Mental health and substance use care by level: what each 2027 FEHB and PSHB brochure says
Federal Benefits Open Season for plan year 2027 runs November 9 to December 14, 2026.
* Nine FEHB plans end after 2026. If you are in one and do not pick a new plan by December 14, OPM enrolls you in Compass Rose Standard. See the nineIn crisis now? Call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Veterans and service members: call 988 and press 1, or text 838255. This page is for planning coverage.
Each plan shows OPM’s two figures, then the rows of its own brochure’s Section 5(e) that name the level, word for word with the page. A level tag only points to rows; it is not a finding that a plan covers or does not cover that care.
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How the rows are sorted
A row sits under a level when its own words name it: intensive outpatient, partial hospitalization or day treatment, residential treatment or a residential treatment center (and halfway houses), inpatient care or room and board, crisis intervention or stabilization. Office and therapy visits are the Professional services and Telehealth rows. One row can sit under several levels: many brochures list partial hospitalization, residential treatment, and intensive outpatient treatment in one row.
Most brochures cover mental health and substance use disorder care in the same rows. Substance use shows the rows that name it on its own: detoxification, withdrawal, opioid or medication-assisted treatment, alcohol, or addiction. The shared rows show under every other level.
A row that mentions precertification or prior approval carries a tag. Section 3 of each brochure lists every service that needs approval in advance, and the brochure’s notes at the top of Section 5(e) apply to every row; pick Every row to read them.
Prescription drugs are in Section 5(f): use Check Your Drug. Applied behavior analysis and the ER rows sit under Every row. A plan whose rows do not name a level may still pay for it under a broader row, so read the section and ask the plan.
Before you decide
The plan decides coverage and claims under its brochure, and your employing office handles eligibility and enrollment. If a plan denies a claim, the brochure’s disputed claims section shows how to ask the plan to reconsider and then ask OPM to review it. Every brochure says it: “This brochure is the official statement of benefits.”
Whether a stay or a program is paid also turns on the plan’s approval in advance, whether the plan finds the care medically necessary, and whether the provider is in its network. Call the plan, and use its provider search, before you start care. StandWatch is independent, does not act for OPM or any agency, and is not paid by any plan. Full disclosures
Sources
OPM, FEHB plan information and brochures. OPM, PSHB. OPM, plan data files (Public Use Files). 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Veterans Crisis Line.
