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How Long Is Open Enrollment?

November 2, 2020, by New City Insurance

Stethoscope sitting with heartOpen Enrollment is the annual period during which a company’s employees may make modifications regarding their health insurance plans. The open enrollment date changes per company but is one year from the effective date.

For example, if a companies effective date is December 1st, it will always be December 1st. If one of your workers did not enroll in your organization’s health insurance plan (or switch to a different one) during this open enrollment period, he/she will have to wait until the following year’s time frame to sign up for a new plan, unless he/she has a qualifying life event (QLE), such as getting married or having a child.

Why Is There A Timeline For Open Enrollment?

There are several specific reasons why the annual Open Enrollment Period only lasts a certain amount of time. Here is an analysis of the four primary reasons that a timeline for this period exists.

Prevents Skewed Risk

This period was created as a way to avoid skewed risk, or “adverse selection.” With regards to health insurance, this phrase refers to the scenario where ill people register for medical coverage and healthy individuals do not. When this occurs, the level of risk that a medical plan incurs when insuring people becomes significantly skewed.

Adverse selection may often lead to higher premiums for everyone in a medical insurance plan (or market), as it generally results in a pool of individuals with healthcare costs that are higher-than-average. This increase in premiums may cause many healthy people to forgo purchasing coverage, which could lead to even higher health insurance costs, thus creating a so-called “premium spiral.”

Important Decisions To Make During This Time

Woman participating in open enrollmentThe decision regarding which type of health insurance plan to purchase is one that should be taken after careful consideration of all available options — especially because this decision generally determines what type of medical coverage one has for an entire year. All of your employees must always be informed about all the important characteristics of every health plan your company offers, including premiums, deductibles, coverage details, provider network, and drug formulary (the list of prescription drugs that a plan covers, if any).

Type Of Plan Offered To Employees

Employees may often choose from many different types of plans during Open Enrollment. For example, they may select short-term or long-term plans, or plans that are either bronze, silver or gold (each one covers a different percentage of an individual’s healthcare costs). Other plans such as High Deductible Health Plans (HDHP) and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) may also be beneficial due to their lower healthcare costs.

How The Plan Will Impact Payroll

The insurance plans your employees purchase during the Open Enrollment Period directly affect their pay. Therefore, payroll is also impacted by the decisions made during this period. For instance, if one of your workers decides to switch to a higher-cost plan, then you will have to withhold a larger amount from each paycheck. In the event that your payroll provider assists you with the process of handling employee benefits, it may be possible for you to avoid doing this.

If any of your employees miss the Open Enrollment Period, they may still have the opportunity to sign up for health insurance, as many carriers have a 30-day grace period for updating selections.

Speak To The Open Enrollment Experts

speak to an open enrollment expert to clarify factsReach out to the professionals at New City Insurance in San Diego for more information on the annual Open Enrollment Period and why your employees can benefit from acquiring insurance during this time.

At New City, we provide group health insurance plans that include dental, life, and vision insurance (both high-premium and low-premium plans). We also offer a wide variety of employee benefits, including 401k & retirement plans, benchmarking, wellness plans, and professional employer organizations (PEOs). We also provide executive benefits plans that include deferred compensation plans, asset allocation, and wealth planning. Regardless of your unique needs and budget, we are here to help.

Call New City Insurance today at (888) 210-2759 or request a consultation to learn more about our benefits offerings.

