GEHA is a self-insured, not-for-profit association providing health and dental plans to federal employees and retirees and their families through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan (FEHBP) and the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP).

The company currently offers traditional fee-for-service health plan options with a preferred provider organization

Preferred provider organization

In health insurance in the United States, a preferred provider organization is a managed care organization of medical doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers who have covenanted with an insurer or a third-party administrator to provide health care at reduced...

 (PPO) along with a high deductible health plan

High Deductible Health Plan

A high-deductible health plan is a health insurance plan with lower premiums and higher deductibles than a traditional health plan. Being covered by an HDHP is also a requirement for having a health savings account. Some HDHP plans also offer additional "wellness" benefits, provided before a...

 (HDHP) that can be paired with a health savings account

Health savings account

A health savings account is a tax-advantaged medical savings account available to taxpayers in the United States who are enrolled in a high-deductible health plan . The funds contributed to an account are not subject to federal income tax at the time of deposit. Unlike a flexible spending account...

 (HSA). On the dental side, GEHA offers two options under the Connection Dental Federal FEDVIP plan.

In 2006, the Office of Personnel Management

Office of Personnel Management

The United States Office of Personnel Management is an independent agency of the United States government that manages the civil service of the federal government. The current Director is John Berry.-History:...

 (OPM) chose GEHA as one of a select number of companies to offer supplemental benefits to federal employees under the Federal Employee Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP).

GEHA also has a contract with the federal government to administer benefits for the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan

Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan

The Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan is a offers of health insurance coverage to uninsured Americans who have been unable to obtain coverage because of a pre-existing health condition...

, which will be a transitional program until 2014. "GEHA now provides benefits to almost 1 million covered lives worldwide."

History

GEHA traces its roots to 1937, when the Railway Mail Hospital Association was formed in Kansas City, Missouri, to help provide U.S. railway mail clerks with assistance for their medical expenses. Twenty years later, the company expanded its scope to offer health insurance benefits to federal employees and retirees from all agencies and branches of government. In 1964, the company officially became known as the Government Employees Hospital Association. In 2007, the organization changed its name to Government Employees Health Association.

GEHA was one of the first insurance carriers eligible to provide coverage to federal employees under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Act of 1959. The FEHBP contracts with several hundred health insurance plans to provide coverage for more than 8 million federal enrollees and dependents, including retirees.

Evolution of the company name

The company's name has changed six times since its founding in 1937:

• 1937: Railway Mail Hospital Association
• 1950: Postal Transport Hospital Association
• 1958: Federal Postal Hospital Association
• 1964: Federal Employees Hospital Association
• 1965: Government Employees Hospital Association
• 2007: Government Employees Health Association

Key people

These are the people who have served as GEHA's president over time:

• 1938-1948: Walter C. Tuchfarber
• 1948-1975: Charles L. Massie
• 1975-1988: Raymond E. Rowland
• 1988-1992: James R. Cantrell
• 1993-present: Richard G. Miles