Tip 28- Rotary Phones, VHS Tapes, Open Enrollment

“Open Enrollment” used to mean that your employees could make any coverage changes they wanted to, and that “pre‐existing conditions” didn’t matter.

But “Open Enrollment” is largely a thing of the past. In its place are phrases like “Qualifying Event,” “Creditable Coverage,” and “Election Period.”

Huh?

Here’s the general rule: Employees have 30 days to take action when changes occur in their personal life (marriage, birth, divorce, adoption) or in their insurance life (Medicare eligibility, spouse loses coverage). The “Open Enrollment” safety net is gone.

Your HR department needs to remind your employees of this. And then act promptly when changes occur.

Failure to do so leads to lapses in coverage.