Last Updated: October 21, 2026 Reading Time: 8 min

Most federal employees pick an FEHB plan by looking at the premium. For 2027, that habit points a self-only enrollee at FEP Blue Focus, the lowest employee premium among the nine nationwide plans in our data, at $1,928 a year. In a bad health year, though, Focus is also the most expensive of the nine: up to $12,928 once you hit its $11,000 out-of-pocket maximum. We ran OPM's 2027 premium charts and its 2027 plan-benefits file for all nine plans to show the full range, from a light year to the worst case.

The Formula: Premium, Deposit and Out-of-Pocket Maximum

A plan's cost to you over a year has three parts.

  1. Your share of the premium. It is the plan's total premium minus the government's share, taken from each paycheck. OPM publishes biweekly and monthly figures; employees pay the biweekly figure, so multiply it by 26, the convention we use to annualize it.
  2. The plan's deposit, if any. Every FEHB high-deductible plan puts part of the premium into an HSA, or credits an HRA if you cannot have an HSA. Each plan sets its own amount.
  3. The in-network out-of-pocket maximum. It caps what you pay for covered in-network care in a year. Deductibles, copays and coinsurance count toward it. Premiums never do, which is why the premium sits on top of the cap.

Put together, a light year costs roughly your premium minus any HSA deposit, and the worst year costs your premium plus the out-of-pocket maximum, minus any HSA deposit. An HRA credit only reimburses eligible care, so we show it separately and do not subtract it. The deductible is already inside the maximum, so adding it again double-counts.

2027 Self Only: Premium vs. Worst-Case Year

Plan Your 2027 premium Plan deposit Deductible Out-of-pocket max Light year Worst year
FEP Blue Focus $1,928 none $1,000 $11,000 $1,928 $12,928
GEHA HDHP $2,122 $1,000 (HSA) $1,800 $6,000 $1,122 $7,122
GEHA Standard $2,256 none $500 $8,000 $2,256 $10,256
Aetna Direct $2,400 $900 (HRA) $2,000 $8,000 $2,400 not estimated
BCBS Basic $3,782 none $0 $8,500 $3,782 $12,282
MHBP Standard $3,981 none $500 $8,000 $3,981 $11,981
Aetna HealthFund HDHP $4,628 $800 (HSA) $2,000 $7,500 $3,828 $11,328
APWU High $4,990 none $450 $6,500 $4,990 $11,490
BCBS Standard $5,321 none $500 $7,000 $5,321 $12,321

Sorted by premium. FedTools analysis of OPM's 2027 FEHB premium charts (non-postal employee share, biweekly × 26) and OPM's 2027 FEHB Plan Benefits public use file (2027-fehb-plan-benefits_101526.xlsx, revised October 15, 2026), retrieved October 21, 2026. In-network only. Light year = premium minus any HSA deposit, assuming you pay nothing out of pocket for care; an unused HRA credit is not subtracted. Worst year = premium plus in-network out-of-pocket maximum minus any HSA deposit. Aetna Direct's worst year is not estimated because we have not verified from its 2027 brochure how its HRA fund interacts with the out-of-pocket maximum, so the fund is not subtracted from the published maximum. Dollar figures rounded to the nearest dollar from unrounded inputs. Recompute: npx tsx scripts/fehb/compute-total-annual-cost-2027.ts.

The cheapest premium and the cheapest bad year are different plans. FEP Blue Focus saves $194 in premium over GEHA HDHP, but its worst year runs $5,806 higher. BCBS Standard has the second-lowest out-of-pocket maximum among the plans without a deposit ($7,000), but its premium is the highest of the nine.

2027 Self and Family: The Gap Gets Wider

Plan Your 2027 premium Plan deposit Deductible Out-of-pocket max Light year Worst year
FEP Blue Focus $4,559 none $2,000 $22,000 $4,559 $26,559
GEHA HDHP $5,606 $2,000 (HSA) $3,600 $12,000 $3,606 $15,606
GEHA Standard $6,018 none $1,000 $16,000 $6,018 $22,018
Aetna Direct $6,053 $1,800 (HRA) $4,000 $16,000 $6,053 not estimated
Aetna HealthFund HDHP $8,459 $1,600 (HSA) $4,000 $15,000 $6,859 $21,859
BCBS Basic $10,076 none $0 $17,000 $10,076 $27,076
MHBP Standard $10,420 none $1,000 $16,000 $10,420 $26,420
APWU High $12,002 none $800 $13,000 $12,002 $25,002
BCBS Standard $12,919 none $1,000 $14,000 $12,919 $26,919

Same sources and method as the Self Only table. The family out-of-pocket figures are whole-enrollment maximums from OPM's file; how a family limit applies to one person differs by plan, so read Section 4 of the plan's brochure.

