The Workplace of Personnel Administration (OPM) has introduced the dates and choices for the 2025 federal advantages open season.
The Federal Advantages Open Season for the 2026 plan yr runs from November 10 via December 8, 2025.
NEW: 2026 FEHB Premium Charge Charts Now Obtainable
Throughout the federal advantages open season, eligible federal staff and retirees can enroll in, change, or cancel protection for the:
• Federal Staff Well being Advantages Program;
• Postal Service Well being Advantages Program;
• Federal Staff Dental and Imaginative and prescient Insurance coverage Program (FEDVIP); and
• Federal Versatile Spending Account Program, or FSAFEDS (energetic staff solely).
Well being, dental, and imaginative and prescient enrollment will routinely proceed from yr to yr except a participant chooses to make a change throughout Open Season. Nevertheless, FSAFEDS requires re-enrollment every year for eligible staff who want to proceed participation within the subsequent plan yr.
The Federal Staff Well being Advantages (FEHB) Program, which incorporates the Postal Service Well being Advantages (PSHB) Program, supplies medical insurance advantages to roughly 8.2 million federal staff, U.S. Postal Service staff and their eligible relations, in addition to sure Tribal staff and their eligible relations.
Federal Worker Well being Advantages (FEHB) Program
Most FEHB well being plans will see advantages and premium modifications for the yr 2026. OPM introduced that the 2026 FEHB premiums will improve on common 12.3 p.c throughout 2026 over what they had been throughout 2025. Some plans are dropping out of this system and others are altering their service areas or protection choices. Staff and retirees are suggested to test OPM’s Advantages Administration Letters for vital plan modifications.
Federal staff and retirees are additionally suggested to overview their medical insurance protection for themselves and their households for this yr with the intention to determine which medical insurance plan finest meets their medical wants for 2026. The 2026 FEHB premiums could also be considered right here.
Throughout the annual FEHB open season, any worker or retiree eligible to take part within the FEHB could enroll, change well being plans or choices, cancel their FEHB enrollment, and alter participation in premium conversion (waive or start participation in premium conversion is for workers solely). Notice that if an worker or a retiree doesn’t change his or her 2025 FEHB plan, then enrollment in that plan continues routinely into 2026.
Key 2026 Federal Profit Adjustments
OPM introduced a number of modifications within the federal advantages for workers and retirees. A abstract of them is beneath.
2026 Adjustments to FEHB and PSHB
• Eliminated protection for medical or surgical modification of intercourse traits, together with gender transition procedures, for all ages.
• Required protection for FDA-approved HIV PrEP medication and associated monitoring, with no price sharing.
• HMO plans in states with IVF mandates had been required to suggest advantages that met these mandates, leading to an growth of protection for the Federal household. OPM additionally requires, at a minimal, retrieval and cryopreservation of sperm and eggs, together with storage prices for at the least one yr, for people with iatrogenic infertility from non-elective procedures.
• Behavioral well being entry continues to broaden. Carriers should broaden networks and permit out-of-network care when wait occasions are extreme.
• Opioid security: Carriers should proceed to offer at the least one opioid rescue agent for free of charge, with expanded training on secure utilization.
• Anti-obesity care: Carriers should proceed to cowl FDA-approved drugs, together with at the least one GLP-1 and two oral choices, plus behavioral and dietary packages.
2026 Adjustments to FEDVIP (Dental and Imaginative and prescient)
• Dental carriers should now provide two routine exams and one emergency examination per yr.
• A number of carriers have added preventive advantages for kids underneath three and being pregnant wellness protection.
• One imaginative and prescient provider expanded to 100% diabetic protection in-network, whereas one other added protection for orthoptic coaching for eye-movement issues.
2026 Adjustments to FSAFEDS
• Permits eligible federal staff and eligible uniformed service members to save lots of pre-tax funds for certified well being and dependent care bills.
• This system is sponsored by OPM and ruled by IRS guidelines.
FEHB Plan Choices for 2026
In accordance with OPM, underneath each the FEHB and PSHB Packages, individuals can select from a broad number of plan sorts together with Payment-for-Service plans, Well being Upkeep Organizations, Shopper-Pushed Well being Plans, and Excessive-Deductible Well being Plans.
In 2026, OPM will provide:
• 47 carriers and 132 plan choices in FEHB;
• 17 carriers and 75 plan choices in PSHB; and
• Fewer than a dozen dental and imaginative and prescient carriers via FEDVIP.
There are six FEHB plans (8 choices) that won’t be out there in 2026:
• NALC Well being Profit Plan CDHP
• NALC Well being Profit Plan Commonplace
• Well being Alliance HMO Commonplace
• AvMed Well being Plan HDHP
• AvMed Well being Plan Commonplace
• Impartial Well being Excessive
• Blue Care Community of Michigan Excessive
• Precedence Well being Excessive
There may be one PSHB plan (two choices) that won’t be out there in 2026:
• GEHA Indemnity Profit Plan Elevate Plus
• GEHA Indemnity Profit Plan Elevate
In accordance with OPM, individuals in these plans should choose a brand new plan throughout Open Season, or they’ll be routinely transitioned into a chosen default plan:
• For FEHB, the default plan is GEHA Profit Plan-Excessive Possibility.
• For PSHB, the default plan is Blue Cross and Blue Defend Service Profit Plan – FEP Blue Focus.
• In FEDVIP, the Well being Companions Dental Plan will now not be supplied. Enrollees should choose a brand new dental plan to take care of protection within the 2026 Plan yr.
