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Attachment 3: Process FEHB Enrollment Actions

Tribal Benefits Officers’ Responsibilities for Processing FEHB Enrollment Actions

1. Prompt Processing – It is important that you process FEHB Open Season enrollments and 

enrollment changes promptly into the Tribal Insurance Processing System (TIPS). 

2. Verification of Tribal Employee Coverage – Tribal employees may become concerned 

when they do not receive their identification cards from a new plan within a short time after 

the end of Open Season. If a tribal employee asks you about this, you must contact the 

health plan to verify that they were notified of the change and to determine the reason for the 

delay and relay the tribal employee’s request for identification cards. 

A tribal employee may need verification of coverage under his/her plan before the health 

plan processes the FEHB enrollment or enrollment change. You should verify that the tribal 

employee is covered under the plan and inform the requesting party (e.g., carrier, doctor, or 

hospital) of the effective date of coverage. You should also remind tribal employees that 

their copy of the Health Benefits Election Form, the Standard Form (SF) 2809, is acceptable 

as proof of FEHB enrollment (except for prescription drugs) until they receive their 

identification cards from the plan. 

Belated Enrollment Actions 

You do not have the authority to extend the FEHB Open Season for your tribal 

employees or a group of your tribal employees, even if you did not provide adequate 

notice or information regarding the FEHB Open Season. However, you have the 

authority to accept individual late elections if you determine a tribal employee was unable to 

submit the election on time due to circumstances beyond the tribal employee’s control. 

While we normally encourage you to make limited use of this authority, we recommend that 

you take a liberal view in cases where a tribal employee’s plan is terminating its FEHB 

participation or reducing its service area. 

If you decide to accept a tribal employee’s late election, write “Belated Open Season” 

enrollment/change” in the “Remarks” section of the SF 2809. You must attach the tribal 

employee’s statement explaining why he/she could not enroll or change on time (or add your 

own note if the reason was a tribal employer problem) to Copy 1 (the Tribal Employee 

Personnel Folder copy) of the SF 2809. Please enter the FEHB enrollment information into 

TIPS as soon as possible so the tribal employee will receive an ID card from the plan. 

If you decide the delay in filing is not due to a cause beyond the tribal employee’s control, do 

not accept the tribal employee’s late request. You must notify the tribal employee in writing 

that you are not approving the late FEHB enrollment. You should give the reason for your 

denial and include a statement of the tribal employee’s right to request reconsideration within 

30 days after the date of your notice. 
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Effective Date of FEHB Open Season Enrollments and Enrollment Changes

• From not enrolled to enrolled, the effective date is Wednesday January 1, 2020 

following a pay period during any part of which the tribal employee is in pay 

status. 

• For enrollment changes, the effective date is Wednesday January 1, 2020 

regardless of whether the tribal employee is in pay status during the preceding pay 

period. 

Cancellations 

Effective Date of FEHB Open Season Cancellations – An Open Season cancellation is 

effective at the end of the day on December 31, 2019. Outside of Open Season, tribal employees

who participate in premium conversion may only cancel their FEHB enrollment due to a 

Qualifying Life Event (QLE). Tribal employees who waived participation in premium 

conversion may cancel their FEHB enrollment at any time without waiting for a QLE or Open 

Season.

If a tribal employee is canceling his/her FEHB enrollment in order to be covered as a family 

member by a spouse’s FEHB Open Season enrollment, be sure to coordinate the effective date of 

the cancellation with the effective date of the spouse’s enrollment to prevent a break in FEHB 

coverage.