Postal baby planner: your plan, your premiums, your dates
National averages, not quotes. They only matter on plans that charge a percent. Where they come from.
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Other life events: the life event planner. Looking for the federal employee version?
- The window. You may enroll, move up, or change plans from 31 days before to 60 days after the birth, through the HR Shared Service Center, 877-477-3273.
- When it starts. OPM: a change because of a birth takes effect the first day of the pay period in which the child becomes a family member.
- Already Self and Family? The newborn is covered from birth, with no form to file. Tell your plan.
- On Self Plus One? You can't swap who is covered. To cover your spouse and the baby, move up to Self and Family, and compare both premiums first.
- Open Season. You can also change plans November 9 to December 14, 2026, for January.
OPM: new family member · OPM: enrollment · OPM: PSHB enrollment
Premiums are OPM's 2027 employee rates, with paychecks counted from January 10. Care uses OPM's two maternity lines, each copay once, any stated maximum, and the deductible where it applies, up to the in-network limit. A daily hospital copay is priced at two days, from AHRQ's 2.2-day average for a vaginal birth (2011); a C-section stay runs longer. Plans with a percent plus a daily copay, or their own hospital deductible, are not priced. It leaves out the baby's own care, HSA and HRA money, later postpartum visits, and out-of-network care.
The starting bills are national averages under employer plans, not FEHB or PSHB figures. Delivery: $13,393, the Health Care Cost Institute average for 2020 ($11,453 vaginal, $17,103 C-section). Prenatal and postpartum: $7,023, the KFF average of $20,416 for 2021 to 2023 minus that delivery figure. FAIR Health national medians run $15,728 to $19,911 and count some care outside the delivery stay. Prices vary widely by state.
Before you decide
Your plan decides coverage and claims under its brochure, and the HR Shared Service Center, 877-477-3273 handles eligibility and enrollment, so confirm every date with them. This page can't tell you who is in network: use the plan's own search. OPM's files and plan brochures don't always match, and we do our best to catch the differences. StandWatch is independent, is not affiliated with the U.S. Postal Service, and does not act for OPM or any agency, and it never files anything for you. Full disclosures
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