It appears that Congress is not going to tamper with the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program this year. That would be a good thing for the vast majority of federal and postal workers. And, for that matter, for members of Congress and their staffs who are also enrolled in the FEHBP which covers nearly 9 million people.

Members of Congress who choose Blue Cross, GEHA, Mail Handlers, the NALC or APWU health plans or Kaiser HMO for their coverage pay the same premiums, get the same benefits and the same government contribution (an average of about 70 percent of the plan's total premium) as do rank-and-file federal workers.

Also, when members of Congress retire (and incumbents these days rarely get beaten) they can take their FEHBP care with them. For life. And for the life of their spouse or, in many cases, their spouses. So, it's unlikely that members of the House or Senate would give up their FEHBP coverage (which has been proposed by a Republican ) or allow uninsured and otherwise uninsurable low-income Americans into the FEHBP, which has been proposed by a Democrat.

Unlikely, but...

Congress is behind in its workload. Many agencies still don't have budgets that have been approved. And the White House is pressing for reform, some kind of reform, this year. In that climate, anything could happen.

Because Congress is under intense pressure for reform-this-year, lobbyists for the federal family are nervous. Teams representing union members, managers and retirees - from NIH scientists to NASA astronauts, letter carriers and retired feds - are watching the give-and-take on health care reform in the Senate Finance Committee. It's been meeting this week in an effort to come up with some kind of health care reform plan.

Early in the health care reform debate Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) proposed moving members of Congress and feds out of the FEHBP and into state "exchanges" that would be set up. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) wanted to move in the opposite direction. That is to open up the FEHBP to millions of low-income uninsured (or otherwise uninsurable) people.

Those proposals, which sent chills down the spines of millions of active and retired feds, appear to be dead, dying or side-tracked.

But...

Anything can happen in these closing days (make that "daze") of Congress. That's why feds, whether they delight in seeing legislation crafted or just like to watch train wrecks, should pay attention.

To follow the Senate Finance Committee go to http://finance.senate.gov/.

It's not as dramatic as Masterpiece Theater, or as scripted as televised wrestling, but in the end whatever they come up with will impact a lot of Americans in ways (maybe good, maybe not so good) most of us cannot even begin to imagine now.

OPM offers little relief for long-term health care increases

During a Senate hearing yesterday, OPM pledged to do a better job in the future of explaining that increases in long-term health care are very much possible. Enrollees have until Dec. 14 to make a decision about changing plans, but lawmakers, employee unions and others are calling for OPM to extend the deadline. A John Hancock official says on average premiums will increase only $29. Read the full story here.

Nearly Useless Factoid
by Suzanne Kubota

Maybe it's to blend in with the fog, but San Francisco is the top market for silver cars. Silver is also the most popular car "color" nationwide.

To reach me: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com