 12, 2012 and end on December 10, 2012. Open season allows federal employees and retires to make changes to their plans for 2013 and eligible employees to enroll in the plan of their choice.
[…] insurance premiums will also increase for federal civilian employees. The Office of Personnel Management recently announced that employees covered under the […]
With the continuing rise in health care premiums, researching all your options during the open enrollment period is very important. This way, you can choose the health coverage and provider that give you the best value.