Easy Open Enrollment

This is it—the time of year when you can adjust the health insurance benefits you offer your employees. Preparing early allows you to select plans that meet your organization’s needs and ensure a smoother experience for HR teams and employees alike. Having a clear strategy can streamline the process, reduce confusion, and minimize avoidable issues.

Why Open Enrollment preparation matters

Open Enrollment is a demanding time for HR teams, decision makers, and other stakeholders. Everyone involved needs clarity on their responsibilities, and employees need timely, accurate information to make decisions before deadlines. With the right preparation, employers can stay ahead of cost-management goals, support employee satisfaction, and reduce administrative strain. 

Do your homework: Review current benefits and requirements

Each year, evaluate your current health insurance offerings and determine whether you need to make changes. As part of this review, assess whether you have coverage gaps around virtual care, family-forming benefits, behavioral health care, chronic disease support, and other key employee health areas.

One of the simplest Open Enrollment tips for employers is to contact your producers and network partners. They can provide details on recent health care legislation changes, carrier deadlines, and other requirements that may affect your plan design. Share this information with your HR team so you can establish internal timelines for employee enrollment.

You will also need information specific to your company, which you can typically get through these avenues:

• Plan performance: Utilization patterns, enrollment distribution, and other key indicators can help you understand whether your current plan design meets employees’ needs.
• Claims trends: Look at high-cost claims, emergency room visits, and chronic condition trends for insight on whether you need to consider making adjustments.
• Employee feedback: Use an online survey to ask employees whether their current plan meets their needs and expectations.

Communicate early and often

Communicating with employees before and during Open Enrollment will give them time to review their benefit options and make the choice that best meets their needs. Consider sharing a list of items they should review, such as their:

• Beneficiaries.
• Flexible spending account needs.
• Health savings account considerations.
• Dependent eligibility.
• Qualifying life events.

Download our Open Enrollment checklist for more tips:

1. Employers with 2–100 employees (PDF)- Opens in new tab - Opens in new tab
2. Employers with 100+ employees (PDF)- Opens in new tab - Opens in new tab

Preparing a frequently asked questions (FAQ) document can also support your Open Enrollment strategy. It can help your employees better understand their benefit options and minimize the calls and emails you receive.

Extend your reach with multichannel communication

Using multiple forms of communication ensures all employees are well-informed about Open Enrollment. This is especially important if you have a hybrid or remote workforce.

If possible, start with a kickoff meeting for onsite employees, and set up a webinar so remote or hybrid workers can participate. Supplemental sessions and group presentations can provide additional support during what is often a stressful time.

Depending on your company’s resources, you might consider these follow-up communication methods:

• Emails
• Intranet postings
• Text messages
• Posters
• Videos

Digital communication can simplify your benefits administration process and free up your team to handle higher-priority tasks.

Keep your messages clear and actionable

No matter which methods you choose, be sure your messaging is clear and simple. Keep it brief, and give employees a call to action that clearly outlines next steps. Not every message has to relate to Open Enrollment dates. You can keep employees engaged, help them maximize their benefits, and support informed decision making by providing information on related topics:

• Health insurance definitions
• Provider networks
• Prescription benefits
• Dental and vision coverage highlights
• Travel coverage
• Telemedicine and nurse lines
• Wellness visits

Check enrollment accuracy

Once Open Enrollment ends, review all enrollment forms—especially if you are still using traditional paper benefits enrollment. Ensure addresses are correct and Social Security numbers are included for dependents.

If you haven’t already, consider switching to digital enrollment tools. This can streamline your enrollment process, minimize your administrative burden, and reduce errors.

Employer group coverage with UPMC Health Plan

No matter the size of your business, UPMC Health Plan has plans and product options to meet your needs. Our comprehensive offerings include medical, dental, vision, and pharmacy plans; health and productivity services; administrative solutions; and a customized benefit platform. We can partner with you to manage your costs and the health of your workforce. Plus, we offer award-winning customer service.*