Are you surprised?

Been on a couple different plans over the years, GEHA(standard and hdhp), Bcbs and now MHBP but due to the premium increase- I want to change- $400 extra a month is insane.

I’ve been pouring over all of the plans for the last couple of days, which GEHA seeming to be like the cheapest option all around especially if you plan on hitting OOP max….

My only issue is -how bad really is UHC? The years I had GEHA, we only had routine care and had no major issues, there were a couple of times I had to call for some reason but it was cleared up easily, can’t even remember the issues.

This year though, My spouse was recently diagnosed and hospitalized multiple times for a blood disorder and I’m not sure which route to go.

Between 2 emergency visits and 3 hospitalizations, frequent outpatient lab tests and infusions- We hit deductible fast and hit individual out of pocket max.
Hopefully going forward- things shouldn’t be as catastrophic, but I need to plan for that incase it becomes critical again.

I’m hesitant to go back to GEHA, due to potential care being much more involved than routine. I’m afraid of UHC when it comes to major claims like we had this year.
What has been your experience with them in terms of hospitalizations, imaging, blood transfusions and specialty infusions?
I can really only find information with people commenting on prescription coverage, especially with GLPs…..

Don’t really want to switch back to Bcbs as the premium isn’t that much lower than 2027 MHBP. Currently at $220 for MHBP self plus family.

A first-of-its-kind Intercept investigation has found critical shortcomings in the U.S. military’s procedures for documenting and preserving records of homicides that result from domestic abuse, including intimate partner violence. The Pentagon’s mandated reports to Congress appear to substantially undercount these killings, omitting nearly half of cases.

I recently had my PACs with my supervisor and they told me I did not need to sign my PACs. Are there any repercussions to not signing?

So we’ve had BCBS basic for our entire federal careers/adult lives (over ten years now) and have loved it, but with the ER copay increase to $500 we just can’t justify it anymore. I have a disability, my husband has an anaphylactic food allergy, and we have an infant so a couple emergency room visits a year are inevitable and we absolutely can’t afford to get into four figures for them like we did this year.

So, as the title suggests, what is the best federal plan for ER visits?

I have updated my free FEHB comparison tool.

2027 FEHB brochures are out - I have them linked on my site FERS-Ready.

Select a plan - scroll to the bottom to "Official plan documents" to find them.

Let me know if there are any new features you would like to see implemented.

Enjoy!

Jennifer Shuford, the CDC’s deputy director and chief medical officer, is leaving the administration after a short tenure, according to three people who spoke on the condition of anonymity Monday night to discuss a sensitive personnel matter.

Shuford, an infectious-disease physician who had served as Texas’s health commissioner, was hired in April as part of a new four-person leadership team tapped to run the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and restore confidence in the agency, Trump officials said at the time.

Her departure comes after recent developments that have renewed questions about the Trump administration’s approach to vaccine policy, including delays in updating CDC’s measles database and President Donald Trump’s continuing push to change childhood vaccine recommendations.

I posted this over on r/FederalEmployees several days ago and didn't get any responses, so now I'm trying here:

Hello Everyone,

Relatively new fed here, using a throwaway account to be extra safe...

Basically, my question is "what happens to the government's contributions toward my FERS benefits if I leave federal service before I hit the 5-year mark?" My understanding is that I would have the option to withdraw *my* contributions toward FERS as a lump sum to take with me, but I would lose all of the government's contributions so far.

As a follow-up question, what would happen, for example, if I departed from federal service with 3 years of service, left *my* FERS contributions with the government, was rehired into the Feds after a while, and reached the 5-year mark in my second position? Would I then "get back" all of the government's contributions toward my FERS that I lost upon my departure, or are those contributions permanently gone?

I've read some info on OPM's website but haven't been able to find anything on my second question specifically, so I thought to ask here. Thanks everybody!

I'm GLP-1 curious and have been looking at benefits coverage for the 2027 plan year. My current Aetna-administered plan, apparently like all the others, has raised the cost share to 50% coinsurance. Here's what's weird to me: The 2027 out-of-pocket cost on my plan for Zepbound, which is covered with a prior authorization, is $1,544.82. That's $514.94 every 30-days or $17.16/day. This is for any dosage.

Meanwhile, the maximum cash-pay amount through Eli Lilly Direct is $449/month if you join their (free) Journey program. A "month" is 28 days, so that works out to $16.03/day.

I understand there are current manufacturer savings coupons that can be applied and, if those are available next year, they could bring the coinsurance price down. Regardless, if the OOP cost going through insurance is $17.16/day and the cash-pay cost not going through insurance is $16.03/day, I'm struggling to see where insurance is actually covering their 50%.

I’m looking for both current and last pay table. Mil website down at least since yesterday.

I saw that diagnostic tests were $250 and emergency room visits are $425. Anything else I should be aware of?

"The White House is following a court's order when it comes to reduction-in-force policies. The Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management have formally rescinded two memos calling for reductions in force during shutdowns. The Trump administration agreed to terminate the two memos as part of its settlement in September to end a lawsuit by a coalition of federal employee unions including the American Federation of Government Employees, National Federation of Federal Employees and National Treasury Employees Union. Along with the removing the two memos, the Trump administration agreed to rescind every RIF notice issued during the 2026 shutdown and reinstate employees with back pay from the State Department, General Services Administration and Small Business Administration. Additionally, agencies must remove from their shutdown contingency plans any language authorizing RIFs, or RIF work, during a lapse in appropriations, unless a statute expressly permits it. -- Jason Miller

(OMB rescinds memo allowing RIFs during shutdowns - Office of Management and Budget)

I got a prescription for Wegovy with my Kaiser FEHB plan, and I would like to know if anyone has attempted to use the Wegovy manufacturer savings coupon (see link below) to lower the copay. I am using a Kaiser Pharmacy. If successful, the savings card would lower the copay by up to $100 per refill. Thank you,

Savings Offer Program for Wegovy® (semaglutide) | NovoCare®