Self Plus One Option May Have to Wait

One proposal regarding the FEHB in the White House budget last year, creation of a self plus one option, was approved late in the year. However, while that authority would allow for the start of that option as soon as the 2015 plan year, indications so far are that it will not be available until 2016, and thus the budget may have little to nothing to say about it. A delay to 2016 would give OPM more time to work through the details but would be a disappointment to those who have been hoping to have the option next year. Retirees have sought a self plus one option for years, since many have no dependent children eligible for coverage; they argue that they are subsidizing family plan enrollees who have more than one eligible family member. Self plus one similarly has been touted as benefitting childless couples and single parents. Those electing that option presumably would be allowed to switch to family coverage during a year should they experience a life event that would make more than one other person eligible, as is the case in the FEDVIP vision-dental insurance program.