One of the few things Congress and the White House managed to agree upon this past year was a reduction in the mandatory retirement contributions federal employees have deducted from their paychecks. That's a decrease from the 7.5 percent it has been since Congress raised the amount in 1997 to help balance the budget. That extra half a percentage will be added to your take-home pay. These sections, near the front of the brochures, say whether a health plan's premiums are going up or down, whether co-payments for doctors visits have changed and whether any improvements have been made to benefits. Employees looking for the best buy in HMOs, based on cost alone, also may want to consult the Checkbook Guide, prepared by economist and policy analyst Walton Francis and the editors of Washington Consumers' Checkbook magazine.
Experts warn, however, against making coverage decisions based on cost alone.
Before making a final decision, take stock of your medical needs and other factors, such as whether your favorite doctor participates in the plan's network. We've learned of three DoDDS students and members of their families who were killed in the recent train fire in Austria. Two students were from Wuerzburg and the other was from Ramstein. We've not heard anything yet about where to send condolences or donations on their behalf, but as soon as we do we will pass that information on to you. Our deepest sympathies go out to the families of these and all the victims of that horrible accident.