Medicare Advantage health plans are Health Maintenance Organizations or Fee-for-Service plans approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Contact Medicare on 1-800-633-4227 to find out if you qualify for a Medicare Advantage health plan.

You must request and complete a Health Benefits Cancellation / Suspension form, RI 79-9. You must provide documentation of your enrollment in a Medicare Advantage health plan. An example of a Medicare Advantage health plan is "Secure Horizons" or "Kaiser Permanente Senior Advantage." A copy of your Medicare card alone will not allow you to suspend your FEHB enrollment.

January 1, 2021. Premium changes will be reflected in your February 1, 2021 annuity payment .

No, after January 1^st, your old plan will no longer pay benefits. You must use the new plan even if you have not yet received your ID card(s). Contact your plan directly if you have any problems receiving benefits.

You can visit our Web site at www.opm.gov/insure for additional information on the FEHB Program as well as to review individual plan brochures.

You can view the complete text of our pamphlet FEHB Information for Retirees and Survivor Annuitants at www.opm.gov/insure/health/html/79-2/index.htm

You can call our toll-free number on 1-888-767-6738. You can also access our retirement web page and Services Online at www.opm.gov/retire

No, all the benefit information for High, Standard, Basic, Consumer Driven Option, High Deductible Health Plan or Health Savings Account is included in one brochure.

Many things contribute to premium changes. In general, FEHB rates reflect changes in the health care marketplace and costs continue to increase. Prescription drugs are more expensive. New medical technology is good, but expensive. Our population is older; the older we are the more we spend on healthcare. OPM negotiates at length for the smallest premium increase feasible without reducing benefits significantly or asking enrollees to pay substantially more money out of their pockets each time they need health care. Each year's increase reflects the overall trend within the health care industry that affects all purchasers of health insurance.

Yes, if Open Season has not ended you may select another plan in which you are eligible to enroll. If Open Season has ended, you may request a change to a managed fee-for-service or to an HMO plan that services your area by calling our toll-free number on 1-888-767-6738. The effective date of the enrollment change will be January 1, of the current year even if you make the request after Open Season ends.

It is vital that you review the information in the Open Season Guide and plan's brochure prior to making your selection because once Open Season ends, you may not be able to change to another plan or you may incur an interruption in your benefit coverage. You may be eligible to pay your premiums through direct billing if your annuity is not enough to deduct the current insurance premiums. However, you will owe the difference in premium if the change to a cheaper plan is made after Open Season.

You are allowed to cover your current spouse, children under age 26 (including adopted children, stepchildren, foster children, or recognized natural children), and any disabled children over age 26 incapable of self-support whose disability occurred prior to age 26.

Do not use Open Season Express or Open Season Online to do this. It can be done at any time during the year (including Open Season) by calling the Retirement Information Office (RIO) on 1-888-767-6738. Provide the Customer Service Specialist with both claim numbers, social security numbers and the plans in which you each want to enroll. OPM will first need to determine the eligibility of the spouse not currently carrying the enrollment. To be eligible for enrollment in one's own right, one must have retired on an immediate annuity (an annuity which begins within 30 days of separation from service) and have been covered by an FEHB enrollment (their own or their spouse's) for the 5 years immediately preceding retirement. Deferred annuitants (those whose annuities begin on the 62^nd birthday) are NOT ELIGIBLE for coverage in their own right and would, therefore, have to stay on the family enrollment of the enrolled spouse. Once we determine eligibility we will change the currently enrolled spouse to self only and begin a self only enrollment for the other.

Unless you select an HMO and do not live or work in the service area, a participating FEHB health carrier can not refuse to enroll you. Under the FEHB Program, there are no pre-existing condition limitations and there are no waiting periods. You can use your benefits as soon as your coverage becomes available.

You must request and complete a Health Benefits Cancellation/Suspension Confirmation form, RI 79-9. If you are a TRICARE/TRICARE For Life enrollee, you must provide a copy of your Uniformed Services Identification (ID) card and, if over age 65, a copy of your Medicare card showing Parts A and B along with the completed Health Benefits Cancellation/Suspension Confirmation form. If you are a CHAMPVA enrollee, you must provide a copy of your CHAMPVA Authorization card (A-card) along with the completed Health Benefits Cancellation/Suspension form. To suspend your FEHB Coverage for the Peace Corps, you must provide us with evidence of your eligibility.

If you are on the rolls of the Office of Workers Compensation (OWCP), you must contact your OWCP office in order to request this suspension.

If you pay your FEHB premiums by direct payment, you must contact the National Finance Center concerning the suspension of your enrollment. The toll-free number is 1-800-242-9630

For further information concerning TRICARE/TRICARE For Life, call toll-free 1-888-363-5433 or access the Web site at www.tricare.osd.mil.

For further information concerning CHAMPVA, call 1-800-733-8387 or access the Web site at www.va.gov/hac.