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NARFE Provides Comments to Rule Establishing PSHB   

Last week, NARFE submitted a comment letter to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in response to its interim final rule establishing the Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) program. The rule outlined how PSHB will be created and provided important dates for OPM, insurance carriers and all other stakeholders assisting in the creation of PSHB before it is set to begin in January 2025. 

NARFE’s comment letter focused on PSHB areas in need of clarification, questions gathered from NARFE members and actions that OPM can take to provide a more seamless transition to PSHB for postal workers and annuitants. The letter encouraged OPM to limit insurance plan changes to prevent disruptions to enrollee coverage and requested hardship exceptions to maintain coverage for postal employees and annuitants covered by smaller plans, such as health maintenance organization (HMO) plans, that may decline to offer PSHB plans.   

The letter also requested further details on the six-month special enrollment period for Medicare Part B and requested OPM encourage carriers to provide reimbursement accounts to cover Medicare-related costs (as some FEHB plans already do). NARFE’s comment letter is available here.   

NARFE will share responses from OPM with members once they become available.