Every autumn, federal employees and retirees receive the same quiet invitation: review your health plan, or let it renew as it is. Most people choose the second option, and for many it works out fine. But health plans change their premiums, benefits and networks every year, and a plan that fit you in 2026 may not be the best fit in 2027. A short, structured FEHB open season review is one of the most useful hours you can spend on your finances this year.
This guide walks you through that review in three stages: what to gather before open season starts, what to compare while it is open and what to confirm once you have chosen. It uses the latest figures published by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for plan year 2027, and it points out where Puerto Rico residents may want to look a little closer.
You do not need to be a benefits expert to do this well. You need your own numbers, a few hours and a clear idea of what you want the plan to do for you and your family. The sections below show you how to put those pieces together, without hype and without pressure.
Why Open Season Deserves Your Attention This Year
Open season is the annual window when you can change your Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) plan, switch between Self Only, Self Plus One and Self and Family, or drop coverage you no longer need. If you do nothing, your coverage generally renews automatically, along with whatever has changed in the plan. That is convenient, but it also means a rising premium or a smaller network can arrive without any action on your part.
This year the numbers make the review more worthwhile than usual. The next two subsections cover the calendar and the cost changes.
The Dates to Put on Your Calendar
According to OPM’s open season highlights for plan year 2027, the 2026 open season runs from November 9 through December 14, 2026. Changes take effect on different dates depending on who you are. For annuitants and Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) enrollees, enrollment changes begin January 1, 2027. For most FEHB employees outside the Postal Service, they begin January 10, 2027.
Two small details are easy to miss. FEHB, PSHB and dental and vision (FEDVIP) coverage renews automatically unless you make a change, but a flexible spending account through FSAFEDS does not: you must enroll again every year. Put both items on your calendar now so the deadline does not arrive before you do.
What Changed for 2027
OPM reports that the average FEHB premium increase for 2027 is 9.3% overall. The average enrollee share rises 10.9%, while the government contribution rises 8.6%. Those averages are lower than last year’s increases of 10.2% overall and 12.3% for enrollees, but they are still meaningful for a household budget.
For Postal Service employees and retirees in Puerto Rico, the PSHB program shows smaller averages: 6.7% overall and 8.2% for the enrollee share. OPM also reports 45 FEHB carriers offering 118 plan options for 2027, and it lists several plans that are ending, which are regional plans in other states. If you are enrolled in any plan that is ending, OPM assigns a default plan, so you will want to compare options rather than accept the default without looking.
Remember that these are averages. Your own plan may move up or down by more or less, which is exactly why the comparison matters.
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Step One: Gather Your Numbers Before Open Season Starts
A good plan comparison starts with your own history, not with a brochure. Spend an hour collecting what you actually spent and used in the past year. It makes every later decision easier and more honest.
Add Up What You Really Paid
Start with the premium you pay across the year. Then add what you paid out of pocket: deductibles, copayments, coinsurance and anything the plan did not cover. Your explanation of benefits statements and your pharmacy receipts are the best sources. Many plan websites also show a year-to-date summary.
Write down two totals: what you paid in premiums and what you paid in costs. The sum is the real price of your plan for the year. Without this figure, it is hard to tell whether a lower-premium plan would actually have saved you money.
List What You Expect Next Year
Now look forward. Are you planning a surgery, a pregnancy, a new medication or a specialist you expect to see regularly? Is a child about to age out of coverage, or is a spouse starting or leaving a job? Are you planning to retire in the next twelve months? Each of these can change which plan makes the most sense.
If your health needs are modest and predictable, a plan with a lower premium and higher deductible may suit you. If you expect more care, a plan with a higher premium but lower out-of-pocket costs may leave you better off. The point is to decide with a picture of next year in front of you.
Confirm Your Enrollment Type
Check whether you are enrolled as Self Only, Self Plus One or Self and Family. Household situations change, and the enrollment type should match the people you are actually covering. OPM’s plan information pages include a reminder that, in some cases, the enrollee share for Self Plus One can be higher than for Self and Family, so it is worth pricing each option in your plan rather than assuming.
Step Two: Compare Plans Using Total Cost, Not Only Premium
Once you have your numbers, the comparison begins. OPM’s plan comparison tool and the full plan brochures, which are scheduled to be posted in early November, are the official places to do this. The goal is to estimate your likely total cost under each plan you are considering.
Look at Five Costs, Not One
The premium is the number everyone sees first, but it is only one piece. For each plan you consider, write down these items.
