Rep. Stephen LynchVerified account

In Fiscal Year 2015, the Postal Service reported total healthcare costs of $13.6 B including $8.8 B in retiree health costs alone.

The Postal Service currently spends approximately 20 cents of every revenue dollar on healthcare.

Postal employees and retirees have paid over $29.4 billion into Medicare but are not drawing on the benefits that they’ve already paid for.

However, postal employees are not currently required to enroll in Medicare once they are eligible.

This is costly for the Postal Service and its employees/retirees because non-participation shifts claim costs from Medicare to FEHBP.

Agreement would establish postal-specific health plans within FEHBP that would be fully integrated with Medicare beginning in January 2018.

Medicare integration would eliminate onerous requirement from 2006 that the Postal Service prefund healthcare costs for future retirees.

Medicare integration would eliminate 94% of the Postal Service’s unfunded retiree health benefit liability.