| A Message About the Tragic Event In Austin NTEU and its members are saddened by the tragedy that took place Thursday in Austin when the pilot of a private aircraft deliberately crashed into a Texas office building housing employees of the Internal Revenue Service. This is a very difficult time for IRS employees in Austin and our heartfelt sympathies are with them. We have heard from federal employees around the country who are outraged by this senseless act. NTEU members from our 31 agencies extend their deepest sympathies and concern to our colleagues in Austin.
NTEU Chapter 52, IRS South Texas, and NTEU’s Austin Field Office are working closely with IRS management to ensure that employees have the support they need to help recover from this tragedy and resume some normalcy. Kelley Supports White House Proposal for Enhanced IRS Funding in Fiscal Year 2011 NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley testified before a key House subcommittee in favor of legislation that would take steps to address rising health insurance costs under the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). President Kelley also testified in support of the bill’s attempts to increase OPM’s oversight of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) within the FEHBP. PBMs were originally intended to handle administrative functions associated with drug claims, but they now negotiate for discounted drug rates and retain most of the discounts and rebates from pharmaceutical manufacturers. Somewhere along the way, these discounts and rebates have not always been reflected in the final prices paid by FEHBP enrollees. President Kelley said the legislation would crack down on the drug pricing practices of PBMs and increase important information disclosure on a key aspect of federal employee health insurance costs. “This bill would allow OPM to access information on arrangements the PBMs have with manufacturers and pharmacies,” she said. “If PBMs want to participate in the FEHBP, they should be held accountable.” Along with the significantly increased transparency and accountability, H.R. 4489 also would prohibit manufacturers and retail pharmacies from having a controlling interest in a PBM; require PBMs to return 99 percent of all rebates and other manufacturer payments to the insurance carrier; reimburse pharmacies the same amount charged to carriers; and prohibit ‘drug switching’ unless the switch is authorized by the prescriber of the medicine. Additionally, NTEU believes that H.R. 4489 could be enhanced even further with language authorizing a pilot program testing statutory drug pricing, specifically allowing OPM to buy prescription drugs directly off of the Federal Supply Schedule. “The Veterans Administration and the Department of Defense already do this and their drug prices are substantially lower than FEHBP’s,” said President Kelley. “This approach shows cost-savings promise.” For years, NTEU has been a leader in urging Congress to take a serious look at FEHBP drug prices. Last year, the union participated in a forum held by Rep. Lynch on FEHBP drug benefits, which showed the significant disparity between drug costs under the FEHBP and their costs under other programs.
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