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United States

Office of 

Personnel Management 

The Federal Government’s Human Resources Agency

Benefits Administration Letter 

Number: 20-402 Date: October 8, 2020

Subject: 2020 Federal Benefits Open Season: Ordering and Distributing Materials and 

Conducting the Open Season

This Benefits Administration Letter (BAL) is the second in our series of 2020 Federal 

Benefits Open Season BALs. This BAL (20-402) provides instructions for ordering and 

distributing Open Season materials including program-specific materials for the Federal 

Flexible Spending Account Program (FSAFEDS), Federal Employees Dental and Vision 

Insurance Program (FEDVIP), and Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program. 

This BAL also provides instructions on conducting the Federal Benefits Open Season. 

This year’s Federal Benefits Open Season will run from Monday, November 9 

through Monday, December 14, 2020. 

The following attachments provide information regarding your responsibilities for the 

upcoming Federal Benefits Open Season and assistance for your employees: 

OPEN SEASON MATERIALS

The following Open Season resource materials will be available to Benefits Officers on our 

website at www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare/reference-materials/#url=OpenSeason. You may also distribute the link to the materials to your employees. 

• Open Season Flyer, Poster, and Banner 

• FSAFEDS Program Flyer – explains how to enroll in FSAFEDS 

• Federal Benefits FastFacts: The 2020 Federal Benefits Open Season is Coming! - 

provides a snapshot of basic information on Open Season 

• Federal Benefits FastFacts: What to Consider During the Federal Benefits Open 

Season - provides a step-by-step process of what to consider during Open Season 

• Federal Benefits Flyers - one-page summary of the Federal Benefits Programs 

• Save Money On... Flyers - these flyers show how FSAFEDS, FEDVIP, and FEHB 

work together to save employees money 

• Attachment 1: Inform Employees and Provide Information about the 

Federal Benefits Open Season 

• Attachment 2: Process Enrollment Actions
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• Inform Employees and Provide Information about the Federal Benefits Open Season

• Process Enrollment Actions

In addition, information on types of plans available in the FEHB Program is on our website at 

www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare/plan-information/plan-types/. 

BROCHURES 

Please be aware that the deadline has now passed to order FEHB Fee-for-Service (FFS) 

health plan brochures. If you did not order a supply of FFS health plan brochures, you can 

access these brochures at www.opm.gov/FEHBbrochures. 

You can request HMO plan brochures directly from the health plan contacts as described 

below. Please also assist us in “going green” by encouraging your employees to access 

all FEHB brochures online. 

You may obtain FEDVIP brochures from the FEDVIP plans directly. You can also 

download the brochures and find FEDVIP plan contact information by going to 

www.opm.gov/fedvip and selecting “Plan Information” on the left of the page. Plan 

information including plan contacts for 2021 will be available in early October. 

You may obtain FSAFEDS marketing materials at www.FSAFEDS.com. 

PLAN CONTACTS

Plan contact information for items listed below are available on our website at 

www.opm.gov/plancontacts. 

• FEDVIP Plan Contacts for Requesting Brochures and Organizing Open Season 

Fairs

• FEHB Plan Contacts for Requesting HMO Brochures 

• FEHB Plan Contacts Regarding Enrollment 

• FEHB Plan Contacts for Ordering Materials for the Visually Impaired

• FEHB Plan Contacts for Organizing Open Season Fairs 

PUBLIC USE FILES 

The purpose of the OPM FEHB and FEDVIP Plan and Benefits Information (PBI) Public 

Use Files (PUFs) is to provide information to the public on FEHB and FEDVIP plans, 

including information on rates and benefits. 

Visit our website at www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare/transparency-inhealthcare/public-use-files/. The public use files will be updated for 2021 benefit year 

information in late October. 
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PREMIUMS

The premiums will be posted on our website at www.opm.gov/healthcareinsurance/healthcare/plan-information/premiums/ in early October. 

For 2021 there are several FEHB choices where the enrollee share of premiums for the

Self Plus One enrollment type will be higher than for the Self and Family enrollment 

type. Enrollees who wish to cover one eligible family member are free to elect either the 

Self and Family or Self Plus One enrollment type. Enrollees should carefully check the 

rates of their current plan and any other plan options they are considering. If the Self and 

Family enrollee premium is less expensive, they may want to choose that enrollment 

type. 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

If you are not already receiving the Benefits Info Listserv, please subscribe by sending an 

email to BENEFITSINFO@LISTSERV.OPM.GOV. In the body of the email, please 

indicate that you would like to be added to the listserv and include your first and last 

name. 

If you have specific questions about the Federal Benefits Open Season, please contact 

your agency’s benefits officer. If you do not know who this person is, please go to 

http://apps.opm.gov/abo where you will find a list of agencies and their headquarters 

level benefits officers. 

We look forward to working with you in the upcoming 2020 Federal Benefits Open 

Season for enrollment for the 2021 plan year. As always, we encourage you and your 

employees to visit our website at www.opm.gov/insure. 

Sincerely,

Laurie Bodenheimer 

Acting Director

Healthcare and Insurance