FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 30, 2026
September 30, 2026
Contact:
AFGE Communications
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Federal Workers Face Steep, Nearly 11% Health Premium Hike on Top of Proposed Pay Freeze, AFGE Says
Hardworking public servants face a second straight double-digit jump in what they pay for their own health coverage
WASHINGTON – Federal workers just got more bad news. The Office of Personnel Management announced today that employees’ share of Federal Employees Health Benefits Program premiums will jump an average of 10.9% in 2027.
That is a painful increase, well above inflation and faster than the 9.3% rise in total premiums.
And it lands in the same year the White House has proposed freezing pay for civilian federal workers.
This is not a one-time spike. Employees’ share of FEHBP premiums rose 12.3% in 2026. Stack the two years together, and hardworking public servants will pay roughly 25% more for the same coverage than they did two years ago.
Their paychecks have barely moved. Most civilian federal workers got a meager 1% raise in 2026. Next year, the White House wants to give them nothing.
Private-sector workers are doing far better. Private employers are budgeting raises of about 3.5 % this year, according to Mercer, and private-sector wages grew 3.1% over the past year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Why are federal workers hit so hard? The government only pays up to a rigid limit set by law, about 72% of the average plan’s cost. Every dollar above that limit comes straight out of the worker’s paycheck.
OPM’s advice is to switch to a cheaper plan. For a real family, that can mean thousands of dollars in surprise out-of-pocket bills before insurance covers much of anything.
It can mean learning that a trusted family doctor or a child’s longtime pediatrician doesn’t take the new plan. It can mean an hour-long drive to find a specialist who does.
For a worker managing diabetes or expecting a baby, the “cheaper” plan can end up costing more by the end of the year.
And under new rules, a worker adding a newborn or a new spouse must prove it with paperwork, then wait for an agency HR office to approve it.
Many of those HR offices were gutted in Elon Musk’s DOGE purge last year. Even OPM, the government’s own HR agency, lost 35% of its staff, according to the Government Accountability Office. Now those skeleton crews stand between a newborn baby and health coverage.
“Federal workers face a pay freeze while their health premiums climb nearly 11%. That is a pay cut. Private employers are giving raises to keep up. Our members are getting nothing. Director Kupor can call this a good year. The nurses and officers writing the checks will not. Congress must pass a real raise and make the government pay its fair share,” said AFGE National President Everett Kelley.
AFGE is urging members to take a hard look at their coverage during Open Season, which runs November 9 to December 14.
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