THERE WERE two big news items recently involving federal employees, and they both came from the Office of Personnel Management.
The first one involves long-term care insurance. OPM has signed a new contract, a second seven-year term, with John Hancock Life and Health Insurance Co. They have been a joint provider of such insurance since the program began back in 2002.
The new contract includes increased home health-care reimbursement, new benefit periods and higher daily benefit amounts, as well as increased payment limits on informal care provided by family members.
Long-term care insurance could be an important part of your family's portfolio. Many people pass on it because of the cost, but the expenses of caring for yourself or a loved one can add up quickly.
What's worse is not having insurance like this can leave families no choice but to make medical-care decisions that are not always in the best interests of the patient.
Under the new contract, current participants will have an opportunity to evaluate their policy and determine whether they would like to continue to pay their current premium by adjusting their coverage, or switch to the new benefit plan.
Overall, the rates have increased between 5 percent and 25 percent. Apparently, since the program hasn't seen a rate increase since its inception in 2002 and another rate increase is not expected until the next option period, which is scheduled for 2016, OPM considers that an acceptable range.
What surprised me most about the entire program was the fact that there are only 224,000 people enrolled in it. That seemed like a very low number.
If you are interested in joining theprogram, you must be a federal or U.S. Postal Service employee or retiree, and active-duty or retired member of the armed services, or a qualified relative of someone who is.
Learn more about the contract and the program at OPM's Web site at opm.gov.
TALK ABOUT TELEWORKING
One more thing that John Berry, OPM's new director, has vowed to do is to improve the overall health
If you read this column, you know this is a subject I often cover because it seems OPM continually seeks to find ways to convince agencies that teleworking is the key to employee success and happiness.
But while many agencies participate at some level, because most are heavy into customer service and must have people available to respond, it's difficult to apply telework standard to a lot of jobs and have employees who can fill eight-hour days while working from home or a telework center.
Nonetheless, Mr. Berry has a plan tied to a couple of bills introduced in Congress, the Telework Improvements Act of 2009 (H.R. 1722) and the Senate version, the Telework Enhancement Act of 2009 (S. 707).
I'll keep an eye on these bills, and the OPM plan, and let you know how things work out.
Michael Kole of Spotsylvania County is a career federal employee. Write c/o Federal Feedback, The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401; e-mail news
Email: room@freelancestar.com.