Insurance premiums for the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program will jump an average of 8.7% in 2023, the largest increase in more than a decade. When OPM released the new rates last week, agency officials cited the increased use of healthcare services as the reason for the higher costs.
“Among the largest, most popular plans, rates are going up even faster,” Kelly stated in a press release. “For a single employee on the popular Blue Cross/Blue Shield Standard plan, that employee will see an 11.7% increase. If that employee has a family, they’ll see their premium go up by 10.7% this year.”
“If the government continues to squeeze federal employees in a vice with low pay on one side and out-of-control health care costs on the other, we will continue to see widespread staffing crises and the attendant complications as government struggles to recruit and retain talented employees who can get a better deal in the private sector,” Kelly stated.