September 30 is the end of the “special enrollment period” in which Postal Service retirees eligible for Medicare Part B but not currently enrolled in it may elect that coverage without the standard penalty for enrolling more than three months beyond first eligibility, which typically is on turning age 65.
The period opened in April under terms of the 2022 Postal Service reform law ordering creation of the new Postal Service Health Benefits program, which will replace the FEHB program for postal employees and retirees starting in January.
The voluntary period, applies to those already retired and who are not enrolled in Part B, which covers physicians and related services. Traditionally, about a quarter of Medicare-eligible postal retirees have not enrolled in Part B, generally out of a view that they would be paying additional premiums for coverage already provided under the FEHB.
