The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

Military families with young adult children enrolled in TRICARE are about to face another increase in health insurance costs. Starting in January, monthly premiums for TRICARE Young Adult will rise to nearly $900 for the Prime option and $394 for Select, leaving some families paying more than $10,000 a year just for premiums. Federal News Network’s Rachel Cohen joins us to explain what’s driving these increases, why they’re hitting some families harder than others, and what options are available. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Bureau of Prisons’ attempt to “re-terminate” its collective bargaining agreement has been voided. A federal judge ruled that BOP cannot cancel its union contract while a preliminary injunction is holding that contract in place. The ruling comes in a case from the American Federation of Government Employees, which is suing over the cancellation of its agreement with BOP. Here with the latest, Federal News Network’s Drew Friedman. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Constituent service has long been viewed as helping people solve individual problems. Increasingly, practitioners see it as a source of insight into how government programs are actually performing. We'll talk about that shift and the launch of the Constituent Services Institute with Anne Meeker, founder and executive director of the institute. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Retirees under the Federal Employees Retirement System can receive smaller cost-of-living adjustments than retirees covered by the older Civil Service Retirement System. NARFE continues to push legislation that would close that gap through the Equal COLA Act. We'll discuss that effort and other issues facing federal employees and retirees with John Hatton, staff vice president for policy and programs at the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When Congress returns after the election, lawmakers will face a crowded agenda and a short clock. Leadership decisions, funding deadlines, Senate confirmations and must-pass legislation will all compete for attention during the lame-duck session. We'll walk through how Congress decides what gets done and what gets pushed aside with Loren Duggan of Bloomberg Government. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.