A new initiative from the Biden administration aims to alleviate a number of consumer “headaches” by reducing the time and process involved, including for federal employees trying to file health insurance claims.
A memo on Monday detailed that the “Time is Money” initiative would touch on cross-industry processes that the White House deemed intentionally time-consuming and burdensome for consumers, such as requesting refunds, canceling subscriptions and filing insurance claims.
“This annoyance doesn’t just happen by accident. Companies often intentionally design their business processes to be time-consuming or otherwise burdensome for consumers in order to prevent them from receiving a discount or refund they deserve or from canceling a subscription or membership they no longer want – all with the goal of maximizing profits,” the memo said.
“This hassle not only steals valuable time from hard-working families and adds frustration to our daily lives, it also costs us money. When we give up after endless hours on hold or mountains of incomprehensible paperwork, demanding a service, discount or refund that we are entitled to, it costs us money and the company’s bottom line.”
The memo also outlined plans by the Office of Personnel Management to make it easier for employees of the Federal Employees Health Benefits and Postal Service Health Benefits health plans to submit out-of-network claims online, as well as provide them with better information about which providers are in-network and how to appeal claim denials.
The proposed OPM requirements are part of a broader proposal within the initiative that focuses on streamlining the insurance claims process. The Secretaries of Labor and Health and Human Services are calling on insurance carriers to simplify and move their claims process online while improving information access and call center hours.
The FEHBP and the recently established PSHB together insure 8 million beneficiaries through multiple insurance carriers across the country.
The PSHB will take effect on January 1, after previously serving as part of the FEHBP until the Postal Service Health Care Exchange could be established under the provisions of the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022.
As of press time, OPM officials were unable to answer questions about how and when the requirements will be implemented.
The Time Is Money initiative will also direct federal agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communications Commission, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Departments of Transportation and Education to develop rules to simplify practices such as canceling subscriptions, demanding cash refunds for canceled flights, making customer service representatives easier to reach, improving parent-school communication, cracking down on buggy customer service chatbots and other issues.
The White House has also launched a portal to seek public insight into other areas where the Time Is Money initiative can make a difference.
