Married With Kids

Short Answer: Four people!

But nothing in life is that simple. More people being covered means paying family, as opposed to self-only, premiums. A family of five is, most of the time, going to have more health problems and also more out-of-pocket payments than a singleton.

Feds and retirees have until Dec. 8 to pick their 2009 health plan. Doing nothing could mean you will pay more in premiums next year. And you might not have the catastrophic coverage you need to minimize the amount you will have to pay if you have a major illness or accident in 2009.

Last week we ran the "best buys" for singles according to Walt Francis' CHECKBOOK Guide to Health Plans. To read that column, click here.

CHECKBOOK ranks plans according to the plans' premium (single or family) plus how much you are likely to pay out for medical costs not covered by your 2009 health plan. The guide takes into account those people who will have low costs next year. For a family of five, there is a 15 percent chance that bills will be under $2,500, which there is a 15 percent chance that bills will exceed $25,000.

The ratings here are based on the assumption that 2009 will have "average" medical costs for that family. Here's what CHECKBOOK estimates your total costs (premiums plus out of pocket costs) will be:

Fee For Service Plans: APWU Consumer Driven plan, $2,320; Blue Cross Basic, $3,900; Foreign Service, $4,250; NALC, $4,320; GEHA High Deductible, $4,380; Mail Handlers High Deductible, $4,450; GEHA Standard, $4,510, and so on. Other plans, and Francis says all of them are good-to-excellent, will cost you more next year.

Health Maintenance Organization: Aetna Consumer Driven plan, $2,080 in an "average" medical year; Kaiser Standard, $3,170; CareFirst Blue Choice, $3,730; Coventry High Option, $3,750; MD IPA, $3,750; Aetna High Deductible and Kaiser high option, $3,840; United Health Care Consumer Driven plan, $3,840; and Aetna Open Access Basic, $3,890.

Previous columns have talked about the important to the catastrophic coverage offered by a health plan. To review that, click here.

For information on the CHECKBOOK guide, click here.

Medicare and the FEHBP

Friday's column pointed out that retirees with Medicare can suspend (do not EVER drop) their FEHBP coverage to avoid paying two premiums. But a reader says, correctly, it's a little more complicated than that. She writes:

Keep in mind that you can on suspend your FEHB if you are electing a Medicare coordinated health care plan, Tricare, CHAMPVA or Medicaid. Please refer to form RI79-9 for rules on suspending your FEHB. Once you elect to cancel your FEHB your election is permanent and you will not get it back in the future. Some people who elected to be covered by their spouse's private health care insurance are now finding themselves suddenly without coverage due to changes in pension plans as a result of the poor economy. Unfortunately these people are unable to resume FEHB coverage now that they are finding themselves (and their spouses) uninsured.

"Hopefully this explanation will save someone from making a serious error." Judy

Look at the Bonus Holiday item & the link: click here.

Nearly Useless Factoid

Burning those pesky calories can be easy, and fun. According to AmusingFacts, "A kiss for one minute can burn 26 calories." It may not beat a treadmill, but it is certainly more entertaining.

To reach me: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com