FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS OPEN SEASON
November 10 to 5:00 P.M. Central Time December 9, 2003
BELATED OPEN SEASON ELECTIONS ACCEPTED UNTIL
5:00 P.M. CENTRAL TIME DECEMBER 29, 2003
You Can Make Your Open Season Election on PostalEASE or
SF 2809 New This Year!
Because of a delay in mailing the 2004 Guide to Federal Employees Health Benefit Plans, BELATED
OPEN SEASON ELECTIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED UNTIL 5:00 P.M. CENTRAL TIME ON
DECEMBER 29, 2003.
The 2004 Guide to Federal Employees Health Benefit Plans with new information is being mailed to
all eligible employees and contains the PostalEASE health benefits worksheet.
If you have any trouble using or do not wish to use the PostalEASE telephone, intranet, or employee
self-service kiosk, or if you are unable to use the telephone because you are deaf or hard of hearing,
or you cannot use the telephone, intranet, or employee self-service kiosk for medical reasons, you
may contact your local personnel office for assistance.
You may still use the Standard Form (SF) 2809, Health Benefits Election Form, instead of the
PostalEASE health benefits worksheet.
During this open season, eligible employees may make any one, or an appropriate combination of,
the following changes using PostalEASE or the PostalEASE health benefits worksheet or SF 2809:
• Enroll if not enrolled.
• Cancel enrollment.
• Change from one plan to another plan.
• Change from one option to another option.
• Change from Self Only to Self and Family.
• Change from Self and Family to Self Only.
Open Season and belated open season enrollment changes and new enrollments made by 5:00 P.M.
Central Time on December 29, 2003, will be effective January 10, 2004 (Pay Period 03-04). New
premium payments will be reflected in the paycheck dated January 30, 2004.
- Compensation, Employee Resource Management, 11-13-03
PLEASE POST ON ALL BULLETIN BOARDS THROUGH DECEMBER 9, 2003.
November 2003
Have You Seen Any of These Missing Children?
Please participate in the NALC/USPS Child Alert Program. Tear out this page and carry it with you. If you have information on any of these missing persons, tell your Postal Service
supervisor.
Brittney Nilges
Born: 9-14-89
Date Missing: 8-9-03
Missing From: Ft. Worth, TX
Marcia Quartz
Born: 2-23-88
Date Missing: 3-24-03
Missing From: Fresno, CA
Nancy Simental
Born: 5-6-89
Date Missing: 2-21-03
Missing From: Los Angeles, CA
Classy Ramsey
Born: 3-21-89
Date Missing: 3-9-01
Missing From: Miami, FL
Sassy Ramsey
Born: 3-21-89
Date Missing: 3-9-01
Missing From: Miami, FL
Jessica Thurston
Born: 3-2-88
Date Missing: 10-17-03
Missing From: Akron, OH
Njeri Williams
Born: 6-24-86
Date Missing: 1-10-03
Missing From: New York,
NY
Mani Karami
Born: 4-9-93
Date Missing: 4-8-03
Missing From: Cummings,
GA
Arjang Karami
Born: 7-24-88
Date Missing: 4-8-03
Missing From: Cummings,
GA
Patricia Rogers
Born: 1-28-88
Date Missing: 2-21-03
Missing From: Ponca City,
OK
Stephanie Rogers
Born: 9-30-90
Date Missing: 2-21-03
Missing From: Ponca City,
OK
Ashley Jones
Born: 4-20-92
Date Missing: 9-16-96
Missing From: Memphis, TN
Joe Tarkington
Age progression to 6 years
Born: 6-24-96
Date Missing: 4-9-99
Missing From: Trinidad, TX
Samuel Tarkington
Age progression to 5 years
Born: 9-22-97
Date Missing: 4-9-99
Missing From: Trinidad, TX
Robert Romero
Age progression to 8 years
Born: 4-10-93
Date Missing: 6-7-00
Missing From: Santa Fe, NM
Shaina Kirkpatrick
Born: 4-27-99
Date Missing: 4-4-01
Missing From: Portland, OR
Shausha Henson
Born: 1-25-01
Date Missing: 4-4-01
Missing From: Portland, OR
Lucia Valadez
Born: 8-12-88
Date Missing: 9-23-03
Missing From: Cicero, IL
Haven Pangelinan
Born: 11-5-02
Date Missing: 11-24-02
Missing From: Los Angeles, CA
Ronda Pangelinan
Born: 11-30-86
Date Missing: 11-24-02
Missing From: Los Angeles, CA
Please call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Hot Line 1-800-843-5678
TDD 1-800-826-7653
Missing Children Poster Display Instructions
Please display this poster prominently on bulletin boards in retail lobbies of main Post OfficesTM,
classified stations, and branches. Operators of contract postal units may display this poster at
their option.
