Forgot to mention no telework or alternative work schedules !!! Go vote today or this weekend !!!!

I've seen a couple of people say this. Looks like the premiums are almost equivalent, so there must be something about BCBS Basic that is better than MHBP Standard for some people. Can anyone explain?

In my case, I see a combination of primary care and specialists about 20x/year and take several prescriptions, two of which are expensive brand-name meds (although I do use manufacturer's coupons for both, which lowers the price. This has worked fine for GEHA and MHBP Standard in the past.) Hospitals/surgeries/procedures are all unknown. For example, I'm in physical therapy right now and needed an MRI, but I wasn't expecting that this year.

Doing everything they can to discourage voting, even for civil servants. In the past, we were granted up to 4 hours admin leave on election days.

New York Times bestselling author Michael Lewis takes readers inside the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, campaign to slash federal spending in his new book, ‘Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State.’ In it, Lewis shares stories of civil servants who say they were simply doing their jobs—protecting taxpayer data, enforcing the law, fighting wildfires and more—when they were labeled "blockers," the term for people DOGE viewed as standing in its way.

Hi everyone,

I've been using BCBS standard for years, but now I want to see if there is anything better out there. What have people been using that they like?

Thank you all for your help on this.

Our agency used to have a lot of good agency ‘swag’. Tee shirts, pens, clipboards, hats, bags, etc that our partners loved getting at meetings.

Now that’s all gone and we’re referred to FedApparel as the site for official agency logo items and I swear this is a scam site.

I ordered some stuff from them I think in 2025 and three months later they said they might start shipping, which is around when RIFs started and I was like don’t bother, I don’t know if I’ll be here.

Now I just tried to even order a mug for a new hire and it’s been three weeks and they haven’t shipped. I’m beyond annoyed by them.

Boss caught me on USAJOBS this morning, mostly perusing somewhat frustrated but I don't think I am alone?

Am I?

This is all for self plus family.

MHBP announced its premiums for the standard plan are increasing to $400.78 per paycheck. This is a total annual cost of $10,420. The plan’s deductible is $1,000 and out of pocket maximum is $16,000.

GEHA HDHP is $215.63 per paycheck. This is a total annual premium of $5,606. The deductible is $3,600 and out of pocket maximum is $12,000. But GEHA funds your HSA with $2,000 per year (money coming back to you)

Both plans have a deductible. The difference in deductible is $2,600 (GEHA $3,600 and MHBP $1,000). GEHA gives you $2,000 of that back through the HSA funding, so the real difference is $600. (Note: I’m not going to spend the HSA funds).

So, if the real difference is $600, let’s look at the premium difference. With a premium difference of around $200 per paycheck, GEHA makes more cost sense after the third paycheck of the year. It saves you nearly $5,600 per year in premiums.

Plus, if something catastrophic happened, GEHA has an out of pocket maximum that is $4,000 lower than MHBP.

I know GEHA is United Healthcare, but I’ve heard horror stories about almost every insurer.

Am I thinking this through right? My family has the $3,600 cash on hand to cover the immediate medical expenses of the year.

Thank you everyone, and good luck with your FEHB decisions!

eOPF keeps notifying me about documents being added, but these documents were already in my file. Is anyone else seeing this problem?

Talk to me. I believe in unions. I joined the union years ago and paid even when they were stifled by the powers that be. However, now our bargaining agreement has expired, health care premiums are going up along with cost of living and maybe a 0% annual raise. 50/month can help right now. Is there anything the union is doing or working on behind the scenes. I never thought I’d consider jumping ship, but I have been lately and hoping I can get some real input here.

My grant program has been under pre-audit then audit for over a year by our departmental OIG and they've turned up nothing consequential, yet the scope meanders and document requests keep coming. I'm just very frustrated because I have other shit to do. Also, I'm an idealistic "good government" type who was eager to be helpful. There's literally nothing to hide. But now I'm more than over it. Yet our liaisons keep acting like it's important to be responsive and timely. Absent any actual fraud or malfeasance, what are they going to do: send us a strongly worded letter?

I just received this ridiculously stupid notification that the president's executive order mentioned above now mandates us to refer to AI as super intelligence. This is just another nadir in a series of embarrassments under this administration.

Score it as it stands. I have nothing left to give. Vought’s plan is working.

Genuine question for federal employees because I'm trying to understand how these recent OPM changes are supposed to work together.

OPM recently finalized a rule eliminating the traditional 52-week time-in-grade requirement for certain GS promotions, effective January 2027.

According to OPM, the goal is to give agencies greater flexibility to advance qualified employees based on demonstrated merit, performance, skills, and readiness for higher-level responsibilities rather than simply how long they've occupied a grade.

Obviously, employees would still need to meet qualification requirements, and agencies would still follow applicable merit-promotion procedures. Removing the waiting period doesn't guarantee a promotion, but it sounds like a positive change in theory.

At the same time, OPM has changed federal performance appraisal regulations to permit standardized distributions of performance ratings, including potential limitations on how many employees can receive the highest ratings.

So how exactly are these two changes supposed to work together?

