A major Postal Service reform bill signed into law last year is moving postal employees and retirees into a different health insurance marketplace from the rest of the federal workforce.
The Postal Service Reform Act requires the Office of Personnel Management to create a separate Postal Service Health Benefits program (PSHB) within the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) program, starting in January 2025.
The Postal Service Health Benefits program will provide health insurance plans to eligible USPS employees, annuitants and their eligible family members. But the legislation specifies requirements for postal-only health plans that don’t apply to plans offered under FEHB.
OPM, meanwhile, faces a tight timeline to create a parallel health benefits marketplace and online infrastructure for postal employees and retirees ahead of an open enrollment period in late 2024.