Bill would increase government's portion of health premiums

Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., introduced legislation Thursday that would increase the government's contribution to federal employee health insurance premiums. In September, the Office of Personnel Management announced that health insurance premiums under the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program plan would increase an average of 10.5 percent in 2001, more than anticipated. This follows two years of increases; premiums rose an average of 9.3 percent for the year 2000 and 9.5 percent for 1999. The federal government pays, on average, 72 percent to 75 percent of federal health insurance premiums. Hoyer's legislation (H.R. 1307) would raise that amount to 80 percent. The current rate was set under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. "If we're going to compete in the marketplace…then we've got to make an employee pay and benefits package that's competitive," Hoyer said Tuesday during an afternoon meeting with members of the American Federation of Government Employees. High health insurance rates make it harder to recruit federal employees, Hoyer said. Hoyer said he was optimistic about the bill's chances for passage, noting that it has bipartisan support. "There were some people who said we might not be able to pass the 72 percent and we did," Hoyer told union members. AFGE President Bobby Harnage called Hoyer's legislation "a step in the right direction," and the two men encouraged union members to lobby their legislators about the premium increase. "You guys are critical," Hoyer said. "You see more federal employees in a day than I do. You need to energize them, to energize us."