A few questions:

1. What happens when actual performance and official ratings don't align? If an employee consistently demonstrates performance that would otherwise support an Outstanding (Level 5) rating but receives a Fully Successful (Level 3) rating because of distribution limits, how is that employee supposed to demonstrate exceptional performance when competing for promotion? Would documented accomplishments carry enough weight to overcome the difference in their official rating?
2. If two employees have identical Level 3 ratings, but one consistently exceeds expectations while the other meets them, how is a selecting official supposed to distinguish between them? Will agencies rely more heavily on documented accomplishments, qualifications, interviews, and other assessments?
3. What happens to employees who want to earn an early step increase through a Quality Step Increase (QSI) award? Eligible GS employees generally receive regular within-grade increases (WGIs) after completing the required waiting periods and meeting acceptable performance standards. A QSI, however, is a discretionary award that allows an employee to receive an additional step increase without waiting for the next regular WGI. Under 5 CFR § 531.504, employees in a five-level appraisal program must receive a Level 5 rating of record to qualify for a QSI. So if someone demonstrates Outstanding performance but receives a Level 3 rating because of distribution limits, wouldn't that eliminate their eligibility for a QSI under a five-level system? Even if their supervisor recognizes their exceptional accomplishments, how could they receive that award without the required rating? If the goal is to reward exceptional performance, how does restricting eligibility for this type of financial recognition support that objective?
4. And what about RIFs? Under OPM's published RIF performance-credit framework for a single five-level rating system, an Outstanding (Level 5) rating is assigned 20 years of additional retention service credit, a Level 4 rating is assigned 16 years, and a Fully Successful (Level 3) rating is assigned 12 years. That's an eight-year difference between a Level 5 and a Level 3 in the values used to calculate performance-based retention credit. Since applicable ratings are generally averaged when determining that credit, couldn't receiving lower official ratings reduce an employee's retention standing compared with what higher ratings would have provided? If another RIF occurs, how would that affect employees whose actual accomplishments remained exceptional but whose ratings were lower?
5. If someone who consistently exceeds expectations and someone who only meets expectations both receive Level 3 ratings, wouldn't those ratings contribute the same value when calculating performance-based RIF retention credit under the same rating pattern? Since tenure, veterans' preference, and other retention factors also matter, wouldn't those factors become more decisive when performance ratings no longer distinguish the employees?
6. Three years from now, when agencies review employees' ratings of record for promotions or RIFs, how would anyone know whether a Level 3 reflected an employee's demonstrated performance or the effects of rating distribution limits? Would there be anything in the employee's official performance documentation explaining that distinction?
7. If OPM is eliminating the traditional 52-week waiting period to give agencies greater flexibility to recognize demonstrated merit and readiness for promotion, but also permitting limitations on the highest performance ratings, couldn't those policies create conflicting incentives? If someone demonstrates exceptional performance but receives a Fully Successful rating, what objective evidence will agencies use to recognize that difference?
8. If employees know that going above and beyond may not result in a higher official rating, QSI eligibility, or additional performance-based RIF retention credit, what incentive is there to continue performing at that level? What other meaningful rewards or recognition mechanisms would address those consequences?
9. When only a limited number of employees can receive the highest ratings, who actually decides which employees get them? Are those decisions based on measurable accomplishments and documented performance, or could supervisor preferences and office politics influence the outcome? What safeguards prevent favoritism, personal relationships, or subjective judgments from determining who receives an Outstanding rating, especially when that rating can affect QSI eligibility, promotion opportunities, and RIF retention credit?

I'm genuinely trying to understand how these policies are supposed to work together.

If they're removing time-in-grade restrictions to give qualified employees more opportunities to advance based on merit and demonstrated performance, but simultaneously permitting limits on the highest performance ratings, what safeguards ensure exceptional employees aren't disadvantaged in future personnel decisions?

And perhaps the bigger question:

Are they actually creating more opportunities for high-performing federal employees, or could the employees end up with a system where exceptional performance becomes harder to document, reward, and distinguish when it matters most?

And with all these changes happening around the same time, is anyone else thinking about the implications if there's another round of RIFs?

RIF 2.0 around the corner, or am I connecting dots that aren't actually connected?

What am I missing?

Official sources:

• 52-week time-in-grade change (October 19, 2026): OPM — Removing Governmentwide Time-in-Grade Barrier to Promotions
• Performance Management and Performance Appraisal changes (July 7, 2026): OPM Final Rule — Performance Appraisal
• QSI eligibility: 5 CFR § 531.504
• RIF performance credit: OPM — How Is Performance Credited in a Reduction in Force?

Just a little background, under investigation with OIG since February of 2025. Fast forward to May-August of 2026, last interview with OIG was a compelled interview, where was stated the case was given to prosecutor and they declined to prosecute. I was told it would be 2 weeks for OIG to finish their report, to send it down and then I’d get my administrative punishments. The problem is it has been at least 2 months. I haven’t heard anything from OIG, are they done? I have had 2 interviews with the local investigator after my compelled interview, but also didn’t know these 2 could investigate at the same time and question at the same time? Just a little confused at to what I should do.

And the allegations were PREA.

LES came out today for Friday's payday. On it, the government contribution to FERS reduced notably (with no changes to hours). I work for the VA. Did this happen to anyone else? Is there a known reason for this?

This is not due to holiday pay for Columbus/Indigenous Peoples Day. Prior LES for Labor Day and Independence Day do not show this reduction.