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Google Rating
5.0
New City Insurance
New City Insurance
5.0
Carol Zhang
Carol Zhang
04:29 06 Mar 22
As a rapidly expanding national media organization, the employee benefits strategy and administration that New City has provided us during our growth has been invaluable. They have been proactive about informing us of the different benefit strategies available to us as we grow as well as managing the additional compliance laws and reporting requirements at each stage of our growth.
Claudia Villalobos
Claudia Villalobos
20:14 03 Mar 22
New City Insurance made navigating through all the health insurances super EASY. Their documents are highly informative, professional, and easy to work with. Thank you for making the process of choosing a health plan so simple. You guys are THE BEST!
Philippe Salas
Philippe Salas
17:02 22 Feb 22
I never expected to have a good time talking to an insurance salesman, but let me tell you Brendan was quite the treat. He was very helpful explaining the options and has a wonderful sense of humor. I hope to speak with him every time I call.
Jennifer Polito
Jennifer Polito
17:15 09 Feb 22
Super easy enrollment process. Fast and friendly customer service. If you are looking for an insurance company that is there for you every step of the way I highly recommend New City Insurance.
Rocky Salas
Rocky Salas
23:46 07 Jan 22
So friendly, I hope to speak to him again in all my future insurance needs.
Rocky Salas
Rocky Salas
23:38 07 Jan 22
So friendly and soft spoken. I hope to speak to him again in all my future insurance needs.
Jose Brena
Jose Brena
13:20 06 Jan 22
Eric Calciano has been extremely helpful in finding and selecting the right insurance coverage for our company. With many options out there Eric assisted us on getting a low cost provider saving more than 20% than from our competitors and providing excellent coverage for our employees.
Anastasia Beaverhousen
Anastasia Beaverhousen
17:05 28 Dec 21
Signing up for insurance was quick and easy. Felicity Sundsboe
SFCC
SFCC
22:08 29 Nov 21
Jeff Stoltey and his team provide excellent customer service. Jeff has always provided my company SFCC with straightforward options. I went to a larger insurance company only to RUN BACK to Jeff at New City Insurance. I recommend them to anyone needing insurance without hesitation.
Kevin Luby
Kevin Luby
19:13 22 Oct 21
Quick, easy & informative. We were able to secure quality insurance for our small business on a tight deadline. Thanks for the help New City.
Theresa Ruybol
Theresa Ruybol
19:30 01 Jul 21
Eric was so great with us. He was very patient and kind as we are a newer smaller organization who is growing rapidly. With that said, we had made our inquiry, he had great rapid response and mostly had to wait on me. Any request that we made and/or questions we had, he was great answering and helping us understand. Then when we were ready for all documents and to move forward, Brendan helped with getting that together and the two of them worked their magic on New City's end to notify me of what was needed, assist me in that process and confirming that all was complete and approved for the coverage. I just want to say thank you all again so much, as insurance has always been confusing to me, and you all made that process go a lot smoother.Thank you
Andrea Ordendorff
Andrea Ordendorff
21:06 07 May 21
I've been working with both Clayton and Brendan for well over a year. As the purchase of our dental practice was delayed well over 14 months they both patiently supported me and continued to make themselves available. When we were officially ready to sign up they made the whole process seamless and super easy. This team is highly knowledgeable, professional, supportive, and efficient! I can't thank them enough for everything they've done.
T W
T W
22:32 30 Aug 20
I love New City Insurance. I never had a good experience dealing with insurance brokers until I started working with Brendan. He’s awesome! He is patient with me and takes the time to answer all my questions. I’m very grateful for all his help and hard work!
Mary Jane Deyette
Mary Jane Deyette
00:57 11 May 20
Jeff Stoltey is so awesome...even thru my company had only two employees, he took the time each year to research and find the best plan for us. The only reason I am leaving New City Insurance is because we no longer have any employees. Thank you Jeff
Alma Ortiz
Alma Ortiz
22:25 23 Feb 20
Brendan was awesome! I couldn't figure out how to pick my plan and he returned my call on a weekend to help me. Outstansing service!
jessica kavanagh
jessica kavanagh
19:53 13 Feb 20
Brendan was so helpful I definitely recommend him if you’re in need of good help and getting it done promptly. Thankyou so much again.
Tricia DeYoung
Tricia DeYoung
19:49 13 Feb 20
I was very thankful I inquired about this info. with Brendan. He was very helpful so I understand the benefits available much better now. Thank you Brendan.
B Bayer
B Bayer
17:43 24 Sep 19
NCI handled almost everything from start to finish. Clayton and Brendan made the plans easy to understand and walked me through the application process. They got me my ID numbers before my cards arrived so that I could keep an appointment I had already scheduled. My last broker wouldn't have done that. 5 stars!
Jessica Lehr
Jessica Lehr
03:36 07 Jun 19
Our staff was interested in a health plan, but we didn't know how beneficial a solid employee benefits package would be for our business to expand. We'd lose prospective employees because they had more options for their medical insurance which was sometimes more valuable than more pay. The New City team was amazing and gave us as many affordable options as possible so that everyone had their needs met.
Mike McClay
Mike McClay
19:36 03 May 19
My employer uses New City as their insurance broker, and I'm always amazed when I call in for assistance by how knowledgeable and attentive their staff is with my requests. Their online benefits platform makes selecting insurance plans pretty darn easy. I would highly recommend their services.
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