More Federal Employees Will Have Access To Dental And Vision Benefits, According To OPM.
More federal employees will have access to dental and vision benefits, according to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). As per the proposed regulation published in the Federal Register, the OPM wants to extend dental and vision benefits to nearly 86,000 federal employees.
The proposed rule extends dental and vision coverage under the Federal Employees Dental & Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) to part-time and seasonal federal employees who work at least 130 hours monthly for 90 days or more.
It also extends FEDVIP benefits to firemen on temporary assignments and intermittent emergency responders who may not be expected to work 130 hours a month for 90 days or more.
Since 2012, these firefighters have been eligible to join the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program, and since 2015, temporary and seasonal federal employees have also been eligible.
Certain Postal Service personnel would be subject to the rule as well. FEDVIP would be available to certain temporary USPS employees who worked at least 130 hours monthly for at least 90 days.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) does not expect that this regulation will have a significant influence on the broader dental and vision insurance markets. The proposed rule will be open for public comment until December 20, 2021.
What Changes?
Employees who work at least 130 hours per month and are likely to do so for the next 90 days are currently eligible for FEHB but not Federal Employees Dental & Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP). According to IRS criteria, such employees are full-time workers, but they do not work the required 33 hours per week to be deemed full-time federal employees.
Employees that are recruited seasonally or for a limited length of time yet work near-full-time schedules throughout that time are also included in this category. Employees who work less than 130 hours per week may also be eligible for FEDVIP coverage.
“According to current FEDVIP regulations, certain firemen on temporary assignments and recurrent emergency personnel for wildland fire prevention are not eligible to enroll.” The proposed rule notes that “these employees are separate from the groups indicated above because they may not be expected to work 130 hours each calendar month for 90 days or longer.”
“Eligibility to enroll in the FEHB Program was extended in 2012, upon request by an employing agency, to employees in positions that offer emergency response services for wildland fire prevention, as well as personnel conducting similar kinds of emergency response services if approved by OPM.” These employees will also be eligible to participate in Federal Employees Dental & Vision Insurance Program under this proposed rule.”
Enrollments under the new eligibility rule would take place within 60 days of the final rule’s publication.
To minimize a coverage gap, the rule would extend the registration time for active duty service members transitioning to uniformed services retirees.
Military members have 60 days from the date of their status change to uniformed service retirees to enroll in FEDVIP, and enrollment takes effect at the commencement of the first pay cycle after the enrollment information is received, according to existing regulations. Because of the existing system, individuals may face a gap in coverage throughout their transfer.
Instead, the proposed rule by OPM would extend the enrollment period to encompass the 31 days before a retired service member’s other vision or dental coverage expires, allowing registration in the Federal Employees Dental & Vision Insurance Program plan to begin when the old coverage expires.
If they or a family member became qualified for Veterans Affairs dental and vision services, current FEDVIP enrollees would have a new option for canceling or lowering their coverage.
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Mark, a lifelong Tulsan graduated from Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting. Mark served in the United States Army as a Captain in the 486th Civil Affairs BN. Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and retired in 1996. Mark is married to his high school sweetheart Jenny and has four beautiful children. Mark’s passion for his work, which includes over 20 years in the Financial Industry started as an Oklahoma State Bank Examiner. Mark examined banks throughout Oklahoma gaining a vast knowledge and experience on bank investments, small business and family investments. Mark’s experiences include being formally trained by UBS Wealth Management, a global investment firm where he served as a Financial Consultant specializing in Wealth Management for individuals & families. Mark is a licensed Series 24 and 28 General Securities Principal and an Introducing Broker Dealer Financial Operations Principal. Additionally, Mark is a Series 7 and 66 stockbroker and Investment Advisor focusing on market driven investments for individuals, businesses and their families.
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