GAO: Postal health plan could add to retired workers' costs, impact Medicare

The proposal to opt out of the federal health plan would save billions of dollars but could bring uncertainties for employees.

The Hill: Proposed USPS Health Care Shift Could Add Slight Strain To Medicare
The cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service's push to run its own health care plan could add -- if only slightly -- to Medicare's financial strains, according to a new report. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says that the USPS's proposal to opt out of a federal health care plan would likely lead to billions of dollars in savings. But the GAO also noted that a large chunk of the savings would come from making more retired postal workers rely on Medicare services (Becker, 8/19).

The Washington Post's The Federal Diary: Postal Health Plan Would Save USPS Money, But Workers Could Pay The Price
The controversial plan by the U.S. Postal Service to pull its staffers from the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) probably would save USPS lots of money, but the cost would bring significant uncertainties for postal workers. That's the finding of a report by the Government Accountability Office, which also indicated that many employees would have to pay more for care under a USPS health insurance program (Davidson, 8/19).

Meanwhile, in other news about federal workers benefits --

The Washington Post: Federal Workers To Be Surveyed About Benefits
The government soon will ask some federal employees what they think of their benefits, a survey that in the past has shown that they most highly value their retirement and health insurance programs and in general think those programs meet their needs and provide good value (Yoder, 8/20).