With an FSAs, you use pre-tax dollars to pay for qualified out-of-pocket health care expenses. Image: Mocha.VP/Shutterstock.com
By: Reg JonesIn my last two articles I wrote about the Federal Employees Health Benefit program and the options available to you during this year’s Open Season. Now I want to turn your attention to two other programs that are available to you, as well as their options.
Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP)
FEDVIP offers vision and dental benefits for employees, retirees, and certain family members. Because the government doesn’t share in the cost of this benefit, if you enroll, you’ll be responsible for paying the entire cost. If you are already enrolled in this benefit can continue that coverage if you want to. If you aren’t enrolled, you can do that during any Open Season.
Before you make that decision, you need to find out who the FEDVIP dental and vision providers are because they may be different from your FEHB providers. This is important because if they are the same, your FEHB plan will be the primary payer and your FEDVIP the secondary one. If they aren’t, you’ll be responsible for the entire FEDVIP payment when you are billed for any service.
There are some other differences between the FEHB and FEDVIP programs. For one, there isn’t any 5-year rule for FEDVIP. Therefore, even if you have just enrolled in FEDVIP when you retire on an immediate annuity, your coverage will continue.
Further, if you decide to cancel your enrollment, you can do that during Open Season (you also can do that if you are deployed on active duty).
To get comprehensive information about FEDVIP, go to https://www.benefeds.com.
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)
FSAs are pre-tax benefit accounts that’s used to pay for eligible medical, dental, and vision care expenses that are not covered by your health care plan or elsewhere. They are available only to active employees, not retirees.
With an FSAs, you use pre-tax dollars to pay for qualified out-of-pocket health care expenses. In short, your take-home pay is reduced in exchange for a nice tax advantage.
No matter if you are already enrolled in an FSA or are a new enrollee, you’ll have three accounts from which you can choose:
• a dependent care account;
• a health care account; and
• a limited expense health care account.
An important note: A current enrollment in FEHB and FEDVIP will carry over from one year to the next if you make no changes during the Open Season. However, you must newly elect FSA accounts each Open Season for the following year.
Comprehensive information about FSAs is available at https://www.fsafeds.com.
Former head of retirement and insurance policy at the Office of Personnel Management, and longtime FEDweek contributor, Reg Jones is known throughout the federal workforce community as an authority on pay and benefits.
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