Open Enrollment Tips

If you are an employee, you receive a hefty packet of information at the start of your company's open enrollment period. The information looks daunting and confusing. The temptation might be to run on autopilot and sign up for the same insurance and options as the preceding year. However, if you are covered through your employer-sponsored health care plan, avoid autopilot. Instead, use open enrollment to your advantage.

Read and Attend

• The information packet typically includes your choices and updates to policies. Read all that might apply and read the fine print, too. As an example, some companies may offer prescription-drug plans that abandon co-pay for a program and instead cover a percentage of prescription drug costs. A percentage of an antibiotic may not present a hardship, but a percentage of a cancer chemotherapy drug may run into thousands of dollars.

  Some companies provide meeting sessions during which various insurance representatives present information about the options available during open enrollment. These sessions permit employees to better understand the available options and ask questions.

Evaluate and Re-evaluate

• Open enrollment is an opportunity to explore the previous year's insurance issues and discover opportunities to create an improved coverage package. Ask yourself if you have been satisfied with your prescription drug, medical, dental and vision coverage. Determine what has been right and what has fallen short of expectation. Determine your level of satisfaction with your primary care physician or primary provider. Next, if you are highly satisfied, discover whether this provider remains available to you with any new options you might consider.

  Another aspect of insurance to consider is family coverage. You may discover that covering the family is more cost effective by shifting dependent children to a spouse's plan, or it may be advantageous to insure children on your own plan. Some insurers may add a surcharge for extending coverage to the entire family when insurance is available through the other working parent's plan. Understand all the costs and potential savings before making a switch.

Capture Incentives

• Many companies reward employees for healthy behavior with incentives. Some lower the cost of the monthly premium or offer other perks for non-smoking employees and employees whose weight, blood sugar and cholesterol consistently remain within certain guidelines. Truthfulness to the employer and insurer is important. For example, continuing to smoke after claiming not to smoke is an offense that can lead to termination.

Meet Deadlines and Follow Through

• The deadline for enrollment choices submission is usually final, so submit choices on time. Keep a record of any and all choices you make. Whether you make your selections electronically or via paper, keep copies. If questions come up during the year, having documents that confirm and verify your open enrollment selections could save you time and money.