Open enrollment

What It Means

Open enrollment is the period each year when you can enroll in a health planHealth insuranceA plan you pay a premium for that covers part of your medical costs, while you pay your own share through a deductible, copays and coinsurance. See more, switch plans or change who's covered. HealthCare.gov uses the term for the yearly window to sign up for a Marketplace plan, and it notes that job-based plans may run their own open enrollment on different dates, which your employer sets and announces. Outside that window, you generally need a Special Enrollment Period, triggered by a qualifying life event, to make changes.

How People Say It at Work

• "Open enrollment closes Friday, did you pick a plan?"
• "I'm adding my husband to my insurance this open enrollment."
• "I missed open enrollment, so I'm stuck with this plan until next year."

The Breakdown

How to use open enrollment well (Buhata's suggestion)

1. Put the dates on your calendar the day HR announces them, with a reminder two days before the window closes.
2. Pull last year's medical, dental and prescription costs, so you're choosing on real numbers.
3. Check what's changed in each plan: premiumInsurance premiumThe amount you pay to keep an insurance plan, such as health insurance, in force, usually monthly, quarterly or yearly, whether or not you use any care. See more, deductibleInsurance deductibleThe part of a covered loss you pay yourself before your home, renters or auto insurance pays the rest, set as a dollar amount or a percentage. See more, out-of-pocket maximumOut-of-pocket maximumThe most you pay in a plan year for covered in-network care through deductibles, copays and coinsurance, after which the plan pays covered benefits in full. See more and whether your doctors are still in networkIn-networkDescribes a doctor, hospital or other provider that has a contract with your health plan, so you usually pay less for covered care than you would outside the network. See more.
4. Confirm who's covered. Add a new spouse or baby, or remove someone who now has their own coverage.
5. Look past health insurance to the other benefitsBenefits packageEverything an employer offers on top of wages, such as health insurance, paid leave and a retirement plan, which can be worth thousands of dollars a year. See more offered in the same window, such as dental, vision or life insurance, if your employer bundles them.
6. Save the confirmation page and the plan summary where you can find them in a year.

Try it today. Find last year's total for premiums plus what you paid at the doctor and pharmacy. That one number tells you whether your current plan fit your year.

If you miss the window. HealthCare.gov says you'll generally need a Special Enrollment Period, which comes from events such as losing coverage, moving, marrying, having a baby or adopting. Job-based plans have to give you at least 30 days after one of those events.

Good to Know

Dates differ by employer and by year, so rely on your HR announcement for a job-based plan and HealthCare.gov for a Marketplace plan. If you're leaving a job, the Department of Labor's COBRA FAQ explains how you may be able to keep the employer's group health coverage for a limited time; compare its cost with a Marketplace plan before deciding. For terms like deductible and out-of-pocket maximum, HealthCare.gov's glossary has plain definitions.

Related Terms and Categories

• Benefits package

  Everything an employer offers on top of wages, such as health insurance, paid leave and a retirement plan, which can be worth thousands of dollars a year.

• Total compensation

  The full value of what an employer pays for your work in a year: base pay plus bonuses and the employer's spending on benefits such as insurance and retirement.

• Health insurance

  A plan you pay a premium for that covers part of your medical costs, while you pay your own share through a deductible, copays and coinsurance.

• Health insurance deductible

  What you pay on your own for covered health care before your health insurance plan begins sharing the cost.

• Insurance premium

  The amount you pay to keep an insurance plan, such as health insurance, in force, usually monthly, quarterly or yearly, whether or not you use any care.

• Returning to work after baby

  The move back to a job after parental leave, which brings new childcare costs, a pumping plan for some parents, and federal rights worth knowing before day one.

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