Open Season, Part IV - Walton Francis, Checkbook Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees

Many federal employees take the opportunity during open season to look at their healthcare benefits.

Still others might have to change, due to the fact that this year 14 health plans are pulling out of the FEHBP and another 18 are lowering their coverage.

On this week's For Your Benefit, hosts Bob Leins and John Elliott talked with Walton Francis, editor of the Checkbook Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees.

Francis explained how the book could be a helpful resource for feds.

"We actually compare all the plans in terms of what are you likely to spend, taking into account the premium, which is a for-sure expense and out of pocket expenses, depending on whether or not you have a good year, an average year or a real bad year. We find there are these huge differences -- multiple thousands of dollars -- between the least costly plans and the most costly plans."

Francis said you could be throwing away money if you don't shop for a healthcare plan that fits your specific needs. He added that just because a plan has a low premium, doesn't mean it should be considered 'cheap'.

"I don't want to say the 'el cheapo' plans because some of them are among the best and most comprehensive, even though their premium is low. So, there's no simple correlation."

There are three basic plans in the FEHBP: HMO, PPO, and high deductible plans.

"The HMO plans have a relatively limited panel of doctors. There are the traditional, national PPO fee-for-service plans, where you have a broader network; and then you have these high deductible and consumer driven plans, which are some of the most spectacular bargains in this system. They'll give you a savings account in some plans of up to $1500 or more a year. They give you free physicals. If you're prudent and your costs are reasonably low, you could wind up the year with more money than you started -- that is, your savings account at the end of the year will have more money in it than you spent on premiums. That's actually possible in some of these plans."

Francis said it is important to keep an open mind about every kind of plan available, and bargains can be found in each of the three groups.

For more about the differences between the plans, what each could cost you, and how to select what type of plan is correct for you, click on the audio link at the top of the page to hear the whole program.

OPM's Lee Dettman also talked about what federal employees need to know about Open Season on today's Federal Drive program. She discussed the options federal employees have this year and how they can control costs. Tune in Tuesday to the Federal Drive, when Tom Temin and Jane Norris continue their coversation with Dettman. She'll be discussing what changes feds might want to make to their dental and vision plans.

For complete coverage of your pay & benefits, follow Mike Causey's Federal Report and sign up for Mike's daily newsletter.