Benefits
Union says OWCP records also affected in USPS data breach
The recent U.S. Postal Service cyber breach that compromised the postal employees' personal information also exposed employee information related to the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs.
Benefits
Postal worker enters guilty plea in workers' comp scam
A U.S. Postal Service employee in Baltimore pleaded guilty this month to making false statements to obtain nearly a quarter million dollars in federal workers' compensation and food stamp benefits, the Justice Department said.
Benefits
Open Season: FSAs, HSAs and Health Reimbursement Arrangements
This week, Edward A. Zurndorfer examines another important decision that employees have to make during the 2014 federal benefits open season: Whether to enroll or reenroll in a health care flexible spending account (HCFSA) and a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA) for the 2015 plan year.
Benefits
VA sends out second round of Veterans Choice Cards
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it began mailing Veterans Choice Cards on Nov. 17 to vets currently waiting for an appointment at a VA facility more than 30 days from their preferred date or from the date medically determined by a physician.
Benefits
OPM rule would expand FLTCIP eligibility
The Office of Personnel Management last week published a proposed rule that would amend the regulation governing the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP) to expand the definition of "qualified relative" to broaden eligibility to apply for coverage under the program.
Benefits
USPS says health insurance premium jump less than OPM estimate
The U.S. Postal Service says that the Office of Personnel Management's estimate that USPS employees and retirees will have to pay about 19 percent more on average for their healthcare premiums in 2015 is far off the mark.
Benefits
Open Season: Premium cost should not be a main consideration in choosing an FEHB Plan: Part II
This second of two Federal Soup Open Season columns explaining medical, dental and vision insurance choices for employees examines point-of-service (POS) plans, consumer driven health plans (CDHP) and high deductible health plans (HDHP).
Benefits
VA mail-order pharmacy gets top score for satisfaction
The Department of Veterans Affairs may have to work to improve some of its services, but its mail-order pharmacy is not one of them.
Benefits
OPEN SEASON: Premium cost should not be a primary consideration when choosing an FEHB Plan for 2015: Part I
In the first of two columns explaining medical, dental and vision insurance choices for employees, Edward A. Zurndorfer discusses fee-for-service (FFS) plans (including FFS plans with preferred providers) and health maintenance organizations (HMOs).
Benefits
VA home loans reach 21 million
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced that its Home Loan Program has reached a new milestone—with 21 million home loans guaranteed since the Home Loan Guaranty program was established in 1944 under the GI Bill.
Benefits
Five plans to drop out of FEHB
The Office of Personnel Management said that five health insurance plans are dropping out of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program for the 2015 plan year.
Benefits
Open Season: It's that time again
Don't look now, but federal benefits open season is here again. That's why from now through early December, Federal Soup will present a series of weekly, information-packed columns to help you sort through this year's health care and health savings options.
Benefits
Lawmakers want answers on paid administrative leave
Findings in a new Government Accountability Office report that examined agencies' use of paid administrative leave have induced two lawmakers to find out more about how agencies use it, and why some employees who have received it were paid for so long to do nothing.
Benefits
How about a four-day weekend?
A few feds are at it again, launching a petition on the White House's "We the People" website to try to convince President Obama to issue an executive order giving federal employees the day after Christmas off.
Benefits
Former BOP employee sentenced in OWCP fraud case
A former Bureau of Prisons employee was recently sentenced to more than a year in prison after being found guilty of fraudulently obtaining workers' compensation benefits by submitting more than 1,300 fraudulent reimbursement claims to the Department of Labor’s Office of Workers' Compensation Program, the Justice Department said.
Benefits
Several hundred feds got a year or more of paid administrative leave
The federal government paid an estimated $31 million over a three-year period to 263 employees who charged between one and three years of paid administrative leave, according a new Government Accountability Office report.
Benefits
Phone scam targets older Tricare beneficiaries
Tricare warned beneficiaries to be on alert for a nationwide telephone scam in which fraudsters target those on Medicare.
Benefits
VA touts growth of telehealth program
Department of Veterans Affairs said that its national telehealth programs served more than 690,000 vets during fiscal 2014 via more than 2 million online visits.
Benefits
VA processed record number of claims in fiscal 2014
The Department of Veterans Affairs said it processed more than 1.3 million disability compensation and pension claims in fiscal 2014—the highest number in the department's history.
Benefits