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23 hours ago | 
federalnewsnetwork.com | Daisy Thornton
June 28th is National Insurance Awareness Day, offering a timely reminder for federal employees to reassess their current healthcare needs and determine whether their FEHB plan remains the best fit. It’s important to review your coverage outside of Open Season, know what to expect for 2026, and be aware of trusted resources that can help guide your decisions.
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3 weeks ago | 
federalnewsnetwork.com | Daisy Thornton
The House recently passed a budget reconciliation bill that includes substantial changes to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). While it isn’t guaranteed that these provisions will become law, it’s a good time to review what’s being proposed. If you’ve been considering enrolling in a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) with an HSA but haven’t yet made the leap, these potential changes could help inform your decision.
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2 months ago | 
federalnewsnetwork.com | Daisy Thornton
I encourage you to continue submitting your Federal Employee Health Benefit (FEHB) questions and I’ll include answers, like the one below, in future columns. Question: Why should I even bother signing up for Medicare if I qualify for FEHB? Once I’m enrolled in Medicare, it becomes my primary insurance and my FEHB is secondary. Isn’t it true that some medical facilities and physicians don’t accept Medicare?
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Mar 27, 2025 | 
federalnewsnetwork.com | Daisy Thornton
The ability of the U.S. military to deter war and prevail if it happens — few are taking that for granted anymore. Executive Director of the Baroni Center for Government Contracting Jerry McGinn in fact warned the Senate Armed Service Committee about it just this month. His concern centers on the ability of the defense industrial base to mobilize, he told the Federal Drive with Tom Temin.
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Mar 25, 2025 | 
federalnewsnetwork.com | Daisy Thornton
Federal agencies working with sensitive information need specialized ways to share that data and foster collaboration internally among employees with different clearance levels, as well as externally with other agencies, industry and even foreign partners. That requires a balance between fostering the information sharing necessary to complete the mission and protecting that sensitive data from adversaries and insider threats. “It’s a twin challenge.
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Mar 18, 2025 | 
federalnewsnetwork.com | Daisy Thornton
Agencies that regularly dealt with classified information faced perhaps the biggest challenges in establishing hybrid workplaces. Segregating classified from unclassified information while still fostering the necessary amount of collaboration to execute on the mission requires a delicate balance. Classified information has to be handled in a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF), and electronically only through specific systems.
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Mar 11, 2025 | 
federalnewsnetwork.com | Daisy Thornton
Conversations about cybersecurity often involve a balancing act: the need to balance security with user experience to avoid fatigue, the need to balance new capabilities with efforts to curtail complexity. But Jane Rathbun, chief information officer of the Department of the Navy, said during an AFCEA West panel that there’s one situation where striking a balance is the wrong move. “The question about how do you balance innovation with cybersecurity? It’s not a balance. It is not an either-or.
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Mar 4, 2025 | 
federalnewsnetwork.com | Daisy Thornton
I encourage you to continue submitting your Federal Employee Health Benefit (FEHB) questions and I’ll include answers, like the one below, in future columns. Question: I am VERY DISAPPOINTED to learn that our health benefits went up about $80/month. That is about $1,000 a year! Retirees cannot afford this type of increase. What alternatives do we have? This is ridiculous.
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Feb 24, 2025 | 
federalnewsnetwork.com | Daisy Thornton |Jason Miller |Jory Heckman |Tom Temin
New FBI Director Kash Patel has told senior officials that he plans to relocate up to 1,000 employees from Washington to field offices around the country and move an additional 500 to a large bureau facility in Huntsville, Alabama, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.
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Feb 14, 2025 | 
federalnewsnetwork.com | Daisy Thornton |Jason Miller |Jory Heckman |Tom Temin
The Office of Personnel Management released two carrier letters last month giving us insight into Federal Employee Health Benefits coverage changes next year. Let’s look at the impact of each. Annual call letterThis letter is issued at the start of the year, inviting FEHB carriers to submit their benefit and rate proposals for the following year. It also outlines OPM’s policy goals and initiatives.