- The premium you pay per pay period or per month.
- The deductible, which is what you pay before the plan begins to share costs.
- Copayments and coinsurance for visits, tests and procedures you expect to use.
- The catastrophic or out-of-pocket maximum, which limits what you could pay in a bad year.
- Prescription drug costs for the medications you actually take.
Then estimate a typical year and a more demanding year for yourself. A plan that looks cheaper in a quiet year can look different in a year with a hospital stay. Seeing both outcomes side by side is a simple form of risk management in health care in Puerto Rico: you are choosing coverage with the possibility of both good and difficult years in mind.
Check the Network Where You Actually Get Care
A plan is only as useful as the doctors and hospitals that accept it. OPM’s plan information for Puerto Rico shows the plans available on the island and links to each plan’s provider directory. For the 2026 plan year, those include nationwide fee-for-service plans open to all federal enrollees, such as the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Service Benefit Plan, GEHA, MHBP, APWU, SAMBA and Compass Rose, along with a local plan, Triple-S Salud. The list for 2027 may differ, so check the current tool when it is posted.
When you review health insurance plans in Puerto Rico, look up your own physicians, specialists and preferred hospitals in each plan’s directory. Do not rely on a general statement that a network is large. Also ask how the plan handles care on the mainland, because many families travel for work, family visits or specialized treatment.
Check Your Prescriptions
Medications are one of the most common reasons a plan that looks good on paper turns out to be costly in practice. For each prescription you take regularly, check three things: whether the drug is covered, which tier it falls in and whether you need prior authorization or must use a particular pharmacy. If you rely on a specialty drug, call the plan before open season ends and ask how it is handled.
Understand Plan Types and Tax-Advantaged Accounts
FEHB offers several plan structures. Some are traditional fee-for-service plans, some are health maintenance organizations and some are high deductible or consumer-driven options that can be paired with a health savings account. These can be good choices for people who are generally healthy and want to build a reserve for future medical costs, but they ask you to carry more of the cost upfront.
If you are considering one, ask yourself whether you could comfortably cover the deductible in a difficult year. Also look at the tax rules for your situation. Puerto Rico residents who work for the federal government may face a mix of federal and local tax considerations, so ask a tax professional how a health savings account or a flexible spending account would be treated for you.
For 2027, OPM notes a new option for FSAFEDS accountholders: a Visa FSA card, available for health care and limited expense accounts, with a choice of a debit card or paperless reimbursement. Remember that these accounts require you to re-enroll each year.
Step Three: Think About Where You Are in Your Career
Your career stage changes how you should read the same plan. A plan that fits a 38-year-old with young children may not be the best fit at 58 with retirement on the horizon.
If You Are Within a Few Years of Retirement
Federal retirees generally can carry FEHB coverage into retirement if they have been enrolled for the five years before retiring, or since their first opportunity to enroll, so the plan you choose now is likely the one you will take with you. That makes this decision part of federal employee retirement in Puerto Rico planning, not only a health decision. In retirement, health premiums are often paid from a pension that grows by a cost-of-living adjustment that may be smaller than the premium increase.
For that reason, consider the plan’s premium trend, not only its current price. Ask what your premium would look like if it continued to rise at a similar pace, and test that figure against your expected retirement income.
If You Are Already on Medicare or Will Be Soon
Coordinating FEHB with Medicare is a separate question with its own decisions, but open season is a good time to ask it. Some retirees keep both FEHB and Medicare Part B, while others keep only one, and the right answer depends on cost, doctors and how each program pays alongside the other. Part B premiums are set separately each year, and higher-income beneficiaries may pay an income-related surcharge based on their tax return from two years earlier.
The official 2027 Part B premium had not yet been published as of mid-October, so budget for a range rather than a single number. If you are unsure, speak with a benefits specialist before you cancel any coverage, because some changes cannot easily be reversed.
If You Work for the Postal Service
Postal employees and retirees are now served by the PSHB program, which has its own enrollee portal and premiums. OPM reports that the PSHB portal has been redesigned for 2027, with separate workflows for open season elections and qualifying life events. If you are a USPS employee or retiree in Puerto Rico, compare your options within PSHB and review how your coverage coordinates with Medicare, since the rules for Medicare-eligible postal annuitants differ from those of other FEHB retirees.
Family Changes, Documentation and Dental or Vision Coverage
Health coverage is rarely only about one person. Open season is also when many people add or remove family members, and it is when the details of dental and vision coverage deserve a second look.
