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Washington, D.C.-The head of the nation's largest independent union of federal employees today called on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to "take swift and decisive action" to contain escalating health care premiums for federal employees, retirees and their families.
President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) said a projected average increase of 9.3 percent in premiums for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) comes at a time when NTEU has been urging OPM to take steps to make health care premiums more affordable, not less, particularly for lower-wage federal employees.
Kelley called this "a critical and necessary step," citing as many as 200,000 federal workers without any or at least adequate coverage. Rising premiums "raise the very real risk" that people will make the hard choice not to have health care, she said. "It makes no sense for those enrolled in FEHBP to face increases in health care costs that are nearly three times the rate of current and projected inflation," Kelley said.
FEHBP, which is administered by OPM, contracts with private companies under a 1959 law to provide health care services to some 9 million federal workers, retirees and their families worldwide. This marks the third consecutive year of significant increases in premiums.
NTEU represents some 155,000 employees in 24 agencies and departments. It has been a vocal advocate of looking for ways to hold down costs for FEHBP enrollees, especially those in lower-paid jobs, while maintaining the quality of care.
Kelley said NTEU "looks forward to getting details" from OPM about its legislative proposals. She said that, if, after reviewing OPM's proposals, NTEU determines they will successfully address the key issues of rising costs and the need for quality care and coverage, the union "will make it a legislative priority and mount a grassroots effort" to help ensure passage.
"Affordable, quality health care coverage is one of the most important issues for our members, and they are willing to fight to make sure they get it," Kelley said.