The Federal Benefits Open Season starts November 8 this year and goes through December 13. This is the opportunity for our federal employees out there to re-look your benefit choices and explore your options for 2022. During the annual open season, you can enroll in a Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program and the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) plan. You can also change plans, change plan options, you can change enrollment type between self, self plus one, or family coverage, or cancel your enrollment. Do nothing and your current coverage will automatically continue.
You also have choices to make with the Federal Flexible Spending Account Program (FSAFEDS). https://www.fsafeds.com With an HCFSA, you use pre-tax dollars to pay for qualified out-of-pocket health care expenses. The maximum amount you can allot to an HCFSA is $2,750 (per individual) a year and the minimum is $100. You declare your savings amount and set up the allotment during open season and the total amount you elect to save will be available on day one of 2022. Your fund contributions are withdrawn automatically from each paycheck and deposited into your FSA before taxes are deducted. You can only carry over $550 of a the Health Care FSA from one year to the next.
With the Dependent Care FSA (DCFSA). You can contribute up to $5,000 a year to pay for care for your child under age 13. It also covers care for your spouse or a relative who is incapable of self-care and lives in your home. Dependent Care FSA savings cannot be carried over to the next year at all. If you do nothing during open season your FSA election will NOT automatically continue. You must reenroll.
A High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) combines a Health Savings Account (HSA) or a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), medical coverage and a tax-advantaged way to save for future medical expense. With an HDHP, you must meet the entire annual deductible before plan benefits are paid for services other than in-network preventive care. Once you hit the catastrophic limit, the plan pays 100% of the allowable amount. Th insurer will set up an HSA for you and put a set amount of money in it. You can also put contribute to the account with pre tax dollars. Funds deposited in your HSA are not taxed, interest on the HSA grows tax free, and you can withdraw it tax free to pay qualified medical expenses. There are more rules, so be sure to read more on this before making a decision. I’ll put a link to a good OPM fact sheet on HSAs in the show notes. https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/fastfacts/high-deductible-health-plans.pdf
Don’t assume your plan is staying the same. Review your plan documents every Open Season for changes to and what new options may be available. Is there are newer plan choices that is a better buy. Read the plan brochures. Some FEHB plans offer basic dental and vision benefits or discount programs. You might be better off in a FEHB plan with some dental benefits than paying a separate FEDVIP premium.
If you require extensive medical treatment in the 2022 it may be worth paying higher premiums for a plan that covers more of your claims. If everyone is healthy, consider paying less for a plan with less coverage and putting the extra cash in savings, like an FSA or HSA.
OPM has a great online tool you can use to compare the various plans available and their costs for 2022. You can search for the plan options using your location or employee type, and you can review any changes to the plan you already have. https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare/plan-information/compare-plans/
