Open Season is the one time each year when you can switch health plans, change your enrollment type, or (for postal retirees) fix your PSHB setup without a qualifying life event. Here is what OPM has announced for the 2027 plan year, and what matters most if you are retired and on Medicare or about to be.
The dates
- November 9 to December 14, 2026: Open Season for FEHB, PSHB, FEDVIP and FSAFEDS (OPM 2027 Open Season Highlights).
- Early November: OPM posts the full 2027 plan brochures and loads the plans into its Plan Comparison Tool; PSHB members compare plans in the Postal Service Health Benefits System (PSHBS).
- January 1, 2027: the date an Open Season change takes effect for annuitants and PSHB enrollees. Cancelling coverage takes effect December 31, 2026.
What changed for 2027
Premiums
OPM's averages for 2027 (OPM 2027 Open Season Highlights):
- FEHB: overall premiums up 9.3% on average; the enrollee share up 10.9%.
- PSHB: overall premiums up 6.7% on average; the enrollee share up 8.2%.
Averages hide a wide spread. In OPM's 2027 FEHB table, for example, the Self Only enrollee share of GEHA High Option goes down by $59.10 a month, while APWU Health Plan High Option goes up by $112.15 a month. Look up your own plan and enrollment code in OPM's rate tables, or let our FEHB/PSHB check do it.
Retirees pay the monthly enrollee share
OPM's premium pages say the government contribution is the same for "most employees and annuitants", so as a retiree you pay the monthly enrollee share in the rate tables, taken from your annuity.
Plans leaving
Nine FEHB plan options won't be offered in 2027, among them Independent Health Standard and HDHP, Blue Care Network of Michigan Southeast High, two UnitedHealthcare West plans, and four Health Net of California options. If you are in one and don't pick a new plan, OPM enrolls you in Compass Rose Standard.
One PSHB plan is leaving: UnitedHealthcare Choice Plus Primary Postal East. Its enrollees who don't choose are moved to Blue Cross and Blue Shield FEP Blue Focus. Two PSHB options also end: GEHA High Option members are moved to GEHA Standard Option, and MHBP Consumer Option members to MHBP Value Plan, unless they pick another plan (OPM PSHB significant events, 2027). OPM lists 45 carriers and 118 plan options in FEHB, and 17 carriers and 65 plan options in PSHB, for 2027.
Proof for new family members
From this Open Season on, if you add a new family member to your FEHB or PSHB enrollment, you must send documents showing they are eligible (OPM 2027 Open Season Highlights). Plan for it if you are adding a spouse.
PSHB: a new enrollment portal
OPM says the redesigned PSHBS enrollee portal is scheduled to launch during this Open Season, with simpler screens and a clearer process for qualifying life events.
How retirees make the change
- FEHB retirees: OPM's Open Season Online system, Open Season Express at 1-800-332-9798, or a letter to OPM's Open Season Processing Center (P.O. Box 5000, Lawrence, KS 66046-0500) postmarked by December 14 (OPM, Enroll in a Health Plan). The SF 2809 is not your form; see SF 2809 vs OPM 2809.
- PSHB retirees: OPM's PSHB landing page (the Postal Service Health Benefits System), Open Season Express, or P.O. Box 5001 at the same address.
If you have Medicare, or will soon
Open Season is the natural time to check whether your plan still fits Medicare:
- whether it waives its deductible and copays when Medicare pays first,
- whether it pays back part of the Part B premium, and
- whether it has a Medicare Advantage plan for retirees with Parts A and B.
Postal retirees should also check whether the PSHB Part B requirement applies to them. Federal retirees can weigh it freely: see should federal retirees take Part B.
Should you take Part B with FEHB or PSHB in 2027?.Start the free FEHB/PSHB check