{"id":18591,"date":"2019-01-11T16:59:00","date_gmt":"2019-01-11T16:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/2019\/01\/11\/most-federal-workers-health-coverage-to-continue-during-shutdown-even-if-pay-stops\/"},"modified":"2019-01-11T16:59:00","modified_gmt":"2019-01-11T16:59:00","slug":"most-federal-workers-health-coverage-to-continue-during-shutdown-even-if-pay-stops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/most-federal-workers-health-coverage-to-continue-during-shutdown-even-if-pay-stops\/","title":{"rendered":"Most Federal Workers' Health Coverage To Continue During Shutdown, Even If Pay Stops"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Julie Appleby<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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\n Furloughed federal workers protest the ongoing, partial shutdown of the federal government during a non-partisan rally Tuesday at Independence Mall, in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

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Bastiaan Slabbers\/NurPhoto\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Bastiaan Slabbers\/NurPhoto\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

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As the prospect of life without a paycheck sets in for 800,000 federal employees and others affected by the ongoing government shutdown, questions are arising about health insurance and other health benefits \u2014 dental and vision coverage, and long-term care insurance.<\/p>\n

Will shuttered agencies continue to cover benefits for employees and contractors as per usual? We’ve dug up some answers.<\/p>\n

Are federal workers and their families still covered by their health plan? <\/strong><\/p>\n

For the most part, federal employees needn’t worry about that, according to the Office of Personnel Management, which has published an FAQ<\/a> blog post on the topic.<\/p>\n

Both the online FAQ and the health insurance industry’s trade association confirm that coverage through the Federal Employees Health Benefits program will continue even if some federal agencies affected by the shutdown aren’t issuing those paychecks and or paying the insurance premiums.<\/p>\n

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“The shutdown should not impact their coverage,” says Kristine Grow<\/a>, spokeswoman for America’s Health Insurance Plans, the trade group that represents insurers, including those that offer coverage through the federal program. “It’s business as usual.”<\/p>\n

Once the shutdown ends and those payments resume, workers should expect that their usual share of premiums plus the accumulated amount that wasn’t deducted during the missed pay periods will be taken out.<\/p>\n

“Procedures may vary somewhat by payroll office, but the maximum additional deduction allowed under regulations is one pay period’s worth of premiums (in addition to the current pay period’s premium),” says an OPM spokeswoman.<\/p>\n

Does the same hold for contract workers? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Less clear is what will happen to workers under contract with the affected federal agencies \u2014 including some people working as analysts, administration assistants and janitorial staff \u2014 who are mostly excluded<\/a> from the FEHB program.<\/p>\n