[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 86 (Monday, June 21, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H4599-H4600]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H4599]]
  REQUIRING STUDY FOR DENTAL AND VISION BENEFITS FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 3751) to require that the Office of Personnel 
Management study and present options under which dental and vision 
benefits could be made available to Federal employees and retirees and 
other appropriate classes of individuals, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3751

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Office of Personnel Management 
     shall submit to Congress a report describing and evaluating 
     options whereby additional dental, vision, and hearing 
     benefits could be made available to--
       (1) Federal employees and annuitants;
       (2) qualified relatives of Federal employees and 
     annuitants; and
       (3) other appropriate classes of individuals.
       (b) Required Content.--The report shall include--
       (1) a description of the dental, vision, and hearing 
     benefits currently available under the Federal employees 
     health benefits program;
       (2) a description of the supplemental dental, vision, and 
     hearing plans currently offered by carriers participating in 
     the Federal employees health benefits program;
       (3) a description of specific dental, vision, and hearing 
     benefits that could be offered in addition to those described 
     in paragraphs (1) and (2), including any maximums, 
     limitations, exclusions, and definitions that might be 
     relevant;
       (4) a description of the specific classes of individuals 
     (as referred to generally in paragraphs (1) through (3) of 
     subsection (a)) to whom those additional benefits should be 
     made available, including any definitions and other terms or 
     conditions that might be relevant;
       (5) a description and assessment of the various contracting 
     arrangements by which the Government could make those 
     additional benefits available, including whether such 
     benefits should be contracted for on a regional or national 
     basis;
       (6) the estimated cost of those additional benefits, 
     including an analysis relating to whether any regular 
     Government contributions or allocation for start-up costs 
     might be necessary or appropriate;
       (7) a description of how those additional benefits could be 
     made available through--
       (A) the Federal employees health benefits program;
       (B) one or more plans outside the Federal employees health 
     benefits program, including supplemental plans referred to in 
     paragraph (2);
       (C) the program described in subparagraph (A) in 
     combination with one or more of the plans described in 
     subparagraph (B); and
       (D) any other dental, vision, and hearing coverage delivery 
     method;
       (8) an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages 
     associated with the alternatives described under paragraph 
     (7), including--
       (A) the relative cost-effectiveness and efficiency of each;
       (B) the likely impact of each alternative on the overall 
     attractiveness of the Federal employees health benefits 
     program to individuals eligible to enroll, particularly 
     Federal employees and annuitants; and
       (C) the extent to which each alternative might affect the 
     relative competitiveness of the various carriers and plans 
     currently participating in the Federal employees health 
     benefits program (including as a provider of supplemental 
     benefits);
       (9) a recommendation from the Office as to its preferred 
     method or methods for providing those additional benefits; 
     and
       (10) any proposed legislation or other measures the Office 
     considers necessary in order to implement any of the 
     foregoing.
       (c) Screening for Glaucoma.--For purposes of this Act, the 
     term ``vision benefits'' includes benefits relating to 
     screening for glaucoma.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Mrs. Miller) and the gentlewoman from the District of 
Columbia (Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller).


