Self Plus One Health Insurance

When is it possible to enroll for the self plus one plan in the federal employee health benefits plan?

With the open season for the federal employees health insurance plan coming up soon, several readers have asked about enrolling for the new “self plus one” health insurance plan this Fall. The Self Plus One enrollment type will cover the enrollee and one eligible family member. Presumably, it will be less expensive than the family plan option as the number of people covered is limited.

This year’s Federal Benefits Open Season will run from Monday, November 10, 2014 through Monday, December 8, 2014. The 2014 Open Season information will be posted by OPM by the first week in November.

Unfortunately, it will not be possible to enroll in this plan during the upcoming open season. Here is the statement from the Office of Personnel Management on this new health insurance option:

“The effective date for the new Self Plus One enrollment type will be January 1, 2016. Therefore, the annual Open Season beginning on November 9, 2015 will include the Self Plus One enrollment type in the available enrollment choices.”

(See Self Plus One Health Insurance Effective January 1, 2016)

About the Author

Ralph Smith has several decades of experience working with federal human resources issues. He has written extensively on a full range of human resources topics in books and newsletters and is a co-founder of two companies and several newsletters on federal human resources. Follow Ralph on Twitter: @RalphSmith47