Rules proposed in 2024 would begin coverage as of the beginning of the first pay period the employee is in paid status and applies to join the program. Image: Valeri Luzina/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffOPM has dropped a Biden administration-era proposal to make coverage under the FEHB and PSHB programs effective sooner for federal employees who enroll after first becoming eligible—most commonly on hiring but also when an employee moves from a position that doesn’t convey coverage to one that does, or when a temporary employee completes one year of service.
Under current policy, those who become eligible each year for those reasons have 60 days to apply for coverage, which is effective no earlier than the start of the first full pay period after they are in paid status and enroll. Rules proposed in 2024 would begin coverage as of the beginning of the first pay period the employee is in paid status and applies to join the program.
OPM said at the time that speeding up enrollment would “ensure more timely access to health insurance which may in turn assist in reducing financial burdens for care received while uninsured and removing barriers to consistent care for services such as mental health services, vaccines, and contraceptives.” It also said the change would mirror the policy already in effect in the FEGLI life insurance program and in many private sector employer health programs.
However, a notice in the February 3 Federal Register withdraws that proposal, saying that some commenters “raised significant implementation and legal concerns with the proposal” and that OPM “did not receive widespread support from the larger federal employee population or agency partners, including those from outside the executive branch that would have been impacted.”
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