United States 

Office of 

Personnel Management 

The Federal Government’s Human Resources Agency

Benefits Administration Letter 

Number: 08-405 Date: October 10, 2008 

Subject: 2008 Federal Benefits Open Season: FEDVIP and FEHB Program 

Significant Plan Changes

This is the fifth Benefits Administration Letter (BAL) in our series of 2008 Federal Benefits 

Open Season BALs for the Federal Flexible Spending Account Program (FSAFEDS), the Federal 

Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) and the Federal Employees Health 

Benefits (FEHB) Program. This BAL provides information on significant plan changes in the 

FEDVIP and FEHB Program for 2009. 

This year’s Federal Benefits Open Season will run from Monday, November 10, through 

Monday, December 8, 2008. 

FSAFEDS 

If administrative fees and/or reserve account fees change for 2009, we will let agencies know 

before the February 2009 invoices are distributed. 

FEDVIP 

The first attachment to this BAL provides important information on the significant changes 

affecting FEDVIP plans for the upcoming Open Season. 

Table 1: Plan Name Changes

Table 2: Dental Plan Service Area Expansion

What Must You Do? 

You must include the expanded service area (Table 2) when you count the number of eligible 

employees and place your order for brochures.

 FEHB 

The remainder of this letter provides important information on the significant changes affecting 

certain plans in the FEHB Program for the upcoming Open Season. The second attachment to 
this BAL identifies the plans and their corresponding significant changes. Some of these events 

will require action on the part of agencies and enrollees. 

Please note there are plans leaving the FEHB Program at the end of 2008 or reducing their service 

areas. Since employees in these terminating plans and service area reductions must enroll in new 

plans during Open Season if they wish to continue health insurance coverage in 2009, we ask you 

to distribute this list throughout your agencies. It is your responsibility to monitor employees 

who are covered by these terminating plans or service area reductions and follow up with those 

who have not submitted an enrollment change before the end of Open Season. 

TIP: Distribute the attached list of significant FEHB plan changes to all employees so they can 

check to see if their plan or service area will continue to participate in the FEHB Program in 

2009. 

Table 1: Plans Leaving the FEHB Program 

Table 2: Plans Reducing their Service Areas by Terminating an Enrollment Code 

Table 3: Existing Plans Terminating Their High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs) and 

Terminating Their HDHP Enrollment Codes 

Table 4: High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs) Reducing Their Service Areas by 

Terminating an Enrollment Code

What Must Employees Do? 

• Employees in terminating plans (Table 1) or service area reductions with terminating 

enrollment codes (Table 2) or terminating HDHPs (Table 3) or HDHP service area 

reductions (Table 4) must enroll in a new health plan during Open Season if they want 

coverage. If they do not enroll in a new plan, they will not have FEHB coverage in 2009.

• New Coverage: Coverage under an enrollee’s new health plan will be effective the first 

day of the pay period beginning on or after January 1, 2009; for most employees this 

will be January 04, 2009. Enrollees will remain covered and receive the 2009 benefits 

of the old plan until coverage under the new plan becomes effective.

What Must You Do? 

• You must notify employees enrolled in the plans listed in Tables 1, 2, 3, and 4 to select 

new plans. Advise your employees if they do not choose new plans, they will not have 

FEHB coverage in 2009. 

• Distribute copies of this list to employees with your agency’s notice about Open Season.

• Follow up with employees in these plans and remind them to select new plans.

• Belated changes: Some employees still might not receive instructions to change plans 

during Open Season. We encourage you to be liberal in accepting belated Open Season 

changes from employees enrolled in terminating plans and terminating enrollment codes.

What Will Health Plans Do? 

Plan Notification: The plans in Tables 1, 2, 3, and 4 have been instructed to notify enrollees of 

the need to select new plans for 2009; however, because some plans’ enrollment and address lists 

may not be up-to-date, we encourage you to accept belated changes.

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Table 5: Plan Splitting a Service Area

Blue Shield of California Access+HMO will split its California service area, code SJ, into two 

service areas (northern and southern California) resulting in two enrollment codes, SJ and SI. 

The plan’s northern California region will retain the current SJ enrollment code; however, the 

plan’s southern California region will receive the new SI enrollment code. 

