This could be a reaction to rising health care costs, something that the FEHB program has had as hard a time dealing with as anyone else, contends Epstein. You're not solving anything. Flynn acknowledges that rising costs are always a problem. Lemieux says that what makes members happy isn't necessarily going to be cost-effective. There are very weak incentives for FEHB program employees to really seek out the cheapest plan because they only save 28 cents on the dollar.
Employees can save on copayments.
There is none offered on the high option. You can't necessarily say that there are more benefits offered under the high option than there are under the standard option. Recently, the fluidity within the FEHB program has not been solely in how members chose plans, points out Cassidy, of William M. Mercer. That's a reflection of industry instability, counters Flynn. It's largely just a reflection of what's going on in the HMO world in general.