Transitioning from TRDP to FEDVIP: A Blueprint for Large-scale Onboarding

Overview

In 2018, FedPoint helped the federal government shift military retirees from a single-carrier dental program to a modern, competitive multi-carrier marketplace through the transition from the TRICARE Retiree Dental Program (TRDP) to the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP). Rather than simply transferring TRDP participants, FedPoint supported a broader onboarding effort: approximately 754,000 individuals who had been enrolled in or eligible for TRDP selected a FEDVIP dental plan, including 118,000 who had not previously participated in TRDP but opted in for the first time. Newly eligible retirees and family members also completed more than 330,000 FEDVIP vision enrollments. This large-scale transition—driven by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2017—showcased FedPoint’s ability to deliver secure, high-volume benefits administration with exceptional customer experience.

The Challenge

The National Defense Authorization Act of 2017 mandated three major changes to military retiree and family member benefits:

1. the sunset of TRDP on December 31, 2018
2. TRDP beneficiaries would become eligible for dental coverage through the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) during the 2018 Federal Benefits Open Season, with coverage effective January 1, 2019
3. For the first time, active duty family members would be eligible to enroll in FEDVIP and shop for coverage from among multiple dental and/or vision plans

As the administrator of BENEFEDS, FedPoint was responsible for helping facilitate the transition and education—and encourage the onboarding—of the existing cohort of more than 824,000 TRDP beneficiaries, plus hundreds of thousands of newly eligible active duty family members. This population included uniformed services retirees, survivors, and dependents—many of whom were unfamiliar with FEDVIP and its enrollment processes.

The challenge required:

• moving a massive population into a new program without disrupting care
• integrating eligibility, enrollment, and payroll systems across the Defense Health Agency (DHA), U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), carriers, and military pay centers
• educating beneficiaries who had never before interacted with FEDVIP, providing them with the tools and resources needed to make informed decisions when evaluating and choosing from an expanded array of plan and carrier options
• managing unprecedented operational volumes, including 1.34 million new open season enrollments and more than 700,000 uniformed services dental enrollments
• ensuring continuity of care during and after the transition
• providing a belated-enrollment pathway for beneficiaries who missed the enrollment window, preventing gaps in coverage

To execute such a complex, high-visibility transition, OPM and DHA needed a partner capable of orchestrating a national-scale benefits migration with precision and reliability.

FedPoint’s Approach and Solution

FedPoint executed a coordinated, multi-agency transition strategy that combined systems integration, targeted outreach, and high-capacity beneficiary support.

Deep coordination across agencies and carriers

For more than a year leading up to open season, FedPoint collaborated closely with DHA, OPM, FEDVIP carriers, and military payroll providers to align data, systems, and processes. This work ensured that eligibility verification, enrollment workflows, and payment operations were fully prepared and rigorously tested before beneficiaries began shopping for coverage.

Targeted outreach and education

FedPoint supported—and helped orchestrate—a comprehensive communications effort that included close coordination with OPM and DHA to ensure that all outreach and educational messaging remained accurate, aligned, and consistent across agencies, platforms, and beneficiary groups. As each entity communicated with its own constituents, FedPoint played a central role in advising on content, synchronizing updates, and maintaining message discipline throughout the transition period.

Key components included:

• A dedicated transition website served as the authoritative source for consistent messaging and enabling beneficiaries to sign up for alerts and updates as new information, deadlines, and key dates were released in the months leading up to open season.
  • The site ultimately generated 358,000 registrants, 10 million page views, and 500,000 visits, with more than one million email alerts and 316,000 text alerts delivered to subscribers.
• Self-service tools such as Plan Compare and an eligibility checker
• Multiple outreach campaigns and coordinated messaging distributed through OPM, DHA, DFAS, and Military Service Organizations
• Digital events, Facebook Live sessions, virtual benefits fairs, and extensive media outreach including 200+ article placements

This multichannel, tightly coordinated strategy ensured beneficiaries were informed, prepared, and confident entering open season

High-capacity, multichannel enrollment support

FedPoint scaled its operations to meet historic demand:

• 444,000+ calls handled during open season
• Peak day of more than 49,000 calls
• 86% of all open season enrollments completed online

This capacity ensured beneficiaries received timely support despite record volume.

Secure data handling and real-time reporting

FedPoint provided stakeholders with real-time dashboards, detailed daily enrollment tracking, and secure data management, enabling rapid issue resolution and informed decision-making throughout the transition.

A safety net for late enrollees

To accommodate TRDP beneficiaries who missed the enrollment deadline despite extensive outreach, FedPoint fulfilled OPM’s request to implement a belated-enrollment process. This temporary extension allowed eligible retirees and survivors who missed the window to enroll in the months following open season, preventing unnecessary gaps in dental coverage and reinforcing the program’s commitment to beneficiary well-being.

Results and Key Takeaways

Strong enrollment outcomes

The transition produced the largest open season in FEDVIP history, with record-setting enrollment volume, call center demand, and website traffic. Key outcomes included:

• Nearly 80% of the ~825,000 TRDP enrollees moved to a FEDVIP dental plan
• More than 118,000 previously eligible but unenrolled TRDP beneficiaries enrolled in a FEDVIP dental plan
• More than 330,000 individuals enrolled in a FEDVIP vision plan, with 90% of these uniformed services vision enrollments coming from transitioning TRDP retirees and survivors

These results were cited as a success in a 2019 report to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees. Read the report >

Continuity of care preserved

Despite the scale and complexity, beneficiaries experienced minimal disruption. Coverage continuity was maintained throughout the transition and initial open season, including for those who enrolled belatedly.

A proven, scalable transition framework

The TRDP transition demonstrated FedPoint’s ability to manage population movements ranging from tens of thousands to more than a million enrollees—while maintaining high satisfaction levels:

• 94.6% customer service satisfaction
• 98.5% website satisfaction
• Among respondents who visited the dedicated website, nearly 98 percent found the information about the TRDP transition helpful.

Key takeaways

• Early, sustained collaboration across agencies is essential
• Clear, repeated communication drives enrollment success
• Multichannel support meets diverse beneficiary needs
• Real-time data visibility enables rapid issue resolution
• Flexibility—such as offering belated enrollment when appropriate—helps protect beneficiaries and preserve trust

Conclusion

The TRDP to FEDVIP transition stands as a model for large-scale federal benefits onboarding. By combining robust systems integration, targeted outreach, and high-capacity support, FedPoint ensured that more than 700,000 military retirees and their families transitioned smoothly into new coverage—while enabling more than 100,000 additional beneficiaries to gain access to dental and vision benefits for the first time.

Looking ahead, the experience and infrastructure developed during this transition now serve as a blueprint for future large-scale initiatives—whether launching new federal or military benefit programs, onboarding newly eligible populations, or managing high-volume enrollment events. FedPoint’s proven framework and experienced staff positions it to support the next generation of federal benefits modernization with confidence and precision.