OPM is asking whether to cut FEHB plans
Nothing changes for 2027. Comments close November 16.
Your 2027 plan is not affected. Open Season runs November 9 to December 14 on the existing menu. Any real change would need a separate proposed rule, with its own comment period, before it could apply to a later year.
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1. What OPM actually published
On September 15, 2026, OPM published a request for information titled Federal Employees Health Benefits Program: Optimizing FEHB Plan Offerings. It asks how the program's plan options should be structured to give enrollees high-value choices at competitive cost, and whether the current number and distribution of options is right.
The single most important fact about it: a request for information changes nothing. It does not alter any plan, premium, benefit, or enrollment rule. It is the step an agency takes before deciding whether to propose a rule at all. OPM says it will use what it learns to judge whether to pursue changes through future notice-and-comment rulemaking — a separate document, published separately, with its own comment period.
The review covers the Postal Service Health Benefits program as well as FEHB.
2. The rule it is questioning
Under 5 CFR 890.201(b)(3)(i), each carrier can offer at most:
| Structure | What a carrier may offer |
|---|---|
| Standard | Up to three options |
| With an HDHP | Two options plus one high-deductible health plan |
That cap is per carrier. Across all carriers, the result is the long menu enrollees see each Open Season.
Notice what the request does and does not say. It does not announce an intention to reduce the menu. It explicitly leaves more, fewer, or different options on the table — and it follows two earlier rule changes that went the other way, expanding carriers' flexibility. So "OPM is cutting plans" overstates it. "OPM is openly considering whether the menu should be smaller" is accurate.
3. Why now
Premiums. The average total premium rose 13.5% for 2025 and 12.3% for 2026, two consecutive double-digit years. Plan structure is one lever OPM can examine without touching the government contribution formula.
Value. OPM's 2023 Federal Employee Benefits Survey found 90% of respondents considered the program's availability important and 94% felt it met their needs — but only 66% called it good or excellent value. That gap is the problem the request is aimed at.
Policy. OPM's FY 2026–2027 performance plan includes an objective to set evidence-based criteria for the appropriate number and distribution of health plan options. This request is the fact-finding step for that objective.
4. What could change, and what could not
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Does anything change for 2027? | No — rates and benefits were negotiated over the summer |
| Could my plan eventually be dropped? | Possibly, in a later year, if a rule is proposed and finalized |
| Could options be added instead? | Yes — the request leaves that open |
| Does it change the government contribution? | No — that formula is set by statute |
| Does it affect carrying FEHB into retirement? | No — the five-year rule is untouched |
If your plan were eventually withdrawn, you would not lose coverage. Enrollees in a discontinued plan get the chance to choose another, just as happens now when a carrier leaves the program. The practical risk is being moved off a plan that suits you — a particular network or formulary tier — rather than losing FEHB itself.
Enrollees on smaller regional plans or narrow options that exist precisely because the current cap lets carriers offer several. If the menu consolidates, those are the options most likely to be affected. If you are on one and it works for you, that is worth saying in a comment.
5. How to comment
- Go to regulations.gov and search for Optimizing FEHB Plan Offerings.
- Submit by November 16, 2026. Late comments are not guaranteed consideration.
- Be specific. "Keep my plan" carries little weight. "This option is the only one in my area with my specialist in network, and losing it would mean switching doctors mid-treatment" informs a decision.
- Say which program you are in — FEHB or PSHB — and whether you are an employee or annuitant.
- Leave out personal details you would not want published. Comments are generally posted publicly as received.
6. What to do for 2027
Nothing in this request should change your Open Season decision. Choose the 2027 plan on its own merits.
Compare twelve months of premium plus twelve months of expected out-of-pocket cost rather than the premium line alone, check your prescriptions' formulary tiers, and confirm your doctors are in network. Those comparisons are covered in FEHB 2027: what changes and the enrollment tier guide.
If you are within five years of retiring, the only rule that matters here is continuity: switching plans is fine, a gap in enrollment is not. See the five-year rule.
7. Frequently asked questions
Is OPM cutting FEHB plans?
Not yet, and not directly. OPM published a request for information on September 15, 2026 asking whether the number and type of plan options should change. A request for information is a fact-finding step, not a rule: it changes no plan, premium, benefit or enrollment rule. Any actual change would require a separate proposed rule with its own comment period before it could take effect.
Will this affect my 2027 coverage?
No. The 2027 plan year was negotiated with carriers over the summer, and Open Season runs November 9 to December 14, 2026 on the existing plan menu. The earliest any change resulting from this request could apply is a later plan year, and only after further rulemaking.
What is the current limit on plan options?
Under 5 CFR 890.201(b)(3)(i), each FEHB carrier may offer up to three options, or two options plus a high-deductible health plan. The request for information asks whether that structure still makes sense, and explicitly leaves more, fewer, or different options on the table.
How do I comment?
Through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at regulations.gov, searching for the notice titled Federal Employees Health Benefits Program: Optimizing FEHB Plan Offerings. Comments must be received by November 16, 2026. Submissions are generally posted publicly as received, including any personal information you include, so leave out anything you would not want published.
Why is OPM doing this now?
The request follows two consecutive years of double-digit premium increases, 13.5 percent for 2025 and 12.3 percent for 2026, and ties to an objective in OPM’s performance plan to set evidence-based criteria for the right number and distribution of plan options. OPM’s own survey data found most enrollees consider the program important and meeting their needs, but a much smaller share rate it as good value.