Some Prior Changes to Be Targeted

The new Congress will revisit some of the laws enacted in the last Congress, starting with a House vote this week on repealing the health insurance reform law. That law has relatively little impact on the federal employee and retiree community; the main effects were to extend family coverage eligibility from age 22 to age 26 effective this year and to gradually improve benefits under the voluntary Medicare Part D prescription drug program, in which most federal retirees don’t enroll because they already have what is considered to be superior drug benefits under FEHB. Another possible target is a measure to encourage telework that passed late in the year despite concerns of House Republicans who now will lead civil service panels about potential higher costs and lower productivity by teleworkers.