Friday Highlights

The American Enterprise Institute will be holding an expert panel discussion on the Administration's proposal to carve out FEHBP prescription benefit administration to one prescription benefits manager under contract with OPM. The discussion will be held next Wednesday November 9 at 9:15 am and you can watch it remotely on the internet.

Fortunately the AEI session does not conflict with OPM's Federal Benefits Open Season webcasts. It will however, conflict with the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's markup of the 21st Century Postal Service Act that a bipartisan group of Senators introduced on Wednesday. The American Postal Workers Union website summarizes the bill's provisions. The provisions impacting the FEHBP would

Authorize the Postal Service to enter into negotiations with the unions to develop a USPS healthcare plan inside or outside of the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP)., and

Require Medicare-eligible retirees to enroll in Medicare Parts A and B and require the Postal Service to develop Medigap-like plans that offer comparable benefits within the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program for retirees and their dependents [whether or not the unions agree to a USPS healthcare plan].