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Six Tips for Navigating Open Enrollment

Understanding health benefits information can be confusing. In fact, more than a third of insured adults surveyed said that health benefits information is difficult to read and understand.

Plan for Your Health helps you understand, choose and make the most of your health benefits by providing a variety of tips, tools and resources to help simplify the complexities of health benefits and make Open Enrollment an easier process.

These six steps address your needs at this time of year and explain how Plan for Your Health can help.

  1. Spend Some Time Online
    PlanforYourHealth.com is an easy-to-use website that can help you find answers to many of your health benefits questions. Organized into five sections based on important stages in life, this resource helps you make decisions whether you’re starting a new job, getting married, starting a family, living single or preparing for retirement. These changes can greatly impact your health benefits and financial needs and are critical moments for reevaluating your health plan.

  2. Prioritize
    Most people consider three priorities when choosing health benefits:
    • How much does my plan cost?
    • What is the prescription drug benefit?
    • Can I still use my preferred physicians and/or hospital?
    While these are certainly important factors, the Health Benefits Priorities tool helps you evaluate your plan options based on your lifestyle and how you use your health plan. Simple questions help you review the benefits that are available to you and your family and prioritize which ones make the most sense for you.

  3. Let a Trusted Resource Guide You
    Understanding health benefits is not easy. Register for a free copy of Navigating Your Health Benefits For Dummies. From the familiar “For Dummies” brand, this 64-page guide helps demystify the health benefits process with plain-English explanations of options and suggestions on how to make the most of your health plan.

  4. Ask for Advice
    The newest feature on PlanforYourHealth.com allows you to view answers to commonly asked Open Enrollment questions. Dr. Charles Cutler, a physician and national medical director at Aetna, and Tracey Baker, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professional, will answer common health and financial questions. You can also submit your own questions.

  5. Calculate your Needs
    Projecting your health expenses for the coming year is one of the smartest ways to ensure that you have the right coverage and benefits for yourself and your family. Still, only 39 percent of insured adults will take the time to try and calculate their expenses for the year ahead.
    The Health Expense Calculator helps you estimate your future health care costs. By answering six simple questions, you can approximate annual medical, dental and prescription expenses based on the age, medical conditions and frequency of physician visits for anyone in your family.

  6. Brush Up on the Basics
    It’s easy to be confused by health plan terms – co-insurance, deductibles, formulary, EAPs, FSAs, HSAs – what do they all mean? Check out the convenient, easy-to-understand glossary with basic definitions to help you understand the complicated language.

    No matter how much (or how little) time you have to spare, PlanforYourHealth.com can help you maximize your health benefits.

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