When the Virtual Benefits Fair polled federal employees about what feature mattered most to them when it came to choosing an insurance plan, it wasn't a close race.
Fifty-six percent of respondents listening to the digital insurance fair's webcast on the Federal Employee Health Benefits program chose the overall cost of their coverage as the most important feature, outpacing provider choice, prescription drug coverage or specific treatment coverage.
With frugality in mind for the first day of the two-month virtual fair, Tammy Flanagan, senior benefits director for the National Institute of Transition Planning, joined the webcast to offer federal employees some advice for picking their insurance for 2017.
Check your insurance plan's changes
While most employees may be content to stick with the same plan, Flanagan said it’s always wise to read the fine print to see if there may be a better deal out there.
"If you have a certain health plan, you’ve been with it for a while and you are happy with it, make sure that plan didn’t go through some changes for next year to be able to maintain their lower premiums or perhaps to attract a specific audience," she said.
Flanagan said employees should look at Section 2 of their insurance plan brochure to see if there are premium or deductible changes, as well as the catastrophe limit to see what out-of-pocket costs they could be incurring.
To access the FEHB insurance plans’ brochures, visit the Office of Personnel Management’s website.
Navigate "analysis paralysis"
One of the issues facing federal employees is a potential glut of seemingly complex options for health coverage, something Flanagan calls "analysis paralysis."
"You just have so many choices that you don’t want to make any choice," she said. "I say that it’s like going to the gym. The front of my gym has a sign that says, ‘The hardest part is getting here.’"
She said that employees should narrow their field to four or five plans they are considering and cross-reference each through the insurance providers’ website or mini-brochure.
"Look over last year to see, ‘What did we spend out of pocket,’" she said. "’What were our co-pays on prescriptions, what were our deductibles that we had to meet?’
"Do a little year-in-review, which is a lot easier if you out all of your health care expenses in one little bucket."
Are you national or regional?
Another point for federal employees to consider is which health insurance plan is a better to their needs: national or regional?
Flanagan noted that while both plans provide good coverage, the difference is more of a lifestyle question for federal employees.
"Sometimes this would be the difference between the traditional fee-for-service plan — such as Blue Cross, [Government Employees Health Association] or the Mail Handlers Benefit Plan — versus an HMO," she said.
Nationwide plans would likely favor people who live in multiple states, people who have children attending college out of state, people living overseas or are not based in a single location. These plans allow for beneficiaries to see multiple providers, as long as they are within the plan’s network, providing more freedom of choice.
Regional plans could be better for employees living in larger metropolitan areas or those who are based in one location with a larger physician population. Flanagan said that the HMOs often provide emergency care out-of-network, but may not for continuous care, which may impact retirees with multiple homes.
"So that’s one basic decision that will help you narrow down your choices to maybe the ones that are listed under your state," she said.
To hear the webcast or find more information, visit
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