Insurance FAQs

The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program runs on a calendar year basis -- from January through December. But the carriers' provider contracts are spread throughout the year, as are the carriers' policies with other employers.

If you elect to terminate your enrollment before you go on active duty, the termination will be effective on the day you are separated, furloughed, or placed on leave of absence to enter military service. Your employing office must use SF 2810 to terminate your enrollment. This means that you are entitled to a 31-day extension of coverage and if needed, have the right to convert to an individual policy offered by the carrier of your plan.

Not all screens are accessible by all employees or available at all agencies. For example, if you participate in premium conversion, you may not change from Self and Family to Self Only or cancel your FEHB enrollment at any time. Therefore, this menu option will not appear. You may still be able to change your enrollment if you have experienced a qualifying life event, or QLE. If you don't find the change option on your menu, see your Human Resources Office.

Annuitant Open Season changes are effective January 1.

You can find information about Medicare and resources on how to address issues with your Medicare enrollment at medicare.gov.

Yes.

No, by law there is no Government contribution to the premiums.

"Assignment" means that you give ownership and control of your Basic, Option A, and/or Option B life insurance coverage to someone else. This means that the money goes to the assignee, or the assignee's beneficiary(ies) when you die. The insurance is still on your life and you must continue to pay for the coverage, but someone else "owns" and controls your coverage. You may assign your life insurance coverage to an individual, a corporation, or an irrevocable trust. Your decision to assign your life insurance coverage is irrevocable; you cannot cancel your assignment if you change your mind. You cannot assign Option C.

Each situation varies; however, the two plans will coordinate benefits to lower your out-of-pocket costs.

The plans print their provider directories and have them available during Open Season. Many plans also provide this information on their websites. If your agency has an Open Season health fair this fall, the plans probably will be there to hand out their brochures and provider directories. You can also call the plan at the number listed in the Guide to Federal Benefits. You can also find specific plan contact information on the FEHB website.

You can change plans during the annual FEHB Open Season and whenever you have a qualifying life events (QLE) -- such as marriage. Becoming aware of another plan that has better benefits, even if you didn't expect to want the extra benefits when you had a chance to change plans before, does not qualify as a "QLE" that allows you to change plans.

The legal age or age of adulthood for the FEGLI Program is 18, unless the state in which the minor lives has established a lower age of adulthood. In that case, the legal age is the lower age.

You can reenroll in the FEHB Program for any reason during a future Open Season. If you are involuntarily disenrolled from TRICARE or CHAMPVA, you are eligible to immediately reenroll in the FEHB Program. Your request to reenroll must be received within the period beginning 31 days before and ending 60 days after your TRICARE or CHAMPVA coverage ends. Otherwise, you must wait until Open Season.

For a small number of individuals it may make sense to waive premium conversion. There are two items to consider in making a decision to waive participation and they are: Flexibility Under IRS rules, you may reduce coverage (cancel, or change from Self and Family to Self Only) only during an Open Season or at the time of a qualifying life event. Social Security Paying your premiums with pre-tax money reduces your earnings reported to the Social Security Administration. When you begin to collect Social Security (normally this occurs at age 65), you may receive a slightly lower Social Security benefit. The extent of the impact will vary depending upon the retirement system you participate in, your salary compared with the Social Security wage base ($87,000 in 2003) and the number of years until you retire.

No, you will pay the same premium as you paid while you were an employee. However, annuitants are paid on a monthly basis so you will pay them at the monthly rate. You may see an increase if you are employed by an agency, such as the Post Office, that contributes additional money towards the total premium. Retirees receive the same government contribution as most Federal employees.

Most FEHB fee-for-service plans offer Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) arrangements. When selecting your health care practitioner, your use of PPO providers whenever possible will help reduce your out-of-pocket expenses. In addition, PPO providers will generally file your claims for you. Read your plan's FEHB brochure carefully to find out about other incentives. Contact your plan to obtain the names of PPO providers in your area. You should also visit your plan's website (identified on the front of the plan's brochure and available by link from this website). Many plans provide up-to-date lists of PPO providers on their website. Another way to cut costs is to request generic drugs instead of brand name drugs. A generic medication is a copy of a brand name drug. It has the same active ingredients and receives the same Food and Drug Administration approval but costs less. Most plans charge you a lower copay if you use generic drugs.

Your employing office will notify you of the choices available to you and provide you with a method to make direct premium payments.

No, orthodontic services are limited to children up to age 19.

First, check your plan's brochure to see if the service is covered, limited or excluded. The next step is to review the disputed claims section of your brochure. Briefly, the disputed claims section will direct you to write to the plan to explain why (in terms of the applicable brochure coverage provisions) you feel the services should be covered, and to ask the plan to reconsider your claim. If the plan again denies the claim, read the plan's decision letter carefully and then check your plan's brochure again. If you still disagree with the plan's decision, the disputed claims section of your brochure will show you how to write to the Office of Personnel Management to ask us to review the claim. We can't review a denied claim unless your plan has reconsidered it first (or at least been given an opportunity to reconsider it). Your disputed claim will be reviewed in one of three Health Insurance Groups. Generally, we will acknowledge your request within 5 days. After we complete the review, we will send you a final response within 60 days. If we need more time before we can decide, or if you need to do more -- such as send us more information -- before we can decide, we will contact you within 14 work days of the time we get your request and tell you what you still need to do, if anything. We are sorry but we cannot give you a decision over the phone until the review has been completed and a written copy of the final decision has been issued.