How the Government Shutdown Affects Federal Benefits Open Season
The federal government shutdown that began on October 1, 2025, has resulted in the furlough of 900,000 federal workers, and many more are working without pay.
The annual Federal Benefits Open Season begins on November 10, 2025, at a time when it’s unclear whether and when such benefits will be paid if needed. Open Season itself, at press time, is still planned, as we’ll examine below.
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Open Season During the 2025 Government Shutdown
The open enrollment period is often the only time for beneficiaries to enroll in or change their health, dental, & vision plans for the next year without needing a qualifying life event, such as marriage or birth.
The overlap of the shutdown with this enrollment window raises a question: Will military members and federal employees be able to manage their TRICARE and FEDVIP benefits, or will the shutdown block access?
TRICARE Open Season
The Defense Health Agency has confirmed that TRICARE Open Season will proceed as scheduled. Open Season is from November 10 to December 9, 2025. This information is current at press time, but is subject to change.
Beneficiaries can make changes online through the Beneficiary Web Enrollment portal on the milConnect website. The lapse in appropriations does not affect secure online services and patient portals.
TRICARE regional contractors also expect to continue telephone support. TRICARE beneficiaries who wish to switch between Prime and Select, or enroll in a plan for the first time, should be able to do so.
If you are satisfied with your current plan, no action is required. Your coverage continues in 2026.
For TRICARE beneficiaries, the outlook is reassuring, but it comes with complications. The Department of Defense funds TRICARE, and military healthcare is considered an essential function.
For active-duty service members (who remain on duty) the delivery of health services continues. But paying claims to civilian providers is another story. The Defense Health Agency has warned that the shutdown affects claims processing the most.
TRICARE may not process or pay medical claims for services rendered after the shutdown began, depending on circumstances.
While contractors like Humana Military have paid some claims with company funds, this is likely not sustainable. This delay strains civilian providers, who are uncertain when they will be reimbursed, and that creates problems within the healthcare network.
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FEDVIP Open Season
The FEDVIP open season is also proceeding as planned, from November 10 to December 8, 2025. The enrollment portal, BENEFEDS.gov, is an online, functional system operated by a contractor. Federal employees and eligible military retirees can log in to enroll, change, or cancel their dental and vision plans.
BENEFEDS has assured enrollees that they will not lose their dental or vision insurance due to a missed premium during the shutdown. When the government reopens, payroll providers will collect the missed premiums retroactively.
This likely means double deductions from future paychecks, but the insurance coverage continues. This information is true at press time but is subject to change.
The payment of premiums is a more pressing concern for furloughed federal employees. FEDVIP, like the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program, deducts premiums from employee paychecks. Employees without pay wonder if their coverage will lapse.
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Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAFEDS)
The shutdown also affects the Federal Flexible Spending Account Program (FSAFEDS). Like the other benefit programs, the FSAFEDS Open Season proceeds as scheduled from November 10 to December 8, 2025.
Furloughed employees can and should still enroll for 2026 via the FSAFEDS.gov website, regardless of their pay status. Unlike FEHB and FEDVIP, FSAFEDS enrollments do not automatically carry over.
Any employee who wishes to enroll in an FSA for 2026 must do so during this Open Season.
Furloughed employees are not receiving pay, so their payroll allotments to both Health Care and Dependent Care may stop. Despite the lack of contributions, employees continue to be enrolled in the program. This information is true at press time.
The primary complication relates to claims. For Health Care FSAs (HCFSA), FSAFEDS will not reimburse employees for eligible expenses they incur while in a non-pay status.
The program will only process reimbursements after the employee returns to a pay status and allotments are restarted. The Dependent Care FSA (DCFSA) operates differently. FSAFEDS will reimburse employees for eligible dependent care expenses incurred during the shutdown, but only up to the actual balance currently in their Flexible Spending Account (FSA) account.
When the shutdown ends, FSAFEDS will recalculate the remaining annual election amount and spread the deductions across the remaining pay periods of the year.
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About the author
Editor-in-Chief Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter/editor for Air Force Television News and the Pentagon Channel. His freelance work includes contract work for Motorola, VALoans.com, and Credit Karma. He is co-founder of Dim Art House in Springfield, Illinois, and spends his non-writing time as an abstract painter, independent publisher, and occasional filmmaker.
