Office of Personnel Management Negotiates for Fed Workers

The Washingtonpost.com reports on 12/4/08, in an article by Joe Davidson that "Stephen W. Gammarino, a senior vice president of the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association, told a congressional hearing...that the Blues are reexamining fee increases for the 2009 surgery benefit...and the association is 'working with OPM to pursue an alternative.'"

If only the rest of the consumer world, sold on the myth that we'd all be better off negotiating our own health insurance had such an option. When was the last time YOU had an advocate at a CONGRESSIONAL HEARING arguing that reducing your benefits to maintain premium levels was not okay? Yeah, never.

Now, of course, the Office of Personnel Management is getting some heat because it won't extend negotiations with Blue Cross Blue Shield because it thinks that would be unfair to the other 268 insurance bidders for Federal business.

While I hate to see anyone get exploited by health insurance companies, it is worse that our governmental representatives and civilian governmental employees at all levels get superior health insurance coverage and superior premium rates to the rest of the country when they are among the most outspoken sellers of the philosophy that consumers are "empowered" in negotiating alone with health insurers while they enjoy having the two hundred pound gorilla negotiating on their behalf. This double standard means that civilian governmental employees need to suffer with the rest of us and live the dream of negotiating their own insurance rates.

Of course, you never read about these perks. However, as Obama takes office, if nothing else let him recall his commitment to make the same benefits he and his family enjoys available to the rest of the American people, presumably at a comparative cost.

It is the disconnect of governmental civilian employee benefits from the rest of the world that stands between governmental action on the health insurance problem and the only way out is to end those benefits. Just look at how fast the financial bailout occurred because it influenced pension funds of governmental employees...enough said.