                             General Leave

  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and 
extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3751, the 
bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as 
I might consume.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Committee on Government Reform, I rise 
in support of H.R. 3751, an important piece of legislation for all 
Federal employees. This bill requires the Federal Government to analyze 
available options to provide those who work in the civil service with 
better dental and vision benefits. These benefits may be provided 
through the existing structure of the Federal Employees Health Benefits 
Program or as stand-alone additional coverage.
  Specifically, H.R. 3751 requires the Office of Personnel Management 
to study and to submit a report to Congress on how the government can 
provide dental and vision benefits to Federal employees.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo 
Ann Davis), the distinguished Chair of the Subcommittee on Civil 
Service and Agency Organization, for offering H.R. 3751; and I 
certainly congratulate her today for moving the bill to the floor 
today. Along with the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis), the 
chairman of the full Committee on Government Reform, as well as my 
distinguished colleague, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), the 
ranking member of the Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency 
Organization, the gentleman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo Ann Davis) is a 
leader in the Congress in representing the Nation's integral and 
steadfast Federal employees.
  Every single day, civil servants protect the Nation's streets. They 
teach our children, they deliver the mail, they treat the sick, the 
injured. They perform countless other duties that help make America 
thrive.
  H.R. 3751 a terrific step towards providing these individuals with 
the health benefits that they have earned and deserve. I urge its 
adoption.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, visual health and oral health are integral to our 
general health, as the House well knows. Oral and eye diseases are 
progressive and become more complex over time. Our ability to eat, see, 
read, learn, and communicate all depend on good visual and oral health.
  Periodic eye and dental examinations are an important part of routine 
preventive health care. Many visual and oral conditions present no 
obvious symptoms. Therefore, individuals often are unaware that such 
problems exist.
  There are safe and effective measures to prevent the most common eye 
and dental diseases. That is why early diagnosis and treatment are 
important for maintaining good visual and oral health and why a vision 
and dental benefit should be made available to Federal employees and 
annuitants.
  We know that in 1987 the Office of Personnel Management stopped plans 
in the Federal Health Benefits program from adding new vision and 
dental packages. OPM did so for various reasons. However, the decision 
was made over 15 years ago, and it is time to take a fresh look at how 
we can meet the visual and oral health needs of Federal employees.
  In the long run, preventive care, through periodic examinations and 
doctor visits, will help keep down long-term vision and dental costs 
due to early detection.
  To further improve the bill, during subcommittee consideration of 
H.R. 3751, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) offered an amendment 
requiring OPM to include glaucoma screening and hearing benefits in its 
study.
  The amendment would require OPM to study the feasibility of providing 
hearing benefits to Federal employees and retirees. Currently, over 28 
million Americans suffer hearing loss, half of whom are under the age 
of 50. Hearing loss is not just a problem affecting adults. Thirty-
three children are born every day with some form of hearing loss. With 
early detection and treatment, these children can be taught in regular 
classes, saving a school system as much as half a billion dollars 
during a 12-year education.
  Like vision and dental benefits, most insurance plans do not provide 
hearing benefits, such as coverage for hearing aids. We believe the 
Federal Government should consider taking a lead in this area.
  In addition to hearing benefits, the gentleman from Illinois' (Mr. 
Davis) amendment required OPM to include

[[Page H4600]]

glaucoma screening in its study. This amendment was offered to better 
understand H.R. 3268, which was introduced by the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Cummings).

                              {time}  1445

  H.R. 3268 would extend the same glaucoma screening coverage provided 
by Medicare to Federal employees who are in high-risk populations.
  The studies conducted by OPM under H.R. 3751 will go a long way in 
helping the Federal Government to craft a better dental, vision and 
hearing benefit for Federal employees.
  Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support 
of H.R. 3751, a bill to require the Office of Personnel Management to 
study and recommend options for enhancing the dental, vision and 
hearing benefits available to Federal employees. As the Federal 
Government strives to recruit top talent around the Nation, this issue 
plays a significant strategic role in attracting and retaining the very 
best to serve our country.
  Currently, the dental, vision and hearing offerings available to 
those covered by the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) 
can be described as inadequate at best. The Government's employees are 
often without proper dental care as part of their health insurance 
coverage. In fact, most plans in the FEHBP either do not offer dental 
and vision care, or cover only very minimal, basic procedures. While 
some plans do offer a supplemental dental package, they come at the 
cost of a very high premium.
  By contract, dental and vision benefits offered to many employees in 
the private sector are more generous. A 2002 study by the Society for 
Human Resource Management determined that 96 percent of private sector 
firms offered dental coverage benefits. Furthermore, the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics reports that these private plans usually cover 100 
percent of routine procedures and 50-80 percent of more expensive 
procedures.
  According to the Office of Personal Management, Federal employees and 
retirees cite improved dental coverage as their most desired benefit 
enhancement. With these benefits so widely available in the private 
sector, the Federal Government cannot afford to ignore this issue, or 
it will lose the war for talent more often than it will win. The 
Government depends greatly on its competitive benefits packages to 
attract well-qualified candidates, and should explore the possibility 
of enhancing such benefits.
  Putting more money into the system is not necessarily the answer, and 
this bill does not call for that. It simply requires the Federal 
Government's personnel experts, OPM, to study how to resolve this 
problem.
  Whatever it reveals, the goal of the report is to recommend options 
for improving the availability of dental, vision and hearing benefits 
to employees in a way that fits within the current budgetary 
constraints. I urge all members to support H.R. 3751.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Terry). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3751, as amended.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read:

       ``A bill to require that the Office of Personnel Management 
     study current practices under which dental, vision, and 
     hearing benefits are made available to Federal employees, 
     annuitants, and other classes of individuals, and to require 
     that the Office also present options and recommendations 
     relating to how additional dental, vision, and hearing 
     benefits could be made so available.''.

  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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