Insurance FAQs Dental & Vision

President George W. Bush signed The Federal Employee Dental and Vision Benefits Enhancement Act of 2004 into law on December 23, 2004. The Act authorizes OPM to establish arrangements under which supplemental dental and vision benefits are made available to Federal and U.S. Postal Service employees, retirees, and their eligible family members, and the law gives OPM broad contracting authority to leverage the purchasing power of Federal enrollees to provide comprehensive benefits with competitive premiums.

You may select one or both or neither.

FEHB and FEDVIP are separate programs. While some FEHB plans offer dental or vision benefits as part of their benefit package, only those carriers under contract to OPM are FEDVIP plans. FEDVIP plans offer comprehensive dental and vision benefits. FEDVIP is not part of the FEHB program, and it is different from any supplementary dental and vision product your FEHB plan may offer.

Dental plans provide a comprehensive range of services, including the following:

• Class A (Basic) services, which include oral examinations, prophylaxis, diagnostic evaluations, sealants and x-rays.
• Class B (Intermediate) services, which include restorative procedures such as fillings, prefabricated stainless steel crowns, periodontal scaling, tooth extractions, and denture adjustments.
• Class C (Major) services, which include endodontic services such as root canals, periodontal services such as gingivectomy, major restorative services such as crowns, oral surgery, bridges and prosthodontic services such as complete dentures.
• Class D (Orthodontic) services with up to a 24-month waiting period.

Eligible individuals will be able to enroll during the annual Open Season or after a Qualifying Life Event (QLE) that permits enrollment outside of Open Season. You must enroll through BENEFEDS at www.BENEFEDS.com. Those without access to a computer can enroll by telephone at 1-877-888-FEDS (3337), TTY 1-877-889-5680. Should you have any enrollment questions, please contact BENEFEDS at www.BENEFEDS.com or 1-877-888-FEDS (3337), TTY 1-877-889-5680.

Unfortunately, parents are not eligible family members.

Premiums are paid on a pre-tax basis (premium conversion) if you are an active employee and your salary is sufficient to make the premium withholding. Pre-tax premiums are not available to annuitants, survivor annuitants or compensationers.

No, retiree pay premiums on a post tax basis.

Federal and U.S. Postal Service employees eligible for FEHB coverage (whether or not enrolled) and annuitants/survivor annuitants/compensationers (regardless of FEHB eligibility) are eligible to enroll.

No, your FEDVIP enrollment will not count towards the 5-year enrollment requirement for carrying FEHB coverage into retirement.

Read about FEDVIP Qualifying Life Events.

No, unlike FEHB, employees may not opt out of premium conversion for FEDVIP. If employees do not wish to have premium conversion for FEDVIP, they should not enroll.

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

No, USPS employees pay the same premiums as Federal employees and annuitants.