Making Sense of Healthcare

Understanding and ultimately selecting a health insurance plan during Open Season can be a little intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be.

Federal employees will be able to choose a new plan now until December 12. But first they’ll need to pinpoint the kind of coverage that best fits their needs. Then, once they’ve selected a plan, they can embark on the exciting—though not necessarily less daunting—task of discovering the benefits their plans offer.

To keep Open Season from turning into anxiety season, use the following approach to better understand your health insurance options.

Picking a plan

A good deal of Open Season stress comes from the sheer volume of options available to federal employees. 

To alleviate some of the pain, The Office of Personnel Management has structured the healthcare section of their website to make the process more accessible and intuitive for federal employees.  Among other resources, the site runs over basic but important healthcare vocabulary, provides an overview of plans offered by state and lets feds compare selected plans side by side, all of which empower employees to select a plan that does what they need it to do.

Health plans can also play a part in streamlining the search for the right plan. Digital tools like AskBlue for Federal Employees from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Service Benefit Plan, also known as the Federal Employee Program (FEP), give the opportunity to enter personal information online and receive a provider’s recommendation about a plan that may fit an individual’s needs.   

Getting support

Many health plans have started to leverage digital technology not only to simplify choosing a plan but using one as well. Once enrolled, members should familiarize themselves with tools and services they can leverage to stay healthy and avoid losing valuable time and energy worrying about the minutiae of care.

For example—primary medical care is not always available as soon as symptoms show up. By connecting patients remotely to medical professionals via services like FEP’s 24/7 Nurse Line, federal employees can get guidance from a live medical professional. And with the option to choose between phone, email or online chat, FEP members can access medical professionals in the way most comfortable to them whenever they need it.

Digital tools like FEP’s Online Symptom Checker can also help provide assistance to members in the meantime between noticing symptoms and seeing a doctor. And while advice from a digital tool doesn’t replace the value of doctor’s visit, it’s an example of how online support can ease patients’ minds and set them on the road to wellness during the wait for a holistic opinion.

Tracking health

Our connected devices are with us virtually every moment of our lives. FEP makes it easy for members to have a better and broader understanding of themselves so they can make more informed decisions about their care.

Having health records online can also help federal employees keep everything in a centralized, secure place and share it with doctors as necessary. FEP’s Personal Health Record (PHR) enables members to do this with just about every piece of information related to their health.

Your PHR keeps track of your data online so your brain doesn’t have to. Physical therapy appointment? Check. Have to take a pill twice a day for the next month? Members can track this there, too.

Taking ownership of your healthcare has truly never been easier, and the forces behind the scenes are making valiant efforts to introduce even more simplicity to this traditionally complex world.

This Open Season, federal employees should keep their heads up—and know health plans like FEP have got their back.

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