OPM Expands Health Records System to Include Postal Benefits
Published Date: 6/23/2026
Notice
Summary
The Office of Personnel Management is updating its health benefits records system to include Postal Service Health Benefits data and more details about medical claims for federal employees and their families. This change affects anyone covered by the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and takes effect immediately, with some parts kicking in by July 23, 2026. No new costs are mentioned, but you can comment on the changes until that date.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 1 mixed.
More Detailed Medical and Pharmacy Data Collected
OPM will collect more detailed service use and cost data, including National Drug Codes (NDC), J-codes, provider charges, amounts paid by other payers (coordination of benefits), pharmacy rebate information, and dates of service. The system may also include Medicare service use and cost data about FEHB enrollees who are enrolled in Medicare.
New Sharing Rules for Fraud and Do Not Pay
OPM added routine uses that allow sharing records with other Federal agencies and contractors to administer health benefits programs and to detect, prevent, and recover improper payments, including disclosures to the U.S. Department of the Treasury for the Do Not Pay Working System. These routine uses become effective July 23, 2026.
Postal Service Plans Added to FEHB Records
If you are covered by the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program, that now explicitly includes the Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Program. This change is effective upon publication (June 23, 2026) and means PSHB enrollees and their family members will be in the same OPM health claims system.
Pseudonymization and Access Limits Applied
OPM will pseudonymize records for routine analysis: names, SSNs, Subscriber ID, and addresses (except ZIP) are replaced by nulls, date of birth is reduced to year, and Member ID is cryptographically hashed. Only limited, authorized personnel can access identifiable Member ID for validation.
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