04/17/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 04/17/2024 16:22
Washington, D.C. -The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) today announced new actions to further promote the integrity of the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program. In a Benefits Administration Letter (BAL), OPM outlined requirements for federal agencies and carriers regarding new enrollment actions that will ensure comprehensive verification and review of family member eligibility:
Today's actions build on years of progress addressing issues in FEHB enrollments. Collectively, these requirements ensure that agencies are verifying documentation provided during each of the key periods when an employee might make a change.
OPM has proposed legislation in its FY2025 Congressional Budget Justificationwhich would enable OPM consistent access to funds from the Employee Health Benefits Fund to build a Central Enrollment system for the FEHB Program. Current FEHB eligibility determination and enrollment is highly decentralized and requires cooperation between nearly 100 employing offices responsible for determining eligibility and enrolling more than 8 million members. These benefits are delivered by 68 health insurance carriers in 2024.
Since 2022, and following passage of the Postal Service Reform Act, OPM began developing the Postal Service Health Benefits Programto include a centralized enrollment platform. The PSHB accounts for more than 20 percent of current FEHB enrollees. If funded, OPM could extend this same central enrollment system to all FEHB enrollments, which would allow OPM to manage and make consistent all FEHB enrollments and remove individuals who cease to be eligible for the program.
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