[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 88 (Monday, May 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37269-37270]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09566]


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OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

[Docket ID: OPM-2024-0011]


Submission for Review: Revision and Consolidation of Two Existing 
Information Collections Related to Health Benefits Election Forms

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: 60-Day notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) offers the general 
public and other Federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a 
revised information collection request (ICR) for two forms: SF 2809 
Health Benefits Election Form and OPM 2809 Health Benefits Election 
Form.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until July 5, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on 
the proposed information collection by one of the following means:
     Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
    All submissions received must include the agency name and docket 
number for this Federal Register document. The general policy for 
comments and other submissions from members of the public is to make 
these submissions available for public viewing on the internet at 
http://www.regulations.gov without change, including any personal 
identifiers or contact information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of this information collection 
request, with applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained by 
contacting Retirement Services, Office of Personnel Management, 1900 E 
Street NW, Washington, DC 20415, Attention: Cyrus Benson. You may also 
contact (202) 936-0401 or email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 
U.S.C. chapter 35), Federal agencies must obtain approval from the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of 
information they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of information'' is 
defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) and includes agency 
requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports, 
keep records, or provide information to a third party. Section 
3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day 
notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of 
information, including each proposed extension of an existing 
collection of information, before submitting the collection to OMB for 
approval. This notice complies with that requirement, and OPM is 
soliciting comments for the ICR described below.
    The Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program, as governed 
by 5 U.S.C. chapter 89, provides health insurance to employees and 
annuitants of the Federal Government. Standard Form 2809 Health 
Benefits Election Form, OMB Control No. 3206-0160, has long been used 
by OPM and other Federal agencies to collect the information needed for 
employees to enroll in and to update enrollment information for the 
FEHB. OPM is proposing that the SF-2809 be categorized as a ``common 
form.''
    The form OPM-2809 Health Benefits Election Form, OMB Control No 
3206-0141, is in many respects similar to the SF-2809. The OPM-2809 
provides OPM with the information needed for annuitants, survivor 
annuitants, and former spouses of annuitants in the Civil Service 
Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System 
(FERS) to enroll in and to update enrollment information for the FEHB.
    The SF-2809 and the OPM-2809 forms are generally very similar in 
terms of the information collected, with only a few different data 
points to reflect differences between an employee and an annuitant. 
Nonetheless, the forms were historically managed under two different 
information collections. OPM is not currently planning to consolidate 
the forms into a single form because the instructions for annuitants 
are different than the instructions for an employee. OPM expects that 
retaining separate forms helps annuitants better understand what 
information is required.
    OPM anticipates that both forms will generally require revisions at 
the same time and that comments relevant to one form will generally 
apply equally to the other form. Therefore, because the forms serve the 
same purpose (for two different populations) and collect virtually 
identical information, OPM is proposing to combine the two information 
collections and to manage the two forms under a single information 
collection, OMB Control No. 3206-0160, going forward.
    The Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 (PSRA; Pub. L. 117-108) 
created a new Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Program within the 
Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program. As part of the 
regulatory implementation of the PSHB, OPM requested comment on whether 
OPM should introduce a separate enrollment form for PSHB. One commenter 
recommended that OPM update the existing 2809 form rather than 
introducing a new form for PSHB. OPM is publishing a final rule to 
implement the PSHB Program elsewhere in this issue of the Federal 
Register. OPM agrees with the commenter in that rulemaking and is 
proposing to add one data element to the existing SF-2809 and OPM-2809 
forms. Specifically, the forms will request, only for PSHB retirees and 
family members, information on eligibility for health

[[Page 37270]]

services from the Indian Health Service and enrollment in health care 
benefits provided by the Veterans Affairs. OPM is requesting this 
information because it is necessary to determine Program eligibility 
for these individuals.
    In addition, the Forms have been updated to improve clarity and 
ease of use. OPM consulted with Agency Benefit Officers, Federal 
benefit electronic enrollment systems, FEHB insurance carriers and 
conducted several employee focus groups to determine proposed changes. 
Some changes to instructions for the SF-2809 form have not been made to 
the OPM-2809 form to accommodate a larger use of paper forms by the 
annuitant population.
    Finally, as part of the release of the new PSHB Program, OPM will 
be offering the use of a new online enrollment system. The information 
collected using the system will be identical to the paper and 
electronic PDF versions of the SF-2809 and OPM-2809 forms; however, 
users will be able to enter the information using a series of prompts 
that provide additional instructions and guidance.
    The information collection for form SF-2809 (OMB Control Number 
3206-0160) is currently approved with an estimated public burden of 
9,000 hours for 18,000 responses. The information collection (OMB 
Control number 3206-0141) associated with that form is currently 
approved with an estimated public burden of 11,667 hours for 30,000 
responses. As OPM is proposing to combine these information 
collections, the estimated public burden for the revised information 
collection is 20,667 hours for 48,000 responses.
    The Standard Form 2809 and OPM Form 2809 reflect the minimal 
critical elements collected across the Federal government to begin an 
application for enrollment under the FEHB Program (including the PSHB 
Program) under the authority of 5 U.S.C. chapter 89.
    We invite comments that:
    1. Evaluate the utility of the changes made to the forms;
    2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    3. Suggest ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    4. Suggest ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on those who are to respond, including through the use of 
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., 
permitting electronic submissions of responses.
    In particular, OPM requests comment on (a) the proposed changes to 
form SF-2809, (b) the proposed changes to form OPM-2809, (c) OPM's 
proposal to collect the SF-2809 and OPM-2809 information for PSHB via 
the new electronic system, and (d) OPM's proposal to combine the two 
information collections into a single collection.

Analysis

    Agency: Office of Personnel Management.
    Title: Health Benefits Election Forms.
    OMB Number: 3206-0160.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Affected Public: Eligible individuals who wish to enroll in FEHB 
(including Postal Service Health Benefits under FEHB) for the first 
time or to change an existing enrollment.
    Number of Respondents: 48,000.
    Estimated Time per Respondent: 30 Minutes.
    Total Burden Hours: 20,667.

Office of Personnel Management.
Kayyonne Marston,
Federal Register Liaison.
[FR Doc. 2024-09566 Filed 5-3-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-64-P