Civil Service 

Retirement 

System 

Federal Employees’ 

Group Life 

Insurance Program 

Federal Employees 

Health Benefits 

Program 

Federal Employees 

Retirement 

System 

Federal 

Long Term 

Care Insurance 

Program 

United States 

Office of 

Personnel Management 

The Federal Government’s Human Resources Agency

Retirement and Insurance Service 

Benefits Administration Letter 

Number: 01-221 Date: November 28, 2001 

Subject: Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB): Suspension of FEHB 

Coverage to Use TRICARE

This letter is to notify you that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published an interim 

regulation in the Federal Register on September 26, 2001, (66 FR 49086) that will allow FEHB 

annuitants, survivors, and former spouses (who have coverage under the spouse equity provisions 

of FEHB law) to suspend their FEHB coverage to use the TRICARE program. The regulation 

also allows these individuals to reenroll in the FEHB Program immediately if they involuntarily 

lose their TRICARE coverage, or during the annual FEHB open season. The regulation and a set 

of questions and answers can be viewed on our web site at 

http://www.opm.gov/insure/health. 

OPM’s Office of Retirement Programs (ORP) will process most annuitant, survivor, and former 

spouse requests for suspension of coverage and reenrollment. Other retirement systems 

(including the Office of Workers’ Compensation (OWCP)) will process suspensions and 

reenrollments for their FEHB annuitants (including compensationers), survivors, and former 

spouses. Agency personnel offices will process suspensions and reenrollments for former 

spouses that the agency is responsible for. 

You must develop procedures for suspending and processing reenrollments consistent with our 

new regulations. For example, since annuitants who are Medicare eligible must have Medicare 

Parts A and B to qualify for TRICARE coverage, ORP is asking them for copies of their military 

identification cards and their Medicare cards if they are age 65 or over. Annuitants must also 

complete a suspension form listing the date they want their FEHB coverage suspended. Once 

ORP receives the form and required documentation, they notify FEHB health plans of the 

suspension. 

Other retirement systems, OWCP, or agency personnel offices that process annuitant, survivor, or 

former spouse suspensions and reenrollments should require similar documentation and notify 

health plans using SF 2809-1 or SF 2809 (as applicable) or an automated reporting system (e.g. 
2

Employee Express). We plan to revise the SF 2809 in the future to reflect the new regulation. In 

the meantime, indicate in the “Remarks” section of the form the nature of the TRICARE 

transaction. Suspended enrollees who involuntarily lose TRICARE coverage can reenroll 

immediately during the period beginning 31 days before to 60 days after the date they lose 

TRICARE coverage. Otherwise they must wait until the next FEHB open season to reenroll. 

Our new suspension regulations apply only to annuitants, survivors, and former spouses, all of 

whom may suspend their enrollment at anytime for the purpose of using their TRICARE 

coverage. Employees who do not participate in premium conversion may cancel their enrollment 

at any time. For employees who participate in premium conversion, eligibility for TRICARE is 

not a qualifying life event that would allow them to cancel their FEHB enrollment. These 

employees may cancel during the annual FEHB open season. 

As you know, to be eligible to continue FEHB coverage after retirement, a retiring employee 

must be enrolled or covered under the FEHB Program for the five years of service immediately 

before retirement, or, if less than five years, for all service since the first opportunity to enroll. 

We would like to remind you that an employee’s period of coverage under TRICARE counts 

toward meeting this requirement. However, the employee must be enrolled in an FEHB health 

plan on the date of retirement to continue coverage. Once the employee retires, he/she can 

request to suspend the FEHB enrollment as a retiree. 

If you have any questions regarding this letter, please contact Mike Kaszynski at 202-606-0004 

or through email at mwkaszyn@opm.gov. 

Sincerely, 

Abby L. Block 

 Assistant Director 

 for Insurance Programs