The average cost of health insurance for U.S. employees and retirees will increase 2.1 percent in 2008, The Washington Post reported on Friday.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) held down the rate increases by dipping into the financial reserves of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, which provides about 35 dollars billion in health-care benefits annually, said the report.
The increase in premiums for 2008 will also be slowed by having employees pay more for some deductibles, the report quoted OPM officials as saying.
The federal program will offer 283 plans for health-care coverage next year and will provide insurance coverage to about 8 million Americans -- civil service and postal workers, retirees, and family members. The government picks up about 70 percent of premium costs.
In contrast, private-sector employees' employer-provided coverage has gone up an average of 6 percent this year, and some analysts predict that private-sector premiums will rise by more than 6 percent next year, said the report.
Source: Xinhua
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