November 1, 2023
Hello and welcome to the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) and DC Employees Health Benefit (DCEHB) 2024 Open Enrollment site for retired police officers, firefighters and teachers. My name is Max and I will be assisting you with completing your open enrollment election.
The annual open enrollment period gives you to opportunity to review your current level of health insurance coverage, reflect on your healthcare needs and decide which coverage options are best for you. This year, open enrollment runs from Monday, November 13th through Monday, December 11h. During open enrollment you can:
change from one plan to another;
add an eligible dependent (i.e., spouse and/or child(ren));
remove an ineligible dependent;
suspend your coverage; or
cancel your coverage.
Please note that if you cancel your coverage, the plan sponsor, the District of Columbia Human Resources Department (DCHR) will not allow you to reenroll at a later date. Changes made during open enrollment will go into effect on January 1, 2024.
If you are satisfied with your current plan, you do not have to do anything. Your current health plan will automatically continue into the 2024 calendar year.
However, if you would like to make a change or if you’d like to view what options are available to you:
Select the red button if you were originally hired by DC Government on or before September 30, 1987;
Select the blue button if you were originally hired by DC Government on or after October 1, 1987.
Are you the survivor or dependent of someone who is a retired police officer, firefighter or teacher? Click on the button that corresponds with their date of hire to view the information that pertains to you.
Are you ready to learn more? Let’s take a look at the DC Employees’ Health Benefit (DCEHB) program.
The District of Columbia Employees’ Health Benefits (DCEHB) program is sponsored by the District of Columbia Human Resources Department (DCHR). The program provides comprehensive health insurance. You can choose from fee for-service (FFS) plans, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) and high deductible health plans (HDHPs).
Health plans will not be allowed to charge you more than $35 for a one-month supply of each Medicare Part D-covered insulin product you are prescribed. In addition, charges in connection with insulin prescriptions will no longer be subjected to meeting the annual deductible requirement. You can select one of 8 plans offered by DC Government.
Aetna CDHP
Aetna HMO
Aetna PPO
CareFirst HMO
CareFirst PPO
Kaiser HMO
United HealthCare Open Access
United HealthCare PPO
In addition, you have the option of enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan.
Medicare Advantage plans are Medicare approved plans from private insurance companies that offer an alternative to the original Medicare plan (Part A and Part B). Only annuitants who currently participate in one of the plans and have Medicare Part A and Part B. can select the Medicare Advantage plans.
Each enrollee must be Medicare eligible. If a dependent is not Medicare eligible, unfortunately, you may not enroll in a Medicare Advantage until both you and your dependent are eligible to enroll in Medicare Parts A and B.Here is a snapshot of the primary differences between the DCEHB plan, Medicare Parts A and B and the Medicare Advantage plan.
You are not required to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan. Enrolling in Medicare Advantage is optional. But if you enroll in one of the Advantage plans, you must also retain your Medicare Part A and Part B coverages. If at some point you are not happy with your Medicare Advantage plan, you must wait until the next open enrollment to switch to another health insurance plan.
Calculating your monthly premiums can be a little confusing. Let's walk through the tools you need to get started.
First you need to Find your contribution percentage. To find your contribution chart, click on either the red button if you're a retired teacher, or the blue button if you're a retired police officer or firefighter, are you a surviving spouse, if your spouse was a retired teacher, then you should click on the red button. If your spouse was a firefighter or police officer, then you should select the blue button.
Your contribution chart will immediately pop up.
Find the section that pertains to you. For example:
If you are a retired police officer or firefighter who was hired on or after October 1, 1987, but before November 10, 1996, and you retired with 5 or more years of service, your contribution percentage is 25%.
If you are a survivor of a retired police officer or firefighter who was hired on or after November 10, 1996, and who had 23 years of service, your contribution percentage is 40%.
If you are a survivor of a retired teacher who retired on or after October 1, 2009, and who had 11 years of service, your contribution percentage is 77.5%.
If you are a retired teacher who was hired on or after October 1, 1987, and retired before October 1, 2009, with 5 or more years of service, your contribution percentage is 25%
Let’s take a minute to locate your contribution percentage? (Max: allow for 7 seconds to pass). Find it? Great! Let’s go to the next step.
Next, select the plan you would like to enroll in and write in your contribution percentage. Let’s look at a few more examples:
If you are a retired police officer or firefighter who was hired on or after October 1, 1987, but before November 10, 1996, and you retired with 5 or more years of service, your contribution percentage is 25%. If you are selecting Kaiser HMO, the total premium is $2,121.97.
$2,121.97 (total premium) x 25% (your percentage) = $530.49 (your monthly cost)
If you are a survivor of a retired police officer or firefighter who was hired on or after November 10, 1996, and who had 23 years of service, your contribution percentage is 40%. If you are electing United Healthcare Choice, Self Plus One, the total monthly premium is $1,708.58.
$1,708.58 (total premium) x 40% (your percentage) = $683.43 (your monthly cost)
If you are a retired teacher who was hired on or after October 1, 1987, and retired before October 1, 2009, with 5 or more years of service, your contribution percentage is 25%. If you are selecting the Aetna HMO Self Only plan, the total monthly premium is $973.63.
$973.63 (total premium) x 25% (your percentage) = $243.41 (your monthly cost)
If you are a survivor of a retired teacher who retired on or after October 1, 2009, and who had 11 years of service, your contribution percentage is 77.5%. If you are choosing CareFirst PPO Self Plus Family, the total monthly premium is $2,657.57. To determine your monthly premium responsibility:
$2,657.57 (total premium) x 77.5% (your percentage) = $2,059.62 (your monthly cost)
If you are making a change to your plan, you must complete Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4;
If you are adding a dependent:
if you are adding a spouse or domestic partner, you are required to submit a copy of the marriage certificate or domestic partnership registration;
if you are adding a child, you must submit a birth certificate for each child; the child must be unmarried and under age 26 (if 26 or older, the child can only be covered if he/she is incapable of self-support because of a disability that began before age 26. Documentation of this instance must be provided to DCRB);
if you are adding a stepchild or grandchild, it is important to note that the parent-child relationship must be with you and not the biological parent.
Open enrollment begins on Monday, November 13th
Open enrollment ends on Monday, December 11th
If you are happy with your current plan, you do not have to do anything. Your coverage will automatically be renewed on January 1, 2024.
Changes will be electronically transmitted to the carrier by December 22nd
You should check your mail for your new identification cards. ID cards will begin to arrive in the beginning of January 2024
Your effective date of coverage will be January 1, 2024
Deductions for the new premiums will begin on February 1, 2024
Making changes just got easier. You can now visit dcrb.dc.gov to complete and submit your Open Enrollment election online directly to the DCRB Member Services team. Select “Member Services Online 24/7” and “Member Web Submission Forms” to access the online form.
DCRB Drop Box is a “no contact” tool. Between 8:30am and 5:00pm, you can drop off forms outside of the DCRB suite. Forms are collected and distributed at the end of each day.
U. S. Mail: District of Columbia Retirement Board
Attn: Member Services Center
(Open Enrollment)
900 7th Street, NW, Second Floor
Washington, DC 20001.
Thank you for taking the time out to watch this video. Our benefits administration team is here to serve you from 8:30am to 5pm. Monday through Friday, except district holidays. You can reach our office that 202-343-3272 or toll free at 866-456-3272 or TTY # 711