Hawaii Federal Health Care Providers Updates for Members Regarding COVID-19:
HMSA issues updated guidance – please download here: HMSA Coronavirus Update – March 2020
Employees can get the most current guidance here: http://hmsa.com/federalplan
Employers can get guidance here: https://hmsa.com/help-center/coronavirus-update-for-employers/
Important Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information for Kaiser Permanente Members – please download here: Kaiser Guidance for Federal Employees
Kaiser Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan: https://healthplans.kaiserpermanente.org/federal-employees-fehb/
Federal Long Term Care Partners offers planning and wellness webinars. https://www.ltcfeds.com/planning-tools/webinars
The federal government provides health benefits to its employees. These are widely appreciated as a significant benefit to service in the federal government.
The following OPM website has information on the specific plans: Healthcare
The Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) Program can help you and your family meet your health care needs. Federal employees, retirees and their survivors enjoy the widest selection of health plans in the country. You can choose from among Consumer-Driven and High Deductible plans that offer catastrophic risk protection with higher deductibles, health savings/reimbursable accounts and lower premiums, or Fee-for-Service (FFS) plans, and their Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO), or Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) if you live (or sometimes if you work) within the area serviced by the plan.
Use this site https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare/plan-information/plans/ to compare the costs, benefits, and features of different plans. Different benefit categories are chosen based on enrollee requests, differences among plans, and simplicity. However, employees should consider the total benefit package, in addition to service and cost, and provider availability when choosing a health plan.
You can get FEHB health plan brochures from the health plans or your human resources office. When it comes to your health care, the best surprise is no surprise.
Also on the OPM health care page, you will find information regarding federal sponsored dental and vision insurance, life insurance, long term care and flexible spending accounts for health and dependent care.
There is also information available for preparing for and managing a pandemic, such as pandemic influenza, and minimizing potential impacts on government operations, and the work force:
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pandemic-information/
OPM has sponsored a number of health provider partners which provide benefits to support the health and wellness of federal employees. There are several providers and plans available for federal employees in Hawaii.
Government Employees Health Association (GEHA):
Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA):
KAISER Permanente Hawaii:
For Long Term Care Plans:
The Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP) provides long term care insurance to help pay for costs of care when enrollees need help with activities they perform every day, or you have a severe cognitive impairment, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Most Federal and U.S. Postal Service employees and annuitants, active and retired members of the uniformed services, and their qualified relatives are eligible to apply for insurance coverage under the FLTCIP.
Most employees must be eligible for the FEHB Program in order to apply for coverage under the FLTCIP. It does not matter if they are actually enrolled in FEHB – eligibility is the key. Annuitants do not have to be eligible or enrolled in the FEHB Program. Certain medical conditions, or combinations of conditions, will prevent some people from being approved for coverage. You must apply to find out if you are eligible to enroll.
For more information about the FLTCIP, please contact Long Term Care Partners at 1 800-582-3337, or visit the website (external link).