By: Rachel Poe
Open Enrollment is a time in which individuals are required to opt in or out of health, dental, and vision insurance for the upcoming calendar year. Those who receive benefits through an employer program will usually receive notification and be a part of a company census to gather quotes. While important in itself, it is also noted that, once open enrollment closes, so does your chance to change coverage for the upcoming years (unless you qualify for a life event change). Life event changes consist of some of the following: marriage, divorce, additional children, loss of job, movement from region, etc.
Open Enrollment for 2021 generally runs from mid-October to mid-December for coverage that begins January 1, 2021. According to Value Penguin, within individual households, it is important to review these insurance plans compared to 2020’s Affordable Care Act; plans may vary based on coverage and provider. In addition, depending on your state, individuals who opt out of health care coverage provided by ObamaCare will not be required to pay a tax penalty, however, it is important to check your state-level mandates.
Duke Health offers the following tips to prepare during the open enrollment process.
Know your needs - chronic conditions, emergency options, upcoming procedures, risk analysis
Family Changes - college, study abroad, new family members
Know What’s Covered
Identify Your Provider Network
Calculate costs
Evaluate Health Savings (HSA) and Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA)
Consider Other Insurances
Don’t Ignore - even if satisfied with the current plan - always review!
WARNING, open enrollment is not the same as Medicaid and Medicare. As a reminder, Medicaid is put in place to aid in low-income households and disabilities. This has no enrollment period and can be applied for at any time. Medicare creates access for individuals 65+ to health care (disabled individuals can apply at a younger age). Coverage begins January 1, 2021 with open enrollment ranging from October 15, 2020 till December 7, 2020.
While reviewing dental, vision, and health insurance needs, it is equally important to consider reviewing other needs such as long-term care, disability, and life insurances. See this attached pdf to review some questions that may help identify some of the needs, revisions, or gaps within upcoming insurance policies.
Not sure where to start? Contact us today for a Discovery Call to schedule a Free Consultation to discuss if an employee benefits review and an insurance policy review and recommendation session is right for you!