Four of the nine federal employee health plan options that will not be offered in 2027 belong to Health Net of California, the Office of Personnel Management says. Health Net’s Northern California High option and its Southern California Standard, Basic and High options are all on the list, along with five more from Independent Health, Blue Care Network of Michigan and UnitedHealthcare. Enrollees who do not choose a new plan during Open Season, which runs November 9 to December 14, are moved automatically into Compass Rose Standard. A tenth plan, in the postal health program, is also ending.
The other five are Independent Health’s Standard and HDHP options, Blue Care Network of Michigan’s Southeast High option, and UnitedHealthcare’s Choice Primary West High and Choice Plus Primary West High options. Postal workers and retirees lose one plan of their own: UnitedHealthcare’s Choice Plus Primary Postal East, in the Postal Service Health Benefits program. Members of that plan who make no choice land in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Service Benefit Plan’s FEP Blue Focus option instead.
What happens to people who do nothing
Anyone in one of those options now faces a decision with a date on it. OPM’s highlights for plan year 2027 say people who do not pick a new plan “will be automatically enrolled in the designated default Plan, Compass Rose Standard.” The choice is therefore between accepting that plan and picking another before December 14. Annuitants and postal enrollees who switch or are moved start the new coverage on January 1, 2027, while most active employees outside the Postal Service start on January 10.
December 14 is the next date for every enrollee in one of the nine ending options, and the new coverage starts on January 1 for annuitants.
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The default is a placement, not a recommendation. OPM names Compass Rose Standard as the default, which means an enrollee moved there still has to look up its benefits, premium and network to learn whether it fits. A person with a long-standing doctor, a regular prescription or a planned surgery in early 2027 has the most to lose from a quiet default, because a plan assigned by an agency rule was not picked with those doctors or drugs in mind.
California is where the cuts are concentrated. Health Net of California’s list is the longest of any carrier in the highlights, with one Northern California option and three Southern California options leaving the program. Enrollees in the four affected options need to read the 2027 plan brochures for whichever plans remain open to them in their ZIP code, because a Health Net member in Northern California and one in Southern California are choosing from different lists.
OPM’s advice to enrollees
OPM’s Associate Director for Healthcare and Insurance, Matthew Kiley, framed Open Season as a time to scrutinize coverage whether or not a plan is ending. “Open Season is the time to look beyond your current plan and make sure your coverage still works for you and your family,” Kiley said in OPM’s Open Season announcement. He added that “we encourage employees and annuitants to compare their options, review their costs, and make any changes before the December 14 deadline.”
The field enrollees can compare is large. OPM lists 45 carriers offering 118 FEHB plans for 2027, and 17 carriers offering 65 plans in the Postal Service program. Nine options disappearing is a small share of the 118 offered, but the nine are not spread evenly across carriers. Health Net of California alone accounts for four, Independent Health and UnitedHealthcare’s West plans for two each, and Blue Care Network of Michigan for one.
Premiums are rising at the same time
Switching also means weighing price. OPM’s highlights put the average overall FEHB premium increase for 2027 at 9.3 percent, down from 10.2 percent in 2026. The average enrollee share rises 10.9 percent, down from 12.3 percent, while the government’s contribution rises 8.6 percent. The 10.9 percent enrollee share, not the 9.3 percent total, is the part that comes out of a paycheck or an annuity.
The postal program’s numbers are lower. The highlights give an average overall increase of 6.7 percent for the Postal Service Health Benefits program, with the enrollee share up 8.2 percent. Those are averages across all plans, and a person’s own premium depends on the plan and the enrollment type. A move into the default plan could land above or below the average, and the notice does not say which.
Making the switch before the December 14 deadline
The free route is OPM’s Open Season page, which sends active employees, retirees, postal workers and uniformed services members to the instructions for their group. It lists the close of enrollment as 11:59 p.m. on December 14, 2026, with FEHB and PSHB deadlines set by the location of the electronic enrollment system the person uses.
The first thing to find is the exact name of the current option on the enrollment card. Names such as Health Net of California Southern Basic and Health Net of California Southern Standard are different options, and only the names on OPM’s list of nine are leaving. A person who is not on that list is not forced to move, and FEHB coverage continues into 2027 for anyone who makes no change.
The second is the start date. OPM’s schedule sets January 1, 2027, for annuitants and postal enrollees who enroll or change plans, January 10 for most other active employees and January 24 for federal workers’ compensation recipients. An enrollee headed for Compass Rose Standard by default will want its benefits and premium in hand before December 14, because the assignment takes effect on that January start date.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by The Money Overview’s editorial team.
