Key Takeaways

  • Many Medicare Advantage supplemental benefits that were common in 2024 have been reduced or eliminated in 2025, directly affecting Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) members.

  • If you rely on these extras under your PSHB-integrated Medicare Advantage plan, you need to reassess your current coverage and understand your rights during Open Season and Special Enrollment Periods.

Shrinking Benefits Are No Longer a Future Worry

As a PSHB enrollee with Medicare Advantage coverage, you may have already noticed that the generous extras you relied on are now harder to find. In 2025, Medicare Advantage plans are undergoing a quiet transformation, and for PSHB members, the impact is real.

For years, Medicare Advantage was known for its extended benefits—transportation, fitness memberships, over-the-counter allowances, and dental or vision support. These were key selling points, especially for postal retirees coordinating their PSHB plans with Medicare.

Now, that landscape is shifting. The U.S. Postal Service Health Benefits Program may still work with Medicare Advantage, but many of the fringe benefits once tied to these plans are either reduced or vanishing.

What Changed from 2024 to 2025

The year 2024 marked a turning point. While Medicare Advantage was still broadly popular, early signals of change were evident:

  • Over 85% of plans offered over-the-counter benefits in 2024. In 2025, that number has dropped to around 73%.

  • Transportation benefits, especially critical for retirees with mobility limitations, were included in 36% of plans in 2024. That figure has now declined to approximately 30%.

  • New CMS regulations require insurers to improve benefit clarity, which is prompting some plans to scale back supplemental offerings that are deemed duplicative or hard to manage.

These shifts have filtered into the PSHB program through the integration of Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage elements within your PSHB plan. If you’re Medicare-eligible, your benefits package may no longer look the same as it did even a year ago.

You Might Be Automatically Enrolled in a Plan That Changed

With the transition from the FEHB system to PSHB in 2025, many postal retirees were automatically enrolled in a Medicare-integrated plan—especially those who were already enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B.

But what you might not realize is that the Medicare Advantage benefits tied to your plan may have changed without much warning:

  • Some plans are dropping fitness reimbursements or replacing them with more limited wellness resources.

  • Home meal delivery after hospital discharge has become less common.

  • Dental and vision benefits may now have lower annual limits or narrower networks.

Unless you thoroughly reviewed your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) last fall, you might be operating under outdated assumptions about what your plan actually offers.

Why Plans Are Cutting Back Now

There are several reasons PSHB-aligned Medicare Advantage benefits are retreating in 2025:

  • Cost containment: With rising healthcare and prescription costs, many plans are shifting focus toward core medical benefits and away from extras.

  • Regulatory pressure: CMS is requiring more transparency and simpler communication of benefits, which can discourage insurers from offering supplemental perks that may confuse members.

  • Benefit utilization data: Some plans found that few enrollees actually used benefits like transportation or OTC allowances, making them easier to drop without broad pushback.

Even though these reasons make sense from a cost and administration standpoint, they leave you, the enrollee, with less value than you might expect.

Not All PSHB Members Are Affected the Same Way

The PSHB program is vast and includes a variety of plan choices, each with its own set of offerings. Whether you’re still working or retired, Medicare-eligible or not, you may experience the shift differently:

  • Active employees under 65: You aren’t impacted by Medicare-related changes directly but could see changes in overall plan structure and incentives.

  • Retirees with Medicare Part B: You may be enrolled in a plan that includes integrated Medicare Advantage features, which are the ones seeing the most cuts in extras.

  • Exempt retirees: Those who retired on or before January 1, 2025, and are not enrolled in Medicare Part B may retain previous FEHB-like coverage, but their options are limited going forward.

You need to confirm your enrollment category and whether your PSHB plan integrates Medicare Advantage features—and if it does, take the time to learn what’s still covered.

What to Review Right Now

Now is the time to actively review your current benefits before the next Open Season from November to December 2025. Don’t assume everything carried over from last year:

  • Check your plan brochure: It lists your full benefit structure, including what’s still included under Medicare Advantage integration.

  • Compare with last year’s ANOC: Look for changes to dental, vision, transportation, fitness, and other supplemental perks.

  • Review your out-of-pocket maximum: Even if perks are gone, your protection against high medical costs should still be intact—but verify the number.

  • Know your drug coverage: If you’re enrolled in Medicare Part D through PSHB’s EGWP model, confirm that formularies haven’t shifted dramatically.

New Medicare Advantage Trends Emerging in 2025

Although some benefits are disappearing, new patterns are emerging. As a PSHB enrollee, you may still see value in areas such as:

  • Chronic condition management: Plans are focusing more on disease-specific support, like diabetes or heart health, through case management and telehealth.

  • Prescription savings: The new $2,000 out-of-pocket cap for Medicare Part D offers major relief if you take expensive medications.

  • Payment flexibility: The new Medicare Prescription Payment Plan allows you to spread out drug costs evenly through the year.

These shifts don’t fully replace the value of lost perks, but they do offer different types of support—especially for high-cost users.

Don’t Wait Until Open Season to Take Action

While Open Season gives you the formal window to switch plans, you don’t have to wait to begin planning:

  • Contact your plan’s customer service or review your online PSHB portal now.

  • Talk with a licensed agent listed on this website to get a better understanding of what your current coverage actually includes.

  • Document what services you rely on most and compare them to what your plan still offers in 2025.

If you do this now, you’ll be better equipped to make confident decisions later in the year—before enrollment deadlines force a rushed choice.

Why These Changes Matter More for Postal Retirees

As a PSHB retiree, you often rely more heavily on supplemental benefits than the average enrollee. Years of physically demanding work can lead to mobility challenges, chronic pain, or cardiovascular issues that make fitness programs, transportation services, and dental care especially relevant.

When these benefits vanish, you’re left to fill those gaps with personal funds—or go without. And because PSHB is now fully distinct from the old FEHB program, your ability to switch to a different federal plan is also restricted. This makes it even more important to get your PSHB-Medicare integration right the first time.

Timing Is Everything—Stay Ahead of the Curve

2025 is already showing clear signs that Medicare Advantage plans are streamlining. For PSHB members, this is not a passive situation. You must engage, review, and plan ahead to keep your benefits working for you.

You have from now until December’s Open Season to:

  • Audit your current plan benefits

  • Get clear on what changed from last year

  • Talk with a licensed agent for tailored advice

  • Explore whether switching plans (or adjusting Medicare enrollment) would serve you better

Waiting could cost you time, coverage, and money.

Take Control of Your PSHB + Medicare Coverage Before It’s Too Late

The Medicare Advantage benefits you may have relied on are shifting fast—and that could reshape how well your PSHB plan serves you in retirement. Take this opportunity to fully understand what’s included, what’s disappeared, and what new supports are being offered.

Don’t rely on assumptions. Instead, talk with a licensed agent listed on this website who understands PSHB intricacies and Medicare rules. They can walk you through the details, clarify your options, and help you build a smarter path forward.