FEHB Stability Planned for 2006

The Office of Personnel Management has indicated that the Federal Employees Health Benefits program coverage will undergo relatively little change from 2005 to 2006. Its annual “call letter” to FEHB carriers—which kicks off an annual negotiating process that results in the premium rates and plan designs for the following calendar year—continues to encourage carriers to offer alternative plan structures, such as the consumer-driven plans and high-deductible plans introduced in recent years. OPM also encouraged carriers to continue the emphasis on care management, including flexible benefit options and diagnosis-based programs, adding that it is “interested in interventions for the overweight and obese as they relate to cardiovascular risk reduction, controlling high blood pressure and lowering cholesterol.” It also encouraged them to provide preventive care benefits including: an abdominal aortic aneurysm screen for men 65 to 75 who have smoked; meningococcal conjugate vaccine for children deemed at risk under federal guidelines; and influenza vaccine for pregnant women and annually for men and women age 50 and older.