R 131247Z NOV 09 ALCGCIV 032/09 SUBJ: FEDERAL BENEFITS OPEN SEASON 1. THE FEDERAL BENEFITS OPEN SEASON BEGINS ON 9 NOVEMBER 2009 AND ENDS ON 14 DECEMBER 2009. YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO ELECT COVERAGE AS A FEDERAL EMPLOYEE UNLESS YOUR POSITION IS EXCLUDED BY LAW OR REGULATION. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR ELIGIBILITY, CONTACT YOUR COMMAND STAFF ADVISOR (CSA), HUMAN RESOURCES (HR) SPECIALIST OR EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SPECIALIST. 2. IF ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE, YOU MAY ENROLL IN OR CHANGE YOUR EXISTING ENROLLMENT IN A HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN UNDER THE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS (FEHB) PROGRAM; ENROLL IN OR CHANGE AN EXISTING ENROLLMENT IN A DENTAL OR VISION PLAN UNDER THE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES DENTAL AND VISION INSURANCE PROGRAM (FEDVIP); OR SIGN UP FOR A FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT (FSA) FOR HEALTH OR DEPENDENT CARE UNDER THE FEDERAL FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT PROGRAM (FSAFEDS). 3. TO ENROLL IN AN FEHB PLAN OR TO MAKE CHANGES TO YOUR FEHB ENROLLMENT DURING THE OPEN SEASON, YOU MUST USE MY EMPLOYEE PERSONAL PAGE (MYEPP) AT HTTPS://WWW.NFC.USDA.GOV/PERSONAL. CONTACT THE NATIONAL FINANCE CENTER (NFC) AT CUSTOMERS (AT) USDA.GOV OR TELEPHONE NFC ON 504-255-5230 FOR WEBSITE ASSISTANCE. FOR ENROLLMENT QUESTIONS, CONTACT YOUR CSA, HR SPECIALIST OR EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SPECIALIST. ENROLLMENTS AND CHANGES MADE DURING OPEN SEASON WILL BECOME EFFECTIVE 3 JANUARY 2010. IF YOU ENROLL OR CHANGE YOUR ENROLLMENT DURING OPEN SEASON, YOU SHOULD KEEP A COPY OF THE MYEPP CONFIRMATION. THIS COPY ACTS AS PROOF OF ENROLLMENT UNTIL YOU RECEIVE AN ID CARD FROM THE HEALTH PLAN. IF YOU ARE ALREADY ENROLLED IN AN FEHB PLAN AND MAKE NO ELECTION, YOUR COVERAGE WILL CONTINUE AUTOMATICALLY, ALTHOUGH BENEFITS AND PREMIUMS MAY CHANGE. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FEHB PROGRAM, VISIT HTTP://WWW.OPM.GOV/INSURE/HEALTH. 4. SIGNIFICANT EVENTS ARE AFFECTING CERTAIN PLANS DURING THIS OPEN SEASON. SOME OF THESE EVENTS WILL REQUIRE ACTION ON THE PART OF ENROLLEES. THESE END-OF-YEAR CHANGES ARE DESCRIBED IN THE BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION LETTER (BAL) 09-405 AVAILABLE ON THE OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (OPM) WEBSITE AT HTTP://OPM.GOV/INSURE/HEALTH/REFERENCE/HR.ASP. YOU MAY BE ADVERSELY AFFECTED IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY ENROLLED IN THE FOLLOWING PLANS AND DO NOT TAKE ACTION: PACIFICARE OF CALIFORNIA, ANTHEM BLUE CROSS OF CALIFORNIA, AETNA OPEN ACCESS OF CONNECTICUT, HUMANA COVERAGE FIRST OF FLORIDA, AETNA OPEN ACCESS OF NORTH CAROLINA, AETNA OPEN ACCESS OF PENNSYLVANIA, M.D. IPA OF VIRGINA, CONNECTICARE OF CONNECTICUT, GROUP HEALTH PLAN OF ILLINOIS, CONNECTICARE OF MASSACHUSSETS, UNITED HEALTH CARE OF OHIO, PARAMOUNT HEALTH CARE OF OHIO, KEYSTONE HEALTH PLAN CENTRAL AND EAST OF PENNSYLVANIA, AETNA OPEN ACCESS OF OKLAHOMA, AETNA OPEN ACCESS OF TEXAS AND BLUE SHIELD OF CALIFORNIA. 5. IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO RETIRE BEFORE 3 JANUARY 2010, DO NOT MAKE AN FEHB ELECTION OR CHANGE USING MYEPP. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SPECIALIST FOR ASSISTANCE. 6. PREMIUM CONVERSION ALLOWS YOU TO PAY FEHB PREMIUMS ON A PRE TAX BASIS. FEHB PARTICIPANTS ARE AUTOMATICALLY ENROLLED IN PREMIUM CONVERSION UNLESS COVERAGE IS WAIVED. IF YOU WISH TO CHANGE YOUR PREMIUM CONVERSION ELECTION YOU SHOULD OBTAIN AN FEHB PREMIUM CONVERSION WAIVER/ELECTION FORM FROM YOUR CSA, HR SPECIALIST, EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SPECIALIST OR ONLINE AT HTTP://WWW.USCG.MIL/CIVILIANHR/BENEFITS/BENEFITS.ASP. 7. TO ENROLL IN A FEDVIP DENTAL OR VISION PLAN, YOU MAY SIGN UP AT WWW.BENEFEDS.COM OR CALL 1-877-888-3337, TTY 1-877-889-5680. FEDVIP ELECTIONS OR CHANGES WILL BE EFFECTIVE 1 JANUARY 2010. IF YOU ARE ALREADY ENROLLED IN A FEDVIP PLAN AND MAKE NO ELECTION, YOUR COVERAGE WILL CONTINUE AUTOMATICALLY, ALTHOUGH BENEFITS AND PREMIUMS MAY CHANGE. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT DENTAL PLANS OFFERED, VISIT HTTP://WWW.OPM.GOV/INSURE/DENTAL/. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT VISION PLANS OFFERED, VISIT HTTP://WWW.OPM.GOV/INSURE/VISION. 8. THREE FSA PLANS ARE OFFERED. THE HEALTH CARE FSA (HCFSA) ALLOWS YOU TO USE PRE-TAX ALLOTMENTS TO PAY FOR CERTAIN HEALTH CARE EXPENSES NOT REIMBURSED BY FEHB OR ANY OTHER SOURCE AND NOT CLAIMED ON INCOME TAX RETURNS. THE DEPENDENT CARE FSA (DCFSA) ALLOWS THE USE OF PRE-TAX ALLOTMENTS TO PAY FOR ELIGIBLE DEPENDENT CARE EXPENSES. THE LIMITED EXPENSE HCFSA (LEX HCFSA) ALLOWS YOU TO USE PRE-TAX ALLOTMENTS TO PAY FOR ELIGIBLE DENTAL AND VISION EXPENSES IF YOU ARE COVERED BY A HIGH DEDUCTIBLE HEALTH PLAN (HDHP) WITH A HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNT (HSA). THE HCFSA, AND LEX HCFSA ACCOUNTS ALLOW A MAXIMUM CONTRIBUTION OF 5,000 DOLLARS EACH PER PLAN YEAR. THE DCFSA MAXIMUM ANNUAL ELECTION IS 5,000 DOLLARS PER HOUSEHOLD OR 2,500 DOLLARS PER PERSON IF MARRIED, FILING SEPARATELY. TO OPEN AN FSAFEDS ACCOUNT, GO TO WWW.FSAFEDS.COM OR CALL 1-877-372-3337. FSA ELECTIONS WILL BE EFFECTIVE 1 JANUARY 2010. IF YOU ALREADY HAVE AN FSAFEDS ACCOUNT, IT WILL NOT CONTINUE AUTOMATICALLY. YOU MUST REENROLL EACH OPEN SEASON TO CONTINUE YOUR PARTICIPATION IN FSAFEDS. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE FSAFEDS PROGRAM, VISIT WWW.FSAFEDS.COM. 9. THE "GUIDE TO FEDERAL BENEFITS" INCLUDES FEHB, FEDVIP AND FSA PLAN INFORMATION. TO OBTAIN A COPY OF THE "GUIDE TO FEDERAL BENEFITS" THAT LISTS ALL PLAN CHOICES, PLAN HIGHLIGHTS AND COSTS, VISIT HTTP://WWW.OPM.GOV/INSURE/HEALTH/PLANINFO/GUIDES/INDEX.ASP. PERMANENT EMPLOYEES SHOULD GET THE 2010 "GUIDE TO FEDERAL HEALTH BENEFITS: FOR FEDERAL CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES" (RI 70-1). TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES SHOULD GET THE 2010 "GUIDE TO FEDERAL BENEFITS: FOR CERTAIN TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES". BEFORE SELECTING AN FEHB, FEDVIP OR FSA PLAN, YOU SHOULD REFER TO INDIVIDUAL PLAN BROCHURES FOR MORE SPECIFIC INFORMATION. THESE BROCHURES CAN BE FOUND AT HTTP://WWW.OPM.GOV/INSURE/HEALTH/PLANINFO/INDEX.ASP. 10. CINDY NELSON-POSSINGER, CHIEF, OFFICE OF CIVILIAN PERSONNEL, SENDS. 11. 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