Adding or Removing Family Members
OPM notes a new requirement for 2027 under the FEHB Protection Act of 2025: anyone adding a family member to an FEHB or PSHB plan during open season must submit supporting documentation. That might include a marriage certificate or a birth certificate. If you plan to add a spouse, child or other eligible family member, collect those documents before the window closes so the change is not delayed.
Dental and Vision Through FEDVIP
FEDVIP is separate from FEHB, and it has its own open season choices. OPM reports average premium increases of 1.0% for dental and 1.6% for vision in 2027, along with 11 dental carriers and 5 vision carriers. A new dental cost comparison tool on BENEFEDS estimates out-of-pocket costs for 75 common dental services across the dental carriers, which can help if you or your family expect major dental work.
If you rarely use dental or vision services, a lower-cost option may suffice. If you expect orthodontics, crowns or new glasses, compare plans by estimated total cost, just as you would for medical coverage.
Health Costs Inside Your Bigger Financial Plan
A health plan is a financial decision as much as a medical one. Premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket costs compete with every other priority in your budget, and the effect compounds when premiums rise faster than income.
A Simple Illustration
Consider a hypothetical employee who pays about $250 per pay period in premiums, or $6,500 over 26 pay periods. If the premium rose by the 10.9% average enrollee share increase, the cost would climb by about $708 for the year, to around $7,208. That figure is only an example, because your actual change depends on your plan, but it shows how a modest-looking percentage becomes a real number.
Now add the possibility that your pay will not rise by the same percentage. Government Executive reports a 2027 pay freeze for most General Schedule base and locality rates, so some households may feel the premium change more directly. A small shift in a plan choice, repeated over many years, can make a noticeable difference to your retirement savings.
Why a Wider View Helps
The plan you pick also interacts with your tax situation, your retirement date, your savings goals and your insurance protection. A comprehensive financial analysis looks at all of these together so that one decision does not undermine another. For example, choosing a high deductible plan only makes sense if you have an emergency fund to support it, and choosing the cheapest premium only makes sense if the plan’s network actually serves you.
If you expect your income to change soon, whether because of retirement, a spouse’s job change or a move between Puerto Rico and the mainland, bring that into the comparison. The best plan today may not be the best plan in two years, and it helps to know that before you choose.
Read Also: Cancer Insurance in Puerto Rico: Is It Worth Adding?
After You Choose: Confirm and Keep Records
Choosing a plan is not the last step. A few quick actions after you decide can prevent frustrating surprises in January.
Confirm Your Election
If you change plans, save the confirmation you receive. Employees and annuitants have different systems for making changes, so follow the instructions that apply to you. In early December, before the window closes, log in once more and confirm that the plan, enrollment type and covered family members are what you intended. If something looks wrong, there is still time to correct it.
Update Pharmacies, Providers and Cards
When your new plan takes effect, you will receive new member cards. Replace the old ones at your doctor’s office and pharmacy, and confirm that your regular prescriptions are still being filled at the expected price. If your plan changed, ask your physicians whether they need any new referrals or authorizations.
A Short Open Season Checklist
A checklist can keep the process manageable when life is busy. Use the following as a starting point and adapt it to your household.
- Write down last year’s premiums and out-of-pocket costs.
- List the care, prescriptions and family changes you expect in 2027.
- Compare at least two or three plans by total estimated cost, not only premium.
- Check your doctors, hospitals and pharmacies in each plan’s directory.
- Gather documents for any family member you plan to add.
- Decide whether to re-enroll in an FSAFEDS account.
- Confirm your final election before December 14.
If you cannot answer one of these items confidently, that is useful information. It shows you where to ask a question or get a second opinion before the window closes.
Conclusion
An FEHB open season review does not need to be complicated. Gather your real costs, compare plans by total cost and by the care you actually use, and confirm your choice before the deadline. Even if you decide to keep your current plan, you will know why, and that is a stronger position than renewing by default.
The 2027 numbers also remind us that health costs are part of long-term planning. With the average enrollee share rising 10.9%, the combination of premiums, pay growth and retirement income deserves a place in your financial plan, not only in your open season notes.
If you would like help placing your health coverage inside your broader financial picture, JLA Financial Planning offers financial planning services in Puerto Rico for federal employees, retirees and families.
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute individualized financial, insurance, tax, or legal advice. Plan features, premiums, dates and eligibility rules change; confirm all details on OPM.gov or with your agency benefits office before making a decision. Examples are illustrative and not guarantees of future results.
