GEHA membership approves name change for organization

At the annual membership meeting on April 11, GEHA members voted their approval on a bylaw amendment that changed the name of the organization from Government Employees Hospital Association to Government Employees Health Association.

GEHA offers health and dental insurance to federal employees and retirees, as well as their dependents, nationwide. The organization began as the Railway Mail Hospital Association in 1937 when a group of 30 railway mail clerks banded together to help pay hospital expenses for sick or injured co-workers. Now celebrating its 70th anniversary as an organization, GEHA evolved to become the third-largest carrier in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and covers more than 400,000 lives.

This name change is the fifth name modification in the not-for-profit organization's history, according to GEHA president Richard G. Miles. "The name change is minor, but we believe that the new name more accurately describes the nature of the Association," Miles notes. "Current insurance benefits obviously extend beyond those original hospital-related fees. We look at preventive care and prescription drug coverage, disease management, educational and informational materials and much more. The Association promotes awareness of all aspects of good health."

GEHA provides three health plan options nationwide under the FEHBP. For 2007, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management also selected GEHA as one of four national carriers to offer supplemental dental insurance to the federal market as part of the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP). In 1997, GEHA launched the CONNECTION Dental Plus dental plan, and also administers the State of Texas Dental Choice Plan, a dental plan for state and higher education employees in Texas. GEHA operates its CONNECTION Dental Network preferred provider organization with more than 40,000 dental locations nationwide.