United States 

Office of 

Personnel Management 

The Federal Government’s Human Resources Agency

Benefits Administration Letter 

Number: 06-401 Date: January 4, 2006 

Subject: Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program: Extended Coverage 

for Employees Called to Active Military Duty

PURPOSE 

The National Defense Authorization Act for 2005 (Public Law 108-375), signed by President 

Bush on October 28, 2004, provides extended FEHB coverage to Federal employees called to 

active duty and who meet certain requirements, including serving in support of a contingency 

operation. 

The Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-454), signed by President 

Bush on December 10, 2004, provides extended FEHB coverage for Federal employees absent 

from their employment to serve in the uniformed services. 

This Benefits Administration Letter explains how to provide the continued FEHB coverage 

authorized by these Acts. 

PUBLIC LAW 108-375

P.L. 108-375 amended FEHB law to provide up to 24 months of continued FEHB coverage for 

Federal employees who are called to active duty in support of a contingency operation (5 U.S.C. 

8905a), and to authorize agencies to pay the employee’s share and the Government’s share of 

premiums for up to 24 months (5 U.S.C. 8906 (e)(3)). The Act provides that this enhanced 

benefit is available for any employee who: 

(1) is enrolled in the FEHB Program; 

(2) is a member of a reserve component of the armed forces; 

(3) is called or ordered to active duty in support of a contingency operation (as defined in 

section 101(a)(13) of title 10 U.S.C.); 

(4) is placed on leave without pay or separated from service to perform active duty; and 

(5) serves on active duty for more than 30 consecutive days. 

The expanded authority for agency premium payments authorized by P.L. 108-375 is a valuable 

benefit that helps reservists and their families shoulder the cost of health care during a time when 
additional benefits are needed most. Therefore, OPM continues to encourage you to assist 

employee reservists by paying the employee and the Government shares of FEHB premiums for 

up to 24 months based on guidelines specified in this law. 

P.L. 108-375 Effective Date 

These changes apply to employees called or ordered to active duty in support of a contingency 

operation on or after September 14, 2001, who meet the above requirements. 

General Processing and Counseling Information 

Since the amendments to FEHB law authorized by P.L. 108-375 are retroactive, we expect that 

you may be extending coverage for: (1) reservists who are on active duty who are currently 

enrolled in FEHB, (2) reservists on active duty whose enrollments terminated after 18 months 

and request the additional coverage, and (3) reservists who have been discharged from active 

duty and request the additional coverage. Although the processing guidelines for these 

categories are in separate sections below, the general information in this section applies to all. 

• If the employee’s FEHB terminated after 18 months, you must contact the employee and ask 

him/her if they want the additional 6 months coverage. When giving the employee this 

option, you should inform them that if their FEHB is extended, FEHB becomes the primary 

payer and TRICARE secondary. Any payments made by TRICARE during that 6-month 

period could be reconciled with the FEHB carrier and any benefit adjustments could cause a 

difference in amounts owed by the enrollee. Factors such as covered vs. non-covered 

services, network vs. out-of-network providers, deductibles, co-pays, coinsurance, HMO 

geographic considerations, and catastrophic coverage applications may alter total enrollee 

out-of-pocket expenses. Because of these potential financial consequences, do not make any 

retroactive reinstatements or corrections until you have the employee’s consent. 

• When you prepare Standard Form (SF) 2810 (Notice of Change in Health Benefits 

Enrollment) to reinstate a terminated enrollment or to correct a termination or reinstatement 

date, note in the “Remarks” section, “P.L. 108-375 extends coverage for up to 6 months 

during active duty.” 

• Please work with your payroll offices to ensure that the proper premium payments are 

generated after you process all actions shown below. If your agency does not pay premiums 

for these reservists, you must advise them that they are responsible for the premiums for the 

extended coverage. 

• If you receive questions from annuitants, direct them to OPM or to the appropriate retirement 

system. 

• Attached is a table that summarizes the processing guidelines for employees on active duty 

and for employees discharged from active duty. 