Federal Worker Dental and Imaginative and prescient Insurance coverage Program
Federal staff and retirees can complement their medical insurance protection by selecting separate dental and/or imaginative and prescient insurance coverage protection that can hopefully scale back their out-of-pocket prices for dental and imaginative and prescient care. This system known as the Federal Worker Dental and Imaginative and prescient Insurance coverage Program (FEDVIP).Staff and retirees can embody relations (spouses and kids underneath the age of twenty-two) on their FEDVIP insurance coverage.
There isn’t any requirement that an worker or a retiree be enrolled in an FEHB program well being plan with the intention to enroll within the FEDVIP. Taking part dental and imaginative and prescient suppliers could also be completely different from FEHB program well being care suppliers. Protection in FEDVIP will proceed into retirement routinely except an worker disenrolls from the FEDVIP through the annual FEDVIP open season.
These staff and retirees who’re enrolled in a FEHB program well being plan which gives some dental and imaginative and prescient advantages could have main protection for dental and imaginative and prescient bills via their FEHB plan and have secondary protection for his or her dental and imaginative and prescient advantages if they’re enrolled in a FEDVIP dental and/or imaginative and prescient insurance coverage plan.
Not like the FEHB program wherein the federal authorities pays on common 72 to 75 p.c of an worker’s or retiree’s FEHB program premiums, staff and retirees pay the complete price of the FEDVIP premiums.
These staff and retirees who’re enrolled in a FEDVIP plan for 2025 will routinely have these enrollments proceed into 2026, though advantages and premiums could change. Staff and retirees ought to make it possible for their plan continues to be taking part throughout 2026. FEDVIP plan info for 2026 needs to be out there at www.benefeds.gov in early November.
Versatile Spending Accounts (FSAs)
Staff can lower your expenses via decrease tax withholdings. An worker can fund his or her FSA via pre-tax contributions from gross wage. The FSA can be utilized to pay well being care out-of-pocket or dependent care bills.
There are three accounts which to decide on: (1) A dependent care account; (2) a well being care account; and (3) a restricted expense well being care account. Staff will be reimbursed for the worker’s out-of-pocket FEHB program well being plan bills or non-FEHB program well being care bills. This contains deductibles. copayments and coinsurance. Staff who’re enrolled in a well being care account or a restricted expense well being care account may also be reimbursed for out-of-pocket FEDVIP bills, or different dental and imaginative and prescient insurance coverage bills.
Details about the FSAFEDs program could also be obtained at www.fsafeds.com. Enrollment is finished on www.fsafeds.com.
OTHER INFORMATION FROM OPM
Which federal advantages packages take part within the open season?
Throughout the annual open season, federal staff can enroll, change plans or plan choices, change enrollment kind, or cancel their enrollment for the:
- Federal Staff Well being Advantages (FEHB) Program
- Federal Staff Dental and Imaginative and prescient Insurance coverage Program (FEDVIP)
Staff can even re-enroll or newly enroll within the Federal Versatile Spending Account Program (FSAFEDS).
The Federal Staff’ Group Life Insurance coverage (FEGLI) Program and the Federal Lengthy Time period Care Insurance coverage Program (FLTCIP) don’t take part within the annual open season.
Choices Throughout 2025 Federal Advantages Open Season
FEHB – Federal Staff Well being Advantages Program
What are my choices through the 2025 FEHB open season?
- Enroll
- Change plans
- Change plan choices
- Change enrollment kind (to Self, Self Plus One, or Self and Household)
- Cancel protection
What if I do nothing?
Your present protection will routinely proceed. You do not want to take any motion in case you are glad together with your present FEHB plan. Nevertheless, you will need to change plans in case your plan has ended protection in your space or your plan is terminating participation within the FEHB Program.
What’s the efficient date of enrollment or change?
The primary day of the primary pay interval that begins on or after January 1, 2025 and which follows a pay interval throughout any a part of which you (if an worker) are in pay standing.
FEDVIP – Federal Staff Dental and Imaginative and prescient Insurance coverage Program
What are my choices throughout open season?
- Enroll
- Change plans
- Change plan choices
- Change enrollment kind (to Self, Self Plus One, or Self and Household)
- Cancel protection
What if I do nothing?
Your present protection will routinely proceed. You do not want to take any motion in case you are glad together with your present FEDVIP plan.
What’s the efficient date of enrollment or change?
January 1, 2026
FSAFEDS – Federal Versatile Spending Account Program
What are my choices throughout open season?
- Enroll/Reenroll in Well being Care FSA (HCFSA), Restricted Expense Well being Care FSA (LEX HCFSA), and Dependent Care FSA (DCFSA)
What if I do nothing?
Your election will not routinely proceed. You could reenroll to proceed your account(s) for the subsequent profit yr.
NOTE: A situation of being eligible to hold over unused funds from this plan yr’s HCFSA or LEX HCFSA is re-enrolling in both of those two plans within the subsequent yr. DCFSAs are ineligible for carryover.
What’s the efficient date of enrollment or change?
January 1, 2026
Getting ready for 2026 Federal Advantages Open Season
OPM supplied some pattern questions to assist enrollees overview their advantages and desires for well being care protection:
What are my and/or my household’s anticipated well being care wants for 2026?
Questions whereas reviewing your FEHB plan: Am I anticipating a brand new child? Do I would like surgical procedure? Will my remedy wants change? Does my plan present a pharmacy mail order possibility for prescriptions?
Questions whereas reviewing FEDVIP: Do I would like routine dental care? Will I would like a crown or root canal? Does my youngster want braces? Do I would like glasses and/or contact lens? Am I contemplating laser imaginative and prescient correction surgical procedure?
Questions whereas reviewing FSAFEDS: Do I’ve out-of-pocket bills I would like to think about, comparable to deductibles, copays, day care, elder care, or over-the-counter medication and medicines? Does my youngster want braces or use zits therapy? Do I plan to ship my kids (underneath 13) to in-home care or summer season camp?
