Fedweek

Sponsors say the measure will use the size of the potential enrollee pool — about 20 million people — as an advantage in the marketplace to hold down premiums. They expect competition between the carriers in the bidding process to keep premiums affordable for the entire community. OPM is to contract with “one or more” carriers for a “policy or policies” with the master contract or contracts running for seven years. It could be upwards of two years until such benefits actually are available even after final enactment of the bill, however.