Companion posters, authorized for display on bulletin boards maintained by employee
organizations, appear periodically in The Postal Record, a publication for members of the National
Association of Letter Carriers.
This poster is published in cooperation with the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children, the United States Department of Justice, and the National Association of Letter Carriers.
Information appearing on this poster is selected solely by the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children (NCMEC).
In addition to Postal Bulletin updates, NCMEC distributes information via broadcast fax.
Notification of newly reported missing children is sent to designated district "Missing Children"
coordinators at fax numbers provided by district managers. Within 24 hours of receipt of a
facsimile Missing Children poster, district coordinators should distribute copies to all Postal
ServiceTM facilities in their districts. Missing Children posters are to be displayed for 30 days in
Post Office lobbies, workroom floor areas, and other Postal Service facilities, unless notification is
received (from NCMEC) to remove a particular poster sooner. The broadcast fax network is used
to distribute posters and information in only the most urgent cases of missing and exploited
children. This system supplements, but does not replace, the missing children information in this
Postal Bulletin.
Missing Children posters are available to the U.S. Postal Service® only as described above. If
Postal Service employees are contacted by individuals or local agencies about displaying a sign
or poster of a missing child in local Post Offices, the individual or agency should be politely
informed that the U.S. Postal Service displays only those posters provided by NCMEC, because it
has been designated by the U.S. Department of Justice to be the national clearinghouse and
resource center for missing and exploited children. The individual or agency should then be
referred to NCMEC at 1-800-843-5678.
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) Open Season
FSA Policy Changes
All bargaining-unit employees may now contribute up to $5,000 to the Health Care FSA.
Over-the-counter medicines and drugs purchased without a physician's prescription, such as antacids,
cold and allergy medicines, and pain relievers, submitted with an itemized receipt, are eligible for
reimbursement.
See all changes described on page 12 of the FSA employee brochure, FSA BK1, Flexible Spending
Accounts, November 2003
Enrollment
Career employees must use the PostalEASE enrollment system to enroll in FSAs for 2004 during the
FSA open season:
• Call toll free877-4PS-EASE (877-477-3273) or
• Go to http://blue.usps.gov, click on Employee Self-Service, then PostalEASE or
• Use an Employee Self-Service kiosk (available in some facilities)
Should you have any trouble using PostalEASE, or if you are unable to use the telephone because you
are deaf or hard of hearing, or you cannot use the telephone, Intranet, or an Employee Self-Service
kiosk for a medical reason, you may contact your local personnel office for assistance.
USPS Personal Identification Number (PIN)
To use PostalEASE, enter your Social Security number and USPS PIN. If you don't know your USPS
PIN, call PostalEASE and, when prompted to enter your PIN, simply pause. The system provides an
option to have your USPS PIN mailed to your address of record the next business day. Or you may
request a USPS PIN via the Intranet or an Employee Self-Service kiosk - just follow the instructions.
When
November 10 through 5:00 P.M. Central Time on December 21, 2003.
Eligibility
Career employees only - noncareer employees are not eligible.
Plan Information
Leaflet and brochure with PostalEASE FSA worksheet included mailed to all career employees.
If material is not received by November 28, 2003, contact local personnel office.
Effective Date
FSA open season enrollments become effective January 1, 2004.
Questions
Hotline for FSA questions: 800-842-2026.
TDD line for hearing impaired: 866-206-7810 or 866-649-4869. Advance call to hotline encouraged.
PLEASE POST ON ALL BULLETIN BOARDS THROUGH DECEMBER 21, 2003.
® This office will be
CLOSED
Thursday,
November 27, 2003,
Thanksgiving Day.
Need Postal Service information? Call
800-ASK-USPS, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Or visit our Web site, www.usps.com,
for information, stamps, and so much more.
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