Federal employees and retirees will pay about 6 percent more on average for health insurance premiums in 2017.
Federal workers get their health benefits through the Federal Employees Health Benefits program. The employee share of premiums will rise about 6.2 percent and the government’s share 3.7 percent.
The Office of Personnel Management said Wednesday that overall, premiums are expected to rise by 4.4 percent on average and that the increases are still below increases reported in private large employer group markets.
The increase is below last year’s average increase of 6.4 percent.
The rate hikes angered the largest federal employee union.
“This is an unacceptably high increase that will force many families to make difficult decisions about how to pay their bills,” said J. David Cox, president of the American Federation of Government Employees.
The union said that biweekly premiums will increase by about $5.27 for enrollees that select a self-only plan and $12.97 for enrollees in a family plan.
Blue Cross Blue Shield, the largest insurer in the federal program, will raise biweekly family coverage premiums by nearly $16.
While members of Congress and their staff are required to buy plans on Obamacare’s exchanges, federal workers in the healthcare program do not have to buy a plan on the exchange.
