PSHB for postal employees: what to know in 2026
Since January 1, 2025, Postal Service employees and annuitants get their health coverage through the Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Program instead of FEHB. As the 2026 Open Season approaches (November 9 to December 14, 2026), here is what postal families should know, from OPM's own PSHB pages.
Who is in PSHB
Postal Service employees and Postal Service annuitants can no longer enroll or stay enrolled in an FEHB plan. They must be in a PSHB plan to keep health coverage through the Postal Service. Two exceptions, according to OPM:
- A postal employee or annuitant covered under a family member's FEHB plan that is not through the Postal Service can keep that coverage.
- Former postal employees on Temporary Continuation of Coverage before January 1, 2025, stay with their FEHB plan.
How PSHB plans compare with FEHB
PSHB is a separate program within FEHB. Its plans cover the same comprehensive benefits, and many of the same insurance carriers offer them. The differences:
- Plan year: PSHB runs from January 1 to December 31.
- Medicare Part B: certain Medicare-eligible postal annuitants and their Medicare-eligible family members must enroll in Medicare Part B to stay in a PSHB plan. FEHB has no such requirement.
- FSAFEDS: PSHB is not a participant in FSAFEDS.
- Life events: you cannot use PostalEASE to enroll or change coverage because of a qualifying life event; your local personnel office handles those changes.
The Medicare Part B rule and its exceptions
The Part B requirement comes from the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022. OPM lists these exceptions, meaning these people do not have to enroll in Part B to be in PSHB:
- Postal annuitants who retired on or before January 1, 2025, and were not already enrolled in Part B, and their family members.
- Postal employees who were age 64 or older on January 1, 2025: they need not enroll in Part B after they retire, and neither do their family members.
- Postal annuitants or family members who live outside the United States and its territories.
If you are approaching retirement, check where you fall before your retirement date. Medicare enrollment has its own deadlines and costs, so confirm your situation with OPM, your personnel office or Social Security.
What PSHB does not change
Your enrollment in other federal programs carries on as before: dental and vision (FEDVIP), life insurance (FEGLI) and, if you are already enrolled, long-term care (FLTCIP). The U.S. Postal Service also still pays the full cost of FEGLI Basic life insurance for its employees; see how FEGLI works.
During Open Season
Open Season runs from November 9 to December 14, 2026. PSHB enrollments close at 11:59 pm on December 14 in the time zone of your enrollment system. Compare premiums, doctors and prescriptions for 2027, and see our Open Season 2026 checklist.
Sources
- OPM, Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Program, checked October 7, 2026
- OPM, Federal Benefits Open Season, checked October 7, 2026