FEHB Call Letter Coming Soon

The Bush administration’s plans regarding HSAs in the FEHB likely will become clearer soon with issuance of the annual “call letter” that starts the process of setting benefits and premiums for the next calendar year. In recent years, OPM has been encouraging carriers to create “consumer-driven” options, which create an incentive for enrollees to hold down their consumption of health care-one philosophy also behind HSAs. OPM has been meeting with employee organizations and others who are concerned about that approach out of a belief that generally healthier enrollees will migrate to such plans, leaving higher premiums for everyone else. Another concern being expressed is that some enrollees will “game” the system by moving among different types of plans in different years, depending on whether they foresee a need for a large health care expense in the year ahead. One possible approach being mentioned to prevent that would be a requirement that HSA enrollees be required to stick with the plan for more than one year.