The DOD Health Care Benefit: How Does it Compare to FEHBP and Other Plans?

CNA was tasked by the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to examine the DOD health care benefit. The basic idea is to examine what exactly the benefit provides and compare it to what other employers provide-especially the federal government through its health care plan and private employers through their plans. Our approach was to compare the benefits offered under the Defense Health Plan (DHP) to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) both from the point of view of the employer, who cares what it will cost and how attractive it will be relative to what other employers provide, and to the employee, who then places a "value" on the benefits provided. The cost of the program to DOD is examined with some simple comparisons of total cost and cost per user. The main focus, however, was to compare not only the health care benefit provided to active duty personnel, but all of the benefits provided with what the federal government and private employers provide to their workers. It's not just the absolute level of one specific benefit that matters, but how the total compensation that includes all benefits compare with what's offered elsewhere.