Glossary
Open enrollment period, defined
A fixed window each year during which a person can sign up for, switch or drop a health plan without needing a qualifying life event. Outside it, changes are allowed only in special circumstances such as losing other coverage, moving or marrying.
In practice
Different programs run different windows: the marketplace and most employer plans hold one in the autumn for coverage starting in January; Medicare's annual election window, also in the autumn, is when Advantage and Part D plans can be changed; and Medicare supplement policies have their own one-time window tied to the start of Part B, after which underwriting usually applies. Missing a window means waiting a year, keeping the current plan by default, or paying a late enrolment penalty in the Medicare programs. Employer plans commonly roll the current choice forward if nothing is submitted, but flexible spending elections often do not carry over. Dates are set by each program and change occasionally, so confirm them each year rather than relying on memory. Special enrolment rights have their own short deadlines.
A worked example
Suppose an employee reviews her employer plan options in November and moves from a plan with a $500 deductible and a $220 monthly premium to a high-deductible plan with a $3,000 deductible and a $90 monthly premium, freeing $1,560 a year that she puts into a health savings account. Had she wanted the change in March, she would have had to wait for the next window. Hypothetical figures.
Applies to: Health Insurance