Perspective | Open season for feds closes Monday. It’s not too late to consider health plans.

The Washington Post: Open season for the nation’s largest, employer-sponsored health insurance program closes soon. The period when federal employees can select an insurance plan from the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program began Nov. 13 and generally will end at midnight Monday. Just so there’s no confusion: That’s Monday at 11:59:59 p.m. But Uncle Sam resists simple, so here’s information that could confuse things. The Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) website, BENEFEDS.com, and the Federal Flexible Spending Account Program website, FSAFEDS.com, will stop accepting open-season enrollments at midnight Eastern time. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) says “midnight” for FEHB will be determined by the electronic enrollment system utilized by various agencies. More information is available on its website. Make selections sooner rather than later to avoid any uncertainty. To help those who still haven’t made a selection, and possibly get a better deal, we contacted three FEHB experts.  Below are answers to a few questions I asked Walt Francis, an independent health economist and chief author of Checkbook’s annual Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees & Annuitants; James Marshall, deputy director of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) Federal Benefits Institute; and Laurie Bodenheimer, OPM’s deputy director of health care and insurance.

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