News Briefs

THE DAILY FED

News Briefs

The following news summaries are from OPM AM, the daily newsletter of the Office of Personnel Management. OPM AM is available on OPM Mainstreet, the agency's electronic bulletin board, at 202-606-4800.

FEHBP OPEN SEASON--"Federal employees and retirees shopping for health coverage during this year's open season will find total average premium increases of only 2.4 percent, improved materials and expanded information to help them choose a plan. Open season for the 1997 Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program runs from November 11 through December 9, 1996 (Office of Communications News Release, September 24)...The program serves more than nine million federal employees, retirees and dependents (The Washington Times).

THE FEDERAL DIARY--As medical costs go up, many people think HMOs, which stress prevention and managed care, are the wave of the future. "For federal workers, the good news is that they have a variety of excellent health plans--with reasonable premiums and good benefits--to choose from" (Washington Post).

MANAGED CARE--"At first, managed care seemed like the magic elixir for the nation's health care problems. It would help rein in the escalating costs of medical care and provide a more effective system of delivering medical services to millions of American. Now, lawmakers in Washington and in state capitals around the country are wondering whether the idea has gone too far" (The Washington Post).

FEDERAL ISSUES--The Clinton Administration honored seven outstanding federal labor-management partnerships teams during a White House awards ceremony on September 11...The Senate rejected a measure that would have barred discrimination against federal and non-federal employees on the basis of sexual orientation...A Senate amendment would require agencies to obtain authorization from employees before disclosing their home addresses...Use of official time under fire (Federal Human Resources Week, September 23).

OF INTEREST--Workers who suffer from cancer are fired or laid off from their jobs five times more often than other workers, according to a survey released yesterday (The Sun)...Workplace experts offer some advice for small employers on setting up child-care programs (The Wall Street Journal, Work & Family).