Q. I am submitting this on behalf of my mother who retired with CSRS. She is now 87 years old. She and my father have been with BCBS (Standard Option, Self & Family) since her retirement over 30 years ago.
With the recent change in BCBS, where she can re-enroll as Self Plus One? She is afraid that she may lose their only health plan if she enrolls as Self Plus One. Does the standard 5 years or more still apply, or can retirees change their plans to reflect Self Plus One without penalty — the penalty being that it may look like she’s a new member when she’s not?
A. Here’s the good news. Because she and your father are already enrolled as annuitants, she can change to the Self Plus One option during the upcoming Federal Employees Health Benefits open season without penalty.
14 Comments
I wish to chaange to self + 1 BC/BS I can not find anywhere to do this.
If you are an employee, your agency personnel office can help you do that. If you are a retiree, you should have received an Open Season mailing that told you how to do that. In any case, you can either go on-line at https://retireefehb.opm.gov or call them at 1-800-332-9798.
how do i change from self and family to self plus one . i tried to call opm but can not get what i need to change. can you help me. thanks Ray Petrime .tell me so i can understand in english.
The 2-18 Open Season began on November 13. If yu are an employee you can make that change through your personnel office. if yu are a retiree, you’ll need to follow the directions on the material OPM sent you a few weeks ago.
I’m a retired government employee and in November 2015 I submitted a sf2809 form to change to self plus one from standard family plus one to the OPM but I have never heard back from them. Now one more question, is GEHA an insurance for vision and dental or does it cover medical and can a person change from BC/BS to GEHA and still have the same type of medical coverage as Blue Cross Blue shield.
You’ll need to call your current plan to learn if your request to change enrollment categories went through.
GEHA, like BC/BS, is a government-wide health benefits plan. You can download a copy of its 2016 brochure at http://www.geha.com/~/media/Files/Brochures/Health-Brochures/2016StdHighBrochure.pdf
There is also a GEHA Dental Plan (excellent) available through FEDVIP (Federal Employees Dental and Vision Programs). You enroll in that at https://www.benefeds.com . This is separate from FEHB, but as a retiree, you can also enroll in it to have dental coverage. Vision plans are also available. The premium costs are low and well worth it, in my opinion. You can read more about both at: https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/dental-vision/
Thanks for sharing this with us.
We are currently insured as self plus one. As an annuitant survior, what would my insurance coverage be and how do I change it. I am not eligible for medicare yet.
As an annuitant survivor, you could change your enrollment to self only when you report your spouse’s death to OPM.
My husband and I both were federal employees and retired from federal employment. We have a daughter who was permanently handicapped due to an accident at the age of seven. My husband worked for the Public Health Service for 32 years. I worked only 10 years. Our daughter is an adult. Can she be covered by our federal health care insurance accounts, even though she did not work, except for brief time in a workshop for the handicapped?
According to OPM, “A child age 26 or over who is incapable of self-support because of a mental or physical disability that existed before age 26 is also an eligible family member.” Therefore, she can be covered under your FEHB plan.
my FEHB wants CODE for my wife and my son – what is the code for these ?
You’ll have to ask your plan what they mean and where you can find the codes.