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• For more information on Reinstatement of Enrollment and Correction of Information on 

Forms, please refer to the FEHB Handbook at Eligibility for Health Benefits, Page 4 of 4. 

Employees on Active Duty 

• If the employee is on active duty and enrolled in FEHB, and you have not yet advised these 

employees (or their dependents) that their coverage extends for 24 months, you must do so. 

Then use SF 2810 to terminate the enrollment at the end of 24 months. 

• If the employee is on active duty and you terminated the enrollment after 18 months, contact 

the employee and ask him/her if they want the additional 6 months coverage. If they do, use 

SF 2810 to reinstate the enrollment the day after the 18-month termination effective date. If 

the employee is still on active duty at the end of the additional 6 months, use SF 2810 to 

terminate the coverage again. If the employee does not want the additional 6 months 

coverage, do nothing. If you are unable to reach the employee, do nothing until you get 

his/her consent to reinstate the enrollment. 

• If the employee is on active duty and the additional 6 months has expired, contact the 

employee and ask him/her if they want the additional 6 months coverage. If they do, prepare 

SF 2810 to correct the 18-month termination effective date to a date that is 6 months later. 

If the employee does not want the additional 6 months coverage, do nothing. If you are 

unable to reach the employee, do nothing until you get his/her consent to correct the 

termination date. 

Employees Discharged from Active Duty 

Notify employees who have been discharged from active duty and whose FEHB terminated after 

18 months that they are eligible for extended FEHB coverage if requested. If the employee 

provides documentation (DD form 214) showing the dates of active duty, you may process the 

employee’s request for up to 6 additional months of coverage during active duty. 

• If the employee was discharged after the additional 6 months ended, prepare SF 2810 to 

correct the 18-month termination effective date to a date that is 6 months later. 

• If the employee was discharged before the end of the additional 6 months, reinstate the 

enrollment the day after the 18-month termination effective date. If the employee returned to 

civilian employment during the additional 6 months, no further enrollment action should be 

required. 

• If you previously reinstated the FEHB that terminated after 18 months, (e.g., employee 

returned to civilian employment) prepare SF 2810 to correct the reinstatement date to the 

day after the 18-month termination effective date. If the employee returned to civilian 

employment during the additional 6 months, no further enrollment action should be required. 

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PUBLIC LAW 108-454 

Public Law 108-454, the Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2004, was enacted 

December 10, 2004. It amended 38 U.S.C. 4317(a)(1)(A) to extend from 18 to 24 months the 

length of an employee’s health insurance coverage when the employee is absent because of 

service in the uniformed services. For FEHB purposes, this law applies to employees who are 

called to active duty but do not meet all the requirements of P.L. 108-375. Generally, these 

employees have orders that do not show that they are called to active duty in support of a 

contingency operation. As before, they do not meet the requirements of FEHB law for agency 

premium payment during active duty. 

P.L. 108-454 Effective Date 

This amendment applies to elections made on or after December 10, 2004. “Elections” 

generally refers to an expressed intention to continue FEHB during active duty, and may consist 

of a statement showing an employee’s intent to continue FEHB (for example, a counseling check 

list or memo). 

Employees who were called to active duty and elected to continue their health insurance 

coverage before December 10, 2004, can continue their FEHB enrollment for only 18 months. 

Some of these employees may still be on active duty. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

If you have further questions about the continued FEHB coverage authorized by P.L. 108-375 

and P.L. 108-454, please contact Ronald Brown at 202-606-0004, or by e-mail at 

Ronald.Brown@opm.gov. As we develop questions and answers about this topic, we will add 

them to “FEHB for Federal Civilian Employees who Perform Active Military Duty” in the 

Frequently Asked Questions section of our FEHB webpage. You may access our webpage at 

www.opm.gov/insure/health.

 Sincerely, 

 Robert F. Danbeck 

 Associate Director 

 for Human Resources Products and Services 

Attachment: P.L. 108-375 Processing Table 

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