Open Enrollment Checklist: What to Review Before You Choose Benefits

Your Open Enrollment Checklist at a Glance

• Record the deadline and coverage effective date.
• Check whether you must actively enroll.
• Collect the current benefits documents.
• Verify dependent information and required records.
• List household changes and expected care.
• Confirm providers and prescriptions.
• Review the full payroll deduction.
• Check HSA and FSA elections separately.
• Review optional benefits and beneficiary records.
• Resolve unanswered questions.
• Submit and save your confirmation.
• Check the result after coverage begins.

1. Record Your Deadline and Effective Date

Write down the closing date, exact time, time zone and coverage start date from your employer’s notice. Add a reminder before the final day so you have time to resolve a login problem or missing document.

Workplace dates are set by the employer and may differ from Marketplace dates, as Anthem’s employer enrollment guidance explains. If you are comparing workplace coverage with other options, keep each enrollment window separate. ESI’s open enrollment deadlines guide provides additional context.

2. Check Whether You Must Actively Enroll

Ask what happens if you take no action. Will existing medical coverage continue, change to a replacement option or end? Does the employer require a new election for any accounts or optional benefits?

Even when some coverage renews automatically, review the new terms. A continuing plan name does not tell you whether premiums, covered services or provider access have changed. Use ESI’s annual re-enrollment guide to prepare questions for HR.

3. Collect the Current Benefits Documents

Save the enrollment guide, employee rate sheet, Summary of Benefits and Coverage, provider directory and applicable prescription list. Confirm that each document matches the option and coverage period you are considering.

CMS explains that the SBC uses a standardized format to help people understand and compare health plans. Request the full plan materials when the summary does not answer a question. Keep last year’s documents as a reference for changes, rather than using old amounts for your new elections.

4. Verify Dependents and Required Records

Check the names, birth dates and coverage choices shown for each eligible dependent. Ask which documents are required when adding a spouse or child, how to submit them securely and whether there is a separate verification deadline.

For example, selecting family coverage and completing a dependent-verification request may be separate tasks. Ask how the employer confirms both are complete. Send personal records only through the process identified by your benefits team.

5. List Household Changes and Expected Care

Note changes that affect your decision: a dependent living elsewhere, ongoing treatment, a planned procedure or another available employer plan. Record the care you know you need and the questions you still need answered.

This article focuses on completing enrollment. For the detailed financial comparison, use ESI’s guide to comparing health insurance plans. Keep its comparison worksheet alongside your checklist so a choice and its submission requirements stay connected.

6. Confirm Providers and Prescription Coverage

Use the directory for the specific plan and network to check important doctors and facilities. Record the exact option when requesting confirmation. HealthCare.gov recommends checking the plan’s provider directory when reviewing access to care.

Check regular medications against the applicable formulary and ask about authorization, pharmacy and cost-sharing requirements. HealthCare.gov’s prescription coverage guide explains where to find drug coverage information. For GLP-1 medication, ask about the specific drug and prescribed use; a carrier name alone does not confirm your benefit.

7. Review the Full Payroll Deduction

Confirm whether the displayed premium is monthly or per paycheck, and how many deductions apply. Include the coverage tier, any applicable surcharge or credit, and separately selected dental, vision or supplemental premiums.

For a hypothetical example, medical coverage costing $120 over 24 deductions totals $2,880 annually. Adding $18 for dental and $4 for vision per deduction brings the combined annual premium to $3,408. These figures illustrate the arithmetic; they are not ESI rates and exclude expenses when you receive care.

8. Check HSA and FSA Elections Separately

Confirm the account type, eligibility, applicable contribution limit and employer funding before selecting a payroll amount. An HSA and a health FSA have different rules. Do not assume that enrolling in medical coverage also completes an account election.

IRS Publication 969 explains account eligibility, contribution and reimbursement rules. Ask whether other coverage affects HSA eligibility and how your plan handles unused FSA funds. Keep the account election confirmation with your medical election, and use the applicable year’s official limits rather than an undated estimate.

9. Review Optional Benefits and Beneficiary Records

If offered, review dental, vision, life, disability, accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity options individually. Note the selected coverage, covered family members, premium and effective date. Ask whether an application or evidence of insurability is required.

Review beneficiary information where applicable. For supplemental insurance, obtain the actual policy or certificate and benefit schedule. ESI’s ancillary benefits guide explains the categories; available options and claim payments depend on the employer’s selections and policy terms.

10. Resolve Questions Before You Submit

Keep a short list of unanswered questions with the plan name and relevant document page. Ask the benefits contact to clarify missing information and save important written answers.

Do not leave an unresolved issue until the portal closes. Ask how to report an enrollment problem and what proof the team needs. A support request is useful documentation, but it is not the same as confirmation that an election was accepted.

11. Submit and Save Your Confirmation

Review every election, waiver, dependent and account amount on the final summary. Complete the submission process described by the employer, then save the confirmation number, timestamp and downloadable statement, if provided.

Mark this step complete only when the system shows the expected result. Reopening a saved worksheet or selecting options without finishing the final submission may leave work unfinished. Keep a record of any subsequent correction and its confirmation.

12. Check the Result After Coverage Begins

Compare the first applicable payroll deduction and available benefits record with your confirmation. Check enrolled dependents, account elections and member information. If something differs, contact the appropriate benefits or payroll team promptly and provide your saved records.

Keep this open enrollment checklist for the next review, updating the dates and documents each year. If your circumstances change later, ask about the applicable enrollment rules instead of assuming you can edit every election at any time.