Federal Employees (FEHB) and Health Care Benefits Plan

The Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program Federal employees, retirees and their survivors choose from among Consumer-Driven and High Deductible plans that offer catastrophic risk protection with higher deductibles, health savings/reimbursable accounts and lower premiums, or Fee-for-Service (FFS) plans, and their Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO), or Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO). The plan brochures show you what services and supplies are covered and the level of coverage. The government pays less than 75% of premiums. That’s less than the more than 80% that employers in the private sector paid in 2003, according to a Labor Department survey.

Congressional members take part in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB). The FEHB is praised as a model for a large-scale comprehensive health care plan. Lawmakers are being condemned for failing to come up with a comparable system for the tens of millions of Americans without adequate health care. The prime component of the FEHB is that the government provides options, doesn't force you into vice. Federal employees choose from about a dozen fee-for-service plans, plus a number of HMO plans and, health savings accounts paired with high-deductible health plans.

Retiring legislators, as well as other federal workers, can continue to participate after just five years of enrollment, and the government continues to pick up 72% of the premiums. Current Congressional members can also purchase top-of-the-line care, using their FEHB benefits, at Washington's military hospitals Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Naval Medical Center at Bethesda. For an annual fee, they can drop by the Attending Physician's Office in the first floor of the U.S. Capitol for X-rays, EKGs, physical exams and consultations.

Provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) cover a much more than privacy. The medical staff may have given you a "HIPAA privacy notice" counsel you of protections for your personal health information. Many people are afraid to switch jobs because they might lose the insurance coverage they need for their families. HIPAA's umbrella of protection:

• restricts the capacity of a new employer plan to exclude coverage for preexisting conditions;
• offers supplementary opportunities to enroll in a group health plan if you lose other coverage or experience certain life events;
• bans discrimination against employees and their dependent family members based on any health features they may have, including previous medical conditions, earlier claims experience, and genetic information; and
• assures that certain persons will have right of entry to, and can renew, individual health insurance policies.

HIPAA is balanced by state laws that, while comparable to HIPAA, may recommend more generous protections. You should contact your state insurance commissioner's office to request information about the law where you reside. A good place to begin is the Web site of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Your Health Plan And HIPAA...Making The Law Work For You does not explain HIPAA in its total; it is an unofficial clarification of the law and Federal regulations, not a legal analysis. The booklet spotlights on HIPAA’s coverage for the private-sector group health plans only. If you have further questions, refer to the Resources section or contact the EBSA regional office nearest you. For a list of offices, visit the agency's Web site at www.dol.gov/ebsa or call 1.866.444.EBSA (3272) to be connected to a regional office.

In FY 2006, there were 2.6 million women and men employed by the Federal government across the country and around the world.

• 56.9% were men and 43.1% were women; the participation rate for women has slowly but steadily increased over the last ten years.
• 7.7% were Hispanic or Latino, 66.2% were White, 18.4% were Black or African American, 5.9% were Asian, 0.2% was Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islanders, 1.7% were American Indian/Alaska Native, and 0.1% was persons of two or More Races.
• Of the total work force, 0.77% held senior pay level positions, which is an increase from 0.62% in FY 1997. Women have made the most gains in securing senior level positions in the federal government, occupying 26.2% of those positions in FY 2006, up from 21.2% in FY 1997. Within that ten year period Hispanic or Latino and Asian women have made the most gains.
• Of the total work force, 54.3% of employees occupied General Schedule and Related pay system positions.
• The average grade for permanent and temporary General Schedule employees was 10. Hispanic or Latino (9.4), Black or African American (9), Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander (8.3), American Indian/Alaska Native (8.4) employees and employees of Two or More Races (8.6) all had average grades lower than the government-wide average.
• The average General Schedule grade for women was 9.3, nearly one and a half grades below the average grade level for men of 10.7.
• Of the total work force, 7.50% of employees occupy positions in the Federal Wage System. In comparison to the General Schedule and Related positions, the Federal Wage System had a higher percentage of men (88.98%), Hispanic or Latinos (7.87%), Black or African Americans (18.21%), Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islanders (0.57%) and American Indian/Alaska Natives (2.53%), and a lower percentage of Asians (4.19%), Whites (66.51%) and women (11.01%).
• Of the total work force, 37.51% of employees occupied positions in Other Pay Systems (i.e. other than Senior Pay, General Schedule and Federal Wage Systems). In comparison to the General Schedule, the other pay systems had a higher percentage Hispanic or Latinos (7.98%), Black or African Americans (19.87%), and Asians (7.73%); and a lower percentage of Whites (63.12%) American Indian/Alaska Natives (1.11%) and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islanders (0.13%).

Source: http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/index.cfm

No data are reported for members or employees of Congress, Architect of the Capitol, Botanic Garden, General Accounting Office, Library of Congress, Congressional Budget Office, Office of Compliance, Judicial Branch, White House Office, Office of the Vice President, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Tennessee Valley Authority, U.S. Postal Service, Postal Rate Commission, National Imagery and Mapping Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, Public Health Service's Commissioned Corps, and foreign nationals employed oversees.

The report entitled Employment of Veterans in Federal Government: Fiscal Year 2007 delineates Federal employment statistics in fiscal year 2007, and gives contrasts with fiscal 2006 data. It illustrates the total number of veterans employed by the Federal Government increased to 462,744 in FY 2007, while the number of disabled veterans employed in Federal jobs increased to103, 180 in FY 2007.

Highlights of the Employment of Veterans report include:

1. Veterans, as a percentage of all employees, improved from 25.4 percent in FY 2006 to 25.5 percent in FY 2007.
2. Full-time permanent (FTP) employment disabled veterans, as a percentage of all FTP employment, improved from 5.8 percent in FY 2006 to 6.1 percent in FY 2007.
3. Veteran new hires increased from 50,108 in FY 2006 to 52,452 in FY 2007.
4. New hires of FTP disabled veterans increased from 7,561 in FY 2006 to 8,401 in FY 2007.

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) aggressively supports veterans through the agency's Veterans' Outreach Offices. Outreach was developed to work directly with returning veterans attracted to Federal civilian employment opportunities. The Veterans’ Outreach offices are located at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX, and at Fort Carson, CO. To view the complete report, please visit http://www.opm.gov/news/opm-report-shows-veterans-continue-entering-federal-workforce,1440.aspx