More Choice for Next Year

FEHB enrollees will have a greater range of choice than in recent past years, with 249 plans participating for the calendar 2005 plan year. This will be the second year in a row that the number of plans has increased, following several years of substantial dropouts, mostly among HMOs that either merged or could not achieve substantial penetration into the FEHB market. Eight new HMOs joined the FEHB for 2005, plus 18 plans will be offering high deductible options that feature tax-favored