Federal Daily - October 22, 2009

Lawmakers Say Tax in Health Reform Bill Could Snare Feds

In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Reps. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., and Jim Moran, D-Va., warned that a proposed 40 percent excise tax on health insurance providers adopted by a Senate panel could hit most federal workers and retirees. The tax is part of the Senate Finance Committee’s health insurance reform bill and may adversely affect health coverage for Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan (FEHBP) beneficiaries, the lawmakers said in the Oct. 20 letter. The Senate Finance Committee proposal would levy a 40 percent tax on the aggregate value of insurance plans that exceed a certain threshold—$8,000 for individuals and $21,000 for families, starting in 2013. In addition to basic health care premiums, coverage for dental, vision or other supplemental programs—as well as contributions to flexible spending accounts (FSAs)—would count toward that threshold amount, the lawmakers said. The threshold limits would increase annually. The Congressional Research Service adjusted the 2013 thresholds into 2010 dollars and calculated the actual amount to be about $6,500, the letter said. While the average FEHBP individual insurance premium today is $6,000, when coupled with dental and vision coverage, today’s average FEHBP plan costs between $6,303 and $6,697. Add in the average employee FSA contribution of $1,300, and the cost falls between $7,603 and $7,997—well beyond the adjusted threshold, the letter said. “This clearly indicates that those plans considered average by FEHBP standards, and certainly those considered above average, could be subject to the excise tax proposal,” the letter said. “In fact, today’s cost for a typical FEHBP health care plan is already bumping up against the proposed 2013 threshold, and those costs are only projected to increase.” To see more, go to: http://connolly.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=44&
sectiontree=6,44&itemid=238.

:: Back to Top ::

VA Begins Outreach to Veteran-Students About GI Bill Benefits

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on Oct. 19 announced the launch of a telephone outreach effort to make sure that veterans participating in the new Post-911 GI Bill understand their benefits and are receiving the payments due to them. The calls are scheduled to go to vets who have applied for benefits—as well as to those who registered for advance payments—to make sure they are receiving them. VA said the large numbers of vets who have applied for benefits prompted the outreach effort. “The Post-9/11 GI Bill is one of our highest priorities,” said VA Secretary Eric Shinseki. “Instead of making people wait to hear from us, we’re reaching out to veterans, so they can get the money they need to stay in school.” VA noted that its representatives will not ask for any personal information—such as birth dates, or bank account or Social Security numbers—but they may ask family members for ways to contact vets who are away at school. To see more, go to: http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1801.

:: Back to Top ::

DFAS Boosts myPay Security Measures

The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) this month announced upgrades to myPay, the Internet-based payroll-account management system operated for servicemembers and many federal civilian employees. The new upgrade will require users to establish new user names and passwords. The system will have new, more secure requirements than the previous one, in which the accounts were accessed via a user’s Social Security number (SSN) and the use of a DFAS-provided PIN to establish a permanent myPay PIN. Under the upgrade, user names—also called login IDs—will require six to 129 alphanumeric characters and will be unique to each user. To prevent the use of SSNs as login IDs, the new system will not permit IDs to contain nine numbers. New passwords will have to be between eight and 15 characters long. Users can get details on IDs and passwords from the myPay Web site and via the DFAS Customer Support Unit at 1-888-332-7411. To see more, go to: www.dfas.mil/news/2009pressreleases/DFASRelease1009001.pdf.

:: Back to Top ::

MSPB Nominees Testify

The nominees selected to fill two top positions on the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) testified Oct. 20 before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The nominees are Susan Grundmann, a National Federation of Federal Employees attorney, to serve as MSPB chairman; and Anne Wagner, a former American Federation of Government Employees assistant general counsel, as vice chairman. In her statement, Grundmann said MSPB’s recent timely pace for hearing claims provides “a solid basis for confidence in the MSPB appeals process.” Grundmann also stressed that both employees and managers should feel they have equal access to the MSPB. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawaii, reminded the nominees of another of MSPB’s key functions—to hear the claims of federal employee whistleblowers—an activity he said has been largely misused in recent years. “Since the year 2000, the board has repeatedly misapplied congressional intent with respect to whistleblower protection,” Akaka said. “I am hopeful that with new statutory protections—and additional board members who understand the important role of whistleblower protections—federal employees will feel confident again that they can report waste, fraud, abuse, or illegal activity without risking their professional and financial futures.” To see more, go to: http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=
Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=5df94730-6e77-4c41-8246-3be25f9bad05 (hearing) or http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=
Files.View&FileStore_id=06d21658-9742-41f5-82c7-90e3e837e877 (Grundmann testimony).

:: Back to Top ::