Open season — the once-a-year opportunity for Postal Service employees to make changes to their health benefits or enroll in a new plan — has been extended through Friday, Dec. 13, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.
The extension covers the Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Program, flexible spending accounts, the Annual Leave Exchange and the USPS Health Benefits Plan for noncareer employees.
Open season for the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program has not been extended and will end on Monday, Dec. 9, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.
A comparable PSHB plan has been identified for all employees who are currently enrolled in a Federal Employees Health Benefits plan.
Employees are encouraged to review the comparable plan, and if satisfied, they do not have to take any action. The employee and their dependents will automatically be transitioned to the new plan.
For employees who wish to change plans, they can review and compare plans using Checkbook’s Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees, which can be accessed through the MyHR website.
Employees who wish to make a change to their health plan will need to set up an account with Login.gov, which is a secure government sign-in service. Instructions are available on the Login.gov homepage.
Once an employee has established a Login.gov account, they can visit MyHR to access the enrollment platform.
To enroll in a flexible spending account, employees can go to LiteBlue, sign in, click the “Apps” tab, and select the red “Flexible Spending Account” link.
To join the Annual Leave Exchange or enroll in the USPS Health Benefits Plan, employees must go to LiteBlue, sign in and select PostalEASE.
Links to enroll in PSHB or flexible spending accounts can be found on the Blue, LiteBlue and MyHR homepages.
Employees who have difficulty enrolling online in PSHB or for a flexible spending account can download manual enrollment forms from MyHR.
MyHR’s open season page has more information.