United States 

Office of 

Personnel Management

The Federal Government’s Human Resources Agency 

Tribal Benefits Administration Letter 

Number: 18-703 Date: October 26, 2018 

Subject: 2018 FEHB Open Season for Tribal Employees: FEHB Program 

Significant Plan Changes 

This Tribal Benefits Administration Letter (TBAL) is the third in our series of 2018 

Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Open Season for Tribal Employees TBALs. 

This TBAL provides information on significant plan changes for the FEHB Program for 

2019. This year’s Open Season for Tribal Employees will run from Monday, November 

12, through Monday, December 10, 2018. 

This TBAL provides important information on the significant changes affecting certain 

plans in the FEHB Program for the upcoming Open Season. The first attachment to this 

TBAL identifies the plans and their corresponding significant changes. Some of these 

events will require action on the part of tribal employers and tribal employees. 

Please note there are plans leaving the FEHB Program at the end of 2018. Tribal 

employees in these terminating plans must enroll in a new plan during Open Season or 

they will be enrolled in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Service Benefit Plan FEP Blue 

Focus (the lowest-cost nationwide plan option for 2019 as determined by OPM). To 

inform employees of these terminating plans, please distribute this list to your tribal 

employees. It is your responsibility to monitor tribal employees who are covered by 

these terminating plans 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 they will be affected by 2019 FEHB plan or service area 

terminations. 

Table 1: Plans Leaving the FEHB Program 

What Must Tribal Employees Do? 

• Tribal employees in terminating plans (Table 1) must enroll in a new health plan 

during Open Season if they want coverage. If they do not enroll in a new FEHB 

plan, they will be enrolled in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Service Benefit Plan 

FEP Blue Focus (the lowest-cost nationwide plan option for 2019 as determined 

by OPM). 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• New Coverage: Coverage under an FEHB enrollee’s new health plan will be 

effective beginning January 1, 2019. FEHB enrollees will remain covered and 

receive the 2018 benefits of the old plan until coverage under the new plan 

becomes effective. 

What Must You Do? 

• You must notify tribal employees enrolled in the plans listed in Table 1 to select 

new plans. Advise your tribal employees if they do not choose new FEHB plans, 

they will be enrolled in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Service Benefit Plan FEP 

Blue Focus (the lowest-cost nationwide plan option for 2019 as determined by 

OPM). 

• Distribute copies of this list to tribal employees with your tribal employer’s notice 

about Open Season along with copies of the second attachment, FastFacts: What 

to do When Your Health Plan is Terminating Coverage in Your Area or Leaving 

the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program. 

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

• Belated changes: Some tribal 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 tribal employees enrolled in terminating plans 

or plans with service area reductions and terminating enrollment codes. 

What Will Health Plans Do? 

Plan Notification: The plans in Table 1 have been instructed to notify FEHB enrollees 

of the need to select new FEHB plans for 2019; however, because some plans’ 

enrollment and address lists may not be up-to-date, we encourage you to accept belated 

changes. 

Table 2: FEHB Plans Reducing Service Areas without Terminating Enrollment 

Codes 

What Must Tribal Employees Do? 

Tribal employees in the service areas being terminated should elect a new FEHB health 

plan for 2019; however, tribal employees who do not choose a new FEHB health plan 

will only have emergency services where they live and will have to travel to their plan’s 

remaining service area to receive full benefits. 

What Must You Do? 

• You must notify tribal employees enrolled in the plans listed in Table 2 to select a 

new FEHB plan. Advise your tribal employees if they do not choose a new FEHB 

plan, they will only have emergency services where they live and they will have 

to travel to their plan’s remaining service area to receive full benefits in 2019. 

• Distribute copies of this list to employees with your tribal employer’s notice about 

Open Season along with copies of the second attachment, FastFacts: What to do 

When Your Health Plan is Terminating Coverage in Your Area or Leaving the 

Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program. 

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

FEHB plan. 

• Belated changes: Some tribal 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 the plan reducing its 

service area. 

What Will Health Plans Do? 

Plan Notification: The plans in Table 2 have been instructed to notify FEHB enrollees 

that their respective service areas are being terminated. If FEHB enrollees do not choose 

another FEHB health plan, the enrollees will only have emergency services where they 

live and they will have to travel to their plan’s remaining service area to receive full 

benefits in 2019. However, because a plan’s enrollment and address lists may not be upto-date, we encourage you to accept belated changes. 

Table 3: FEHB Plans Terminating Option and Enrollment Codes 

What Must Employees Do? 

• Tribal employees in the plan dropping an option (Table 3) may choose a new 

health plan during Open Season or remain with their current plan and be switched 

automatically into the plan’s option specified in Table 3. 

• New Coverage: Coverage under an enrollee’s new health plan or option will be 

effective January 1, 2019. 

What Must You Do? 

• Advise your tribal employees who are enrolled in the plan that is dropping an 

option (Table 3) that if they do not choose a new health plan, they will be 

automatically transferred into the plan’s option as specified in Table 3. 

• Distribute copies of this list to tribal employees with your tribal employer’s notice 

about Open Season. 

• Follow up with tribal employees in the plan and remind them that if they do not 

choose a new health plan, they will be automatically transferred into the plan’s 

option specified in Table 3. 

• Belated changes: Some tribal employees still might not receive instructions 

regarding their plan dropping an option. We encourage you to be liberal in 

accepting belated Open Season changes from tribal employees enrolled in the 

plan dropping an option listed in Table 3. 

What Will the Health Plan Do? 

• Plan Notification: The plan in Table 3 has been instructed to notify enrollees 

that their current plan option is being discontinued and that if they do not change 

to another plan during Open Season, they will be switched automatically into the 

plan’s option specified in Table 3. 

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Table 4: Plans Adding New Options and Enrollment Codes 

Table 5: Service Area Expansions Without New Enrollment Codes 

Table 6: Service Area Expansions Adding New Enrollment Codes 

Table 7: New Plan Entering the FEHB Program 

What Must You Do? 

You must include the plans with new options, the plans with expanded service areas, and 

the new plan entering the FEHB Program (Tables 4-7) when you count the number of 

eligible tribal employees and place your order for brochures. 

We encourage you and your tribal employees to visit our website at 

www.opm.gov/tribalprograms for the most up-to-date information. Please note that 2019 

Plan information will be posted on our website in early November. 

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

Season. 

Sincerely, 

Alan P. Spielman 

Director 

Healthcare and Insurance 

Attachments 

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