Since January 1, 2025, Postal Service employees and retirees have their own program, the Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Program. OPM still runs it, the Open Season dates are the same, and many carriers are familiar. But it is not FEHB with a new name, and the differences matter most once you have Medicare.
You can't pick an FEHB plan
A Postal Service annuitant can change enrollment or re-enroll in a PSHB plan, and "may not enroll or reenroll in a FEHB plan as a Postal Service annuitant" (5 CFR 890.1606). The 2027 FEHB brochures say it on the cover: postal employees and annuitants are no longer eligible (unless under temporary continuation of coverage).
The five differences that matter
1. Medicare Part B can be required
FEHB has no Part B requirement. PSHB does: a postal annuitant entitled to Part A must be enrolled in Part B to stay in PSHB, with exceptions for those who were already annuitants on January 1, 2025 (without both Parts A and B), employees who were 64 or older that day, people living abroad, VA health care enrollees and those eligible for the Indian Health Service. Details in the PSHB Part B requirement.
2. Medicare drug coverage is built in
OPM: postal annuitants and covered family members eligible for Part D "will automatically receive prescription drug coverage through a Medicare Part D Employer Group Waiver Plan (EGWP) provided by their PSHB plan", at no extra premium. Opting out leaves you with no PSHB drug coverage at the same premium; OPM's annuitant page adds that you can enroll again in Open Season or after a qualifying life event.
3. Separate premiums
PSHB and FEHB are priced separately, and the government contribution is calculated separately. For 2027 the maximum government contribution is $689.50 a month for Self Only in PSHB and $762.75 in FEHB (OPM premium pages). Plan by plan, the enrollee share can go either way:
| 2027, Self Only, a month | PSHB | FEHB |
|---|---|---|
| Blue Cross and Blue Shield FEP Blue Standard | $425.32 | $443.41 |
| Blue Cross and Blue Shield FEP Blue Basic | $303.20 | $315.17 |
| Blue Cross and Blue Shield FEP Blue Focus | $182.38 | $160.69 |
| APWU Health Plan High Option | $309.77 | $415.83 |
| GEHA Standard Option | $183.67 | $187.95 |
| MHBP Standard Option | $298.52 | $331.74 |
Enrollee share from OPM's 2027 FEHB and PSHB rate tables (retrieved October 27, 2026).
4. Benefits can differ from the FEHB version
The law asked carriers to keep PSHB benefits equivalent to their FEHB plans in the first contract year (5 U.S.C. 8903c). By 2027 some differ. Two examples from the 2027 brochures: GEHA Standard Option's in-network deductible is $350 for Self Only in PSHB and $500 in FEHB, with a $20 primary care copay in PSHB and $35 in FEHB; FEP Blue Standard charges $600 per hospital admission in PSHB and $450 in FEHB. Always read the PSHB brochure.
5. Fewer plans
For 2027 OPM lists 17 carriers and 65 plan options in PSHB, against 45 carriers and 118 plan options in FEHB (OPM 2027 Open Season Highlights). Several PSHB plans are union plans that require membership (APWU, MHBP, NALC, Rural Carrier).
Where postal retirees shop
OPM sends PSHB members to the Postal Service Health Benefits System (PSHBS) to compare plans and enroll; FEHB's Plan Comparison Tool isn't for PSHB.
What to check this Open Season
- Whether the Part B requirement applies to you, and if so, whether you (and a covered spouse) have Part B in place.
- What your plan waives once Medicare pays first, and whether it pays toward the Part B premium.
- Whether your plan has a Medicare Advantage plan, and what it pays back.
Our FEHB/PSHB check answers the first one free. The report prices every PSHB plan we could read a 2027 brochure for, with Part B and with its Medicare Advantage plan.
Should you take Part B with FEHB or PSHB in 2027?.Start the free FEHB/PSHB check