Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to provide health care coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) to individuals enrolled in a health care plan administered by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). I am pleased to be joined by my good friend Senator Cochran in this endeavor.

In the 1980s, a number of federal banking-related agencies – including OPIC, the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the Farm Credit Administration – established separate health insurance plans outside the FEHBP. The agencies were able to offer enhanced benefits at significantly lower costs because of the demographics of their workforce. However, increasing health care costs, an aging workforce, and an overall reduction in the federal workforce has made it economically impractical for these agencies to maintain their separate programs. As a result, all of these agencies, except OPIC, discontinued their separate programs through legislation and transferred their employees to the FEHBP. Legislative action is needed because current law requires that federal employees participate in a FEHBP plan for the five years prior to retirement in order to retain coverage after retirement.

OPIC established its separate program in 1982 and discontinued offering the plan to new employees on January 1, 1995. There are 21 retirees and 18 near-retirees who would be affected by the change. Due to the large costs involved in covering retirees in the FEHBP, OPIC would be required to pay the Employees Health Benefits Fund for the benefits provided by this legislation. OPIC has agreed to pay this amount from its existing appropriated resources. It is estimated that OPIC will save approximately $300,000 per year in premiums when the transfer occurs.

I ask my colleagues to support this legislation and for unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD following this statement.