OPM Seeks Public Input on Restructuring FEHB Plan Option Limits

Background and Scope

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has published a request for information (RFI) seeking public comment on how to optimize the health plan options offered through the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program and its companion Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Program. The stated goal is to give enrollees high-value choices at competitive costs while ensuring the appropriate number and distribution of options are available. Information gathered through the RFI will inform OPM as to whether modifications to current FEHB regulations are needed through future notice-and-comment rulemaking, according to the document.

The FEHB Program was established in 1960 and is described in the document as the largest employer-sponsored health insurance program in the United States. There are approximately 8.3 million covered individuals in the FEHB Program, including employees of the federal government, annuitants, covered family members, former spouses, and statutorily eligible groups enumerated in 5 U.S.C. 8901, as well as tribal employees of tribal employers pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 1647b. Postal Service employees, Postal Service annuitants, and their family members are eligible for health benefits under the PSHB Program pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 8903c. OPM administers the program in accordance with Title 5 Chapter 89 of the United States Code and implementing regulations at 5 CFR parts 890 and 892 and 48 CFR chapter 16.

Current Plan Option Structure and Regulatory History

Under the existing regulatory framework at 5 CFR 890.201(b)(3)(i), health benefits plans in the FEHB Program are limited to offering three options or two options and a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). For Plan Year 2026, there are 132 plan options from 47 Carriers in the FEHB Program and 75 plan options from 17 Carriers in the PSHB Program.

The document traces two prior rulemakings that shaped the current structure. In 2010 (75 FR 76615), OPM amended 5 CFR 890.201 to allow eligible FEHB plans to offer three options without requiring one of them to be an HDHP, a change that applied to employee organization plans and health maintenance organizations described in 5 U.S.C. 8904(3) and (4). Then in 2018 (83 FR 18399), OPM further revised the regulations so that all health benefits plans — including the Service Benefit Plan described in 5 U.S.C. 8903(1) and the Indemnity Benefit Plan described in 5 U.S.C. 8903(2) — could offer three options or two options and an HDHP.

Questions OPM Is Posing

The RFI is framed around OPM's stated interest in managing premium growth and supports the FY 2026-2027 Annual Performance Plan's Strategic Objective 2.3, which seeks to "establish and apply evidence-based criteria to assess the appropriate number and distribution of health plan options available to enrollees," according to the notice.

OPM is asking stakeholders to address whether more, fewer, or different plan options would lessen cost burdens or mitigate premium increases for enrollees and reduce the government contribution. The agency also asks whether a wider variety of options would drive enrollees toward lower-premium plans, and how enrollees can best be informed about cost-sharing when options with lower premiums involve higher deductibles. The notice further inquires whether there should be a threshold or upper limit on plan premiums, and whether a plan should be required to eliminate an offering if its premiums exceed that limit and are not reduced. OPM additionally asks about the cost implications for FEHB Program Carriers if plan options are restructured, and about the impact of expanding HDHPs with health savings accounts on both enrollees and the government.

The document notes that enrollee satisfaction in the FEHB Program remains high: the 2023 Federal Employee Benefits Survey (FEBS) reported that 90% of respondents considered FEHB Program availability as "extremely important/important" and 94% believed it "meets needs to a great or moderate" degree.

What to Watch

Comments in response to the RFI must be received by OPM on or before November 16, 2026. OPM has stated that the information gathered will inform whether modifications to current FEHB regulations are warranted through a future, separate notice-and-comment rulemaking process.

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