Federal employees in the U.S. who get married or return to work after a taking leave will soon be able to enroll for dental and vision coverage outside of the open enrollment period.
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) this week announced the final rule making it easier for employees with certain "qualifying life events" to change their dental and vision benefits close to when the event occurs, rather than waiting for the annual open enrollment window in November, according to a Federal Register notice. The purpose of the "expanded enrollment opportunities" is to "better align" the Federal Employee Dental and Vision Insurance Program with enrollees' overall healthcare plan when their life circumstances change, the notice stated.
The new rule takes effect August 15.
OPM defines qualifying life events for federal employees as getting married; having their pension or compensation restored after it was terminated; returning to pay status after being on leave without pay because of deployment to active military duty; or returning to federal employment after being on leave without pay (LWOP), if the employee did not have federal dental or vision coverage before going on LWOP, or the coverage was terminated or canceled during the leave without pay.
OPM added four carriers in 2014 to its dental and vision portfolio, for a total of 14 insurance contracts.
