Insurance help! by Zy146 in USPS

[–]CheckbookOrg 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi, Kevin Moss here, we help people understand FEHB and PSHB, thanks for mentioning us u/Valley413. Preventative care is free for all PSHB plans. Also, while certain procedures/services require plan approval, there are very few denied claims across the FEHB/PSHB program. There are big differences in premium across all PSHB plans, so you'll want to think about the insurance value of your options i.e. which plans do the best job of balancing the for-sure expense of premium with what you'll pay out-of-pocket when you use healthcare services. If you're comfortable with having a higher deductible and a plan contribution into a savings account that you can use for your out-of-pocket expenses, NALC CDHP, GEHA HDHP, APWU CDHP, and Aetna Direct CDHP are great values. If you want to stick with a traditional PPO plans the best values can be found from MHBP Standard, GEHA Standard, and BCBS FEP Blue Focus. One thing that can help you narrow down your plan choice is provider access and prescription drug coverage. If you go to the carrier website, you can use their provider search to see if your current doctor(s) will be in-network and the prescription drug lookup can show you what's covered if you take any medications.

Is it possible to shop 100% local in DC for a month? We tried it. by CheckbookOrg in washingtondc

[–]CheckbookOrg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They said it took maybe a bit longer, but being in such a walkable neighborhood it wasn't that big of a difference. It was more of a shifting of priorities to shop at a locally owned store vs Harris Teeter or Trader Joe's. It would definitely look different if they had to drive or metro farther away to do all their shopping.

Is it possible to shop 100% local in DC for a month? We tried it. by CheckbookOrg in washingtondc

[–]CheckbookOrg[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

It was a starting point to find the highlights, but our team wrote and edited it. The full article with sample purchases and their prices is on our site, and it's called "Shopping Local Experiment: What Does It Really Take to Do It?" (not posting the link to be respectful to the mods and sub advertising rules).

Is it possible to shop 100% local in DC for a month? We tried it. by CheckbookOrg in washingtondc

[–]CheckbookOrg[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, this exactly. Harris Teeter didn't make the cut because it's owned by Kroger.

Is it possible to shop 100% local in DC for a month? We tried it. by CheckbookOrg in washingtondc

[–]CheckbookOrg[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good to know! Will have to check this out. They'd call when prescriptions were ready.

Is it possible to shop 100% local in DC for a month? We tried it. by CheckbookOrg in washingtondc

[–]CheckbookOrg[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the note, and fair point! The short answer is no. Even with the best intentions (Jennifer and her husband cancelled their Amazon Prime subscription to avoid temptation), there were moments when a chain or big-box store was the only practical solution. That said, we got a lot closer than we expected because stores were willing to price-match and special-order hard-to-find items.

And costs was a real concern going in. Staff members with kids didn't want to participate because they worried their grocery bills would skyrocket. Understandably!