Late last month the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced that the cost of health care for federal employees will go up 8.8 percent in 2010. The average federal government employee will see an increase in the cost of health insurance premiums of about $6 per pay period for individual coverage, and about $13 for a family plan.

"An 8.8 percent increase is not an increase we feel comfortable with," stated Nancy Kichak, OPM associate director for strategic human resource policy. "It's not one that we would like to have to see our enrollees bear, but unfortunately we're a victim of the market. This is the cost we're experiencing."

News of the cost increase was criticized by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE).

According to a union statement, "Lost in the announced average is the fact that for 60 percent of the enrollees in Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), those covered by Blue Cross/Blue Shield Standard Option, their premiums will be going up by 15 percent for self coverage and 12 percent for family coverage."

AFGE noted that thousands of full-time federal workers do not participate in the benefits program and are not covered by other sources.