WASHINGTON — John Hancock Life & Health Insurance’s FedPoint unit said its contract to operate the Benefeds online marketplace used by the federal civilian workforce and military to buy dental and vision coverage was renewed by the White House’s Office of Personnel Management.
Terms were not disclosed. The contract, awarded after a competitive bidding process, will begin on Jan. 1 and contains option years extending through the end of 2026, according to the FedPoint statement.
OPM confirmed to Federal Times that the contract has a ceiling of $500 million.
In addition to handling enrollment and premium administration for “FEDVIP,” which administers dental and vision plans offered by 17 insurers, including Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Humana, FedPoint will also manage the annual “open season” enrollment, which for this year begins on Nov. 14.
“It’s a privilege to continue supporting federal employees and members of the U.S. military through the Benefeds contract,” said FedPoint COO Kevin Hill in a statement. “The renewal reflects FedPoint’s attention to service and quality, and the appreciation our employees have demonstrated over the past decade and a half toward the complex mission of the federal family.”
That annual effort requires more than 1,000 employees to manage call and transaction volumes during the federal government’s busy open enrollment period in the winter, the statement said.
The Benefeds contractor also administers the premium payment processes for the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program and allotment processes for the Federal Flexible Spending Account Program.
FedPoint was founded in 2002 as an administrator of large-scale insurance and benefit programs. FedPoint is a trade name for Long Term Care Partners LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of John Hancock, one the ten biggest U.S. life insurers.
Molly Weisner is a staff reporter for Federal Times where she covers labor, policy and contracting pertaining to the government workforce. She made previous stops at USA Today and McClatchy as a digital producer, and worked at The New York Times as a copy editor. Molly majored in journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