For a family, the spread between plans in a bad year is more than $11,000: $15,606 for GEHA HDHP against $27,076 for BCBS Basic. Self Plus One premiums do not always fall between the two tables: for some plans they exceed the Self and Family premium, so compare both enrollment types. In the data we ran, Self Plus One out-of-pocket maximums equal the Self and Family figures for all nine plans; the comparison tool below shows Self Plus One.

What the Tables Do Not Show

  • Your actual year. Most years fall between light and worst. A plan with copays (like BCBS Basic, which has no deductible) can cost less than an HDHP in a moderate year with many office visits, even when its worst case is higher.
  • What does not count toward the cap. Premiums never count. Each brochure lists other costs that do not count, such as out-of-network charges above the plan allowance. Check your plan's catastrophic protection section.
  • Taxes. Employees participating in premium conversion pay their FEHB share before tax, so a $1 premium costs less than $1 of take-home pay. Annuitants generally pay after tax, so they should compare the premium figures as shown; reemployed annuitants should check their payroll treatment.
  • Postal and regional plans. These tables use the nine nationwide plans and non-postal employee rates. Postal employees and anyone looking at a regional HMO should run their own plans.

HSA vs. HRA Deposits

An HSA deposit is your money: it stays yours if unspent and goes with you. An HRA credit is only worth something while you stay in that plan. In the tables, GEHA HDHP and Aetna HealthFund HDHP deposit into an HSA, and Aetna Direct credits an HRA.

HSA contributions, including the plan's deposit, require qualifying HDHP coverage, no disqualifying other coverage (which can include a general-purpose health FSA), no Medicare enrollment, and no eligibility to be claimed as someone's dependent; enrollees who cannot have an HSA get an HRA instead. The plan's deposit counts toward the 2027 HSA limit of $4,500 for self-only and $9,000 for family coverage, so your own room is the limit minus the deposit. Our HSA guide for federal employees covers the rest, including how HSAs and FSAs pair.

For 2027, an FEHB HDHP must carry a deductible of at least $1,750 self-only and $3,500 family, and its out-of-pocket cap can be no higher than $8,700 and $17,400.

How Much the Government Pays in 2027

For 2027 the government pays, for most employees and annuitants, at most $352.04 every two weeks for Self Only, $767.53 for Self Plus One and $843.82 for Self and Family ($762.75, $1,662.98 and $1,828.28 monthly). By law the government's share is set at 72% of the average premium across plans, and for cheaper plans the government pays 75% of that plan's premium instead. Your share is what is left, which is why two plans with similar total premiums can cost you very different amounts.

Run It With Your Plans and ZIP Code

The FEHB Plan Comparison tool puts two or three plans head to head on total annual cost, premium plus expected out-of-pocket spending, and shows the spend level where the cheaper plan flips. It covers Self Plus One too. OPM's own comparison tool asks for your ZIP code, enrollee type and pay frequency, and OPM says the brochure, not the tool, is the official statement of benefits. Open Season runs November 9 through December 14, 2026; FEHB changes close at 11

p.m. local to your agency's enrollment system on December 14.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the cheapest FEHB premium the cheapest plan for 2027?

Not in a bad year. Among the nine nationwide plans we ran, FEP Blue Focus has the lowest 2027 self-only employee premium at $1,928 but the highest worst-case year at $12,928, because its out-of-pocket maximum is $11,000. GEHA HDHP's worst case is $7,122.

How do I calculate my total FEHB cost for 2027?

Add your annual premium share to the plan's in-network out-of-pocket maximum, then subtract any HSA deposit the plan makes. That is your worst-case year. Your premium minus any HSA deposit is a light year. An HRA credit only reimburses eligible care, so with no care it does not reduce that year's premium payments; count it separately.

Should I add the deductible to the out-of-pocket maximum?

No. Deductibles, copays and coinsurance all count toward the out-of-pocket maximum. Premiums do not, so the premium sits on top of the cap, along with any costs your brochure says do not count.

How much does GEHA HDHP put in my HSA in 2027?

$1,000 for self-only and $2,000 for Self Plus One or Self and Family, according to OPM's 2027 plan-benefits file as revised October 15, 2026. An earlier version of the file showed $1,300 and $2,600.

When does my 2027 FEHB plan start?

For employees, with the first pay period that begins in January 2027. Open Season runs November 9 through December 14, 2026.

Do retirees compare FEHB plans the same way?

Use the same formula with the monthly premium times 12. Annuitants generally pay FEHB premiums after tax, so the before-tax advantage that employees in premium conversion get does not apply. Reemployed annuitants should check their payroll treatment.

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