Senators: “This situation is not only unjust but represents a fundamental failure to uphold the obligations owed to the dedicated public servants who serve their country with integrity.”
Washington D.C.—U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today demanded the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) address its ongoing failure to provide federal health benefits to reinstated federal employees, despite continued paycheck deductions toward insurance premiums.
In a letter to OPM Acting Director Charles Ezell, the senators wrote, “This issue has directly impacted Oregonians working at government agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the VA Health System – individuals who committed their careers to public service. We have heard from constituents who, during this lapse in coverage, required life-saving surgeries for serious illnesses such as cancer but were left without the health insurance necessary to afford those procedures.”
“Many of these employees, after being wrongfully terminated, have now returned to their positions only to find that they cannot access the health coverage they have paid for,” the lawmakers continued. “To reinstate these employees without providing access to the health care they’ve earned is misleading, and detrimental to the health of these employees and their families. Some have already incurred significant out-of-pocket medical expenses—amounting to hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars—due to a lapse in coverage that should never have occurred. This undue financial and emotional strain is entirely preventable and must be rectified without delay.”
The full letter is here.
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