What Must Employees Do? 

Employees in the plan splitting its service area (Blue Shield of California Access+HMO, Table 

5) from one enrollment code (SJ) into two enrollment codes (SJ and SI) and who reside or work 

in the plan’s southern California region, should enroll in the plan’s new SI enrollment code for 

their region during Open Season. If the enrollees in the plan’s southern California region do 

nothing and do not make a positive enrollment election, they will automatically remain enrolled 

in the original SJ enrollment code for the plan’s northern California region and they will have to 

travel to the plan’s northern California service area to obtain medical care in order to receive full 

benefits from the plan in 2009. Please note the 2009 premiums for enrollment code SJ will be 

higher than the premiums for enrollment code SI. 

What Must You Do? 

• Advise your employees who are enrolled in Blue Shield of California Access+HMO 

(Table 5) who reside or work in the southern California region that if they do nothing 

and do not enroll in the new SI enrollment code for the southern California region, they 

will automatically remain enrolled in the plan’s original SJ code for northern California 

and they will have to travel to the plan’s northern California service area to obtain 

medical care in order to receive full benefits from the plan in 2009. In addition, the 

premiums for the northern California service area (SJ code) will be higher than the 

premiums for the southern California service area (SI code). 

• Distribute copies of this list to employees with your agency’s notice about Open Season.

• Follow up with employees in the plan who live or reside in the southern California region 

and remind them they need to enroll in the plan’s new SI enrollment code for their 

region. 

• Belated changes: Some employees enrolled in the plan’s southern California service 

area still might not receive instructions to change codes during Open Season. We 

encourage you to be liberal in accepting belated Open Season changes from employees in 

the plan’s southern California service area. 

What Will the Health Plan Do? 

Plan Notification: The plan in Table 5, Blue Shield of California Access+HMO, has been 

instructed to notify enrollees in its southern California region that its current 2008 California 

service area with one code (SJ) is being split in 2009 into two service areas (northern and 

southern California) with two codes (SJ and SI). If enrollees in the southern California region do 

not enroll in the plan’s new SI enrollment code for southern California, they will automatically 

remain enrolled in the plan’s original SJ code for northern California at the higher 2009 premium 

for code SJ and will have to travel to the plan’s northern California service area to obtain medical 

care in order to receive full benefits from the plan. 

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Table 6: Plan Merger with Code Changes 

What Must You Do? 

The payroll office must automatically move employees into their plan’s surviving code unless the 

employees select another health plan during Open Season. 

Table 7: Plan Option Name Change with Code Change 

What Must You Do? 

The payroll office must automatically move employees into their plan’s changed option and code 

unless the employees select another health plan during Open Season. 

Table 8: Plan Name Change

Table 9: Plan Option Name Change

Table 10: Plan Adding a Standard Option with New Codes 

Table 11: New Plans Entering the FEHB Program

Table 12: Plans Adding a New Standard Option

Table 13: Existing Plan Offering a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) with New 

Enrollment Codes

Table 14: Existing Plan Offering a Consumer Driven Health Plan (CDHP) with New

Enrollment Codes

Table 15: Plan Changing from a Closed Nationwide Fee-For-Service (FFS) Plan for 

Specific Groups to an Open Nationwide FFS Plan Open to All Agencies, Employees, and 

Retirees 

Table 16: Closed Nationwide FFS Plan for Specific Groups Available to New Agencies, 

Employees, and Retirees 

Table 17: Service Area Expansions with New Enrollment Codes

Table 18: Service Area Expansions without New Enrollment Codes

What Must You Do? 

You must include these new plans, options and expanded service areas (Tables 10 - 18) when 

you count the number of eligible employees and place your order for brochures. 

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Conclusion 

We encourage you and your employees to visit our website at www.opm.gov/insure for the most 

up-to-date information. We will update these pages on a regular basis throughout Open Season. 

We look forward to working with you to ensure Federal employees have a successful Open 

Season. 

Sincerely, 

Kathleen M. McGettigan 

Deputy Associate Director 

Center for Retirement and Insurance Services 

Attachment 1 

Attachment 2 

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