Federal and postal workers to see double-digit health care premium increases again next year

Federal employees and retirees will pay an average of 12.3% more toward their health insurance premiums in 2026, marking the second consecutive year of double-digit cost increases.

The government’s share of Federal Employees Health Benefits Program premiums will increase by an average of 9.2%, bringing the overall premium increase to 10.2%. In 2025, civilian federal workers were estimated to pay an additional 13.5% on their employer-sponsored health insurance, compared to just 7.7% in rate hikes in 2024.

On average, feds in “self only” plans will pay an additional $15.43 per biweekly paycheck on FEHBP premiums, while those enrolled in “self plus one” insurance plans will pay an additional $34.21 per pay period. Federal workers enrolled in family coverage pay $38.81 more per paycheck on average next year.

Enrollees in the new Postal Service Health Benefits Program, which replaced the U.S. Postal Service’s previous insurance offerings last fall, will see their premiums increase by 11.3% on average next year, a slightly larger increase from 2025’s 11.1% rate hike. The government’s share of PSHB premiums will increase 8.0% on average in 2026.

Per biweekly pay period, postal workers enrolled in “self only” plans will pay an additional $12.88 in health care premiums, while those in “self plus one” plans will pay $29.78 more on average. Postal employees enrolled in family coverage will pay an average of $32.46 per paycheck.

Dental coverage as part of the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program will increase 3.3% on average, while vision premiums will increase by an average of 0.5% next year.

In a blog post announcing the 2026 premiums, Associate Office of Personnel Management Director for Health Care and Insurance Shane Stevens said that the federal government’s dedicated HR agency is hopeful that premium increases will subside as President Trump addresses the cost of prescription drugs. Trump in August claimed without evidence that he would reduce drug costs by “1,400 to 1,500%,” a mathematical impossibility.

“We spend a huge percentage of our overall budget on drugs,” Stevens wrote. “Much of this is great—GLP-1s, for example, have the potential to dramatically change downstream medical costs for many Americans (when used and managed properly), but they add substantially to our costs in the short term. As you may have seen, President Trump is working directly with pharmaceutical companies to help lower the costs overall for all Americans. We anticipate an opportunity to support this effort and will benefit from these efforts to help ensure our government plans are also able to realize these savings.”

Left unmentioned in OPM’s materials on FEHBP and PSHBP’s annual Open Season, which will run from Nov. 10 through Dec. 8, are the Trump administration’s elimination of most gender-affirming care for federal workers, retirees and their families. The agency similarly did not shed additional light on understaffing of IT jobs responsible for maintaining PSHBP, which the agency’s inspector general and members of Congress have warned could endanger the program altogether.

National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association National President Bill Shackelford said that paired with the ongoing government shutdown, a proposed 1% pay raise for non-law enforcement or military personnel and the Trump administration's other efforts to downsize the federal workforce, the premium increase "erodes the appeal" of public service.

"With federal employees facing the prospect of missed paychecks due to the ongoing government shutdown, a below-market pay increase for 2026, increased workloads due to large-scale reductions in force, new threats of permanent reductions in force in response to the shutdown, and withheld backpay by this administration, news of substantial premium hikes further erode the appeal of federal employment," he said. "Federal employees have often chosen the call of public service over the prospect of financial reward offered in the private sector. But the commitment to service does not eliminate the need for a decent-paying job sufficient to cover rising costs for yourself and your family. I worry how the cumulative impact of rising costs and damaging workforce policies will impact the ability to recruit and retain the workforce needed to meet the nation’s needs and serve the public interest."