How to prepare for open enrollment as an employer

If you're an employer with a limited budget, you may find it hard to offer employee health benefits. But a personalized benefits package with quality health coverage is necessary if you want to attract talented workers.

In today’s labor market, employees carefully consider an employer's benefits package before accepting a job. Beyond health insurance, workers want benefits that support mental health, boost satisfaction, and promote work-life balance. Open enrollment season is the perfect opportunity to determine if your compensation package meets these demands.

In this blog post, you’ll learn:

• What open enrollment is, how it works, and why it matters for both employers and employees.
• Five practical strategies employers can use to prepare for open enrollment and strengthen their benefits package.
• How clear communication, resources, and easy enrollment processes can improve the employee experience during open enrollment.

What is open enrollment?

Open enrollment is the dedicated window of time for Americans to enroll in, renew, or change their health coverage. This could be on their own or through their employer’s benefits package.

If they’re seeking a health plan on their own, they can do this through the Health Insurance Marketplace, state-based or private exchanges. Otherwise, enrollment varies by company.

The annual Open Enrollment period for individual plans is the only time individuals and family members enrolled in a Marketplace plan can change their current coverage outside of a special enrollment period (SEP), which requires a qualifying life event. It ensures individuals don't wait until they get sick to enroll in or switch to a more comprehensive plan.

Marketplace Open Enrollment typically runs from November 1 through January 15 in most states. A 2025 CMS rule would have shortened the 2027 Open Enrollment period to November 1 through December 15, 2026, with state-based Marketplaces ending enrollment by December 31.¹ However, in June 2026, a federal judge invalidated the shortened annual enrollment period, ruling that CMS had not adequately justified the change². The federal government appealed, and the case remains pending.

For now, employers should encourage employees who are enrolling in ACA Marketplace coverage to plan for a December 15 deadline and verify the current dates with their Marketplace before enrolling. This means that employees using HealthCare.gov should check the federal Marketplace for updates, while those in states with their own exchanges should check their state Marketplace directly.

Suppose you're an employer that offers a group policy through the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) or a private insurance carrier. In that case, your open enrollment period may be a different time of year, but most take place near the end of the calendar year. But if you offer a stand-alone health reimbursement arrangement (HRA), your employees will use the ACA Open Enrollment period to enroll in or change their individual health insurance plans.

Communicating open enrollment details ahead of time is a great way to tell employees about their coverage options.

Here are five ways to prepare for open enrollment no matter the type of plan you offer.

1. Set your benefits budget

If you're preparing to launch a new or revamped health benefits package, you must know how much you can afford to spend. Setting a budget will keep you focused and realistic as you choose your benefits.

Health benefits are often the most expensive perk to provide. But they're also the most desired employee benefit. According to our 2024 Employee Benefits Survey, 92% of employees rated health benefits as important. If you have the budget, splurging on this benefit can significantly increase retention and recruitment.

If you're an employer with a small budget, affordable alternatives to costly employer-sponsored group plans are available. One alternate option is an HRA. Stand-alone HRAs let employers provide tax-free reimbursements to employees for individual health plan premiums and other qualifying out-of-pocket costs.

Some examples of HRA-eligible expenses include:

• Doctor visits
• Emergency care
• Preventive care
• Over-the-counter medication
• Prescription drugs
• Mental health counseling
• Chiropractic care

If you have fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs), you can offer a qualified small employer HRA (QSEHRA). The QSEHRA is an affordable healthcare option for small employers that want to offer quality health benefits to their staff. Its simplicity makes it an excellent choice for employers offering a health benefit for the first time.

Employers of any size, including those with 50 or more FTEs, can consider a CHOICE Arrangement, formerly known as an individual coverage HRA (ICHRA). A CHOICE Arrangement works like a QSEHRA, meaning it’s a more cost-effective alternative to group health insurance. But it offers greater flexibility by allowing customization by employee classes.

Suppose you're interested in a group policy but want to save on monthly premium costs by switching to a high deductible health plan (HDHP). In that case, you can supplement your ACA-compliant group health insurance coverage with a group coverage HRA (GCHRA). With a GCHRA, you can reimburse employees on your group plan for eligible out-of-pocket costs the plan doesn't cover.

You should also budget for other fringe benefits you want to offer, like the following:

• Paid time off (PTO)
• Life insurance
• Wellness programs
• Retirement plans
• Parental leave
• Flexible work schedules
• Health savings accounts (HSAs)
• Flexible spending accounts (FSAs)
• Employee assistance programs
• Pet insurance

Employers pay about $15.61 per hour on average for employee benefits³. These averages vary by industry and how much you choose to spend. But they're an excellent place to start when creating your benefits budget. Consider what benefits are mandatory and what voluntary benefits you want to offer to attract and retain employees.

2. Tailor your benefit options to your employees

Open enrollment season is the perfect time to review your benefits package, as it can play a major role in reducing turnover. However, this only works if your employees see value in your offerings. That's why tailoring your benefits to include the perks employees want most is essential.

Creating an employee benefits survey to gauge your staff’s satisfaction with your current benefits is a great place to start. You can also ask them what other benefits they want to see at your company. From there, review the employee feedback. This helps you customize your benefits package to meet your employees' needs.

While the annual open enrollment period at most organizations focuses on medical coverage and healthcare plans, employees expect more when they see an updated benefits package for a new plan year.

Ensuring employees understand how you support them creates trust and a great employee experience. So, it's vital to collaborate with employees to provide benefits that offer the most value.

Adding or changing a few benefit selections could be the difference between retaining or losing good employees by showing them you're committed to their health and happiness.

3. Determine a communication strategy

After you choose your benefit offerings, you must communicate which benefits are available and when open enrollment will be for your organization.

Employees tend to value a variety of benefits. And yet, a BusinessSolver study found that 86% of employees find their benefit options confusing⁴. So, you must do more than send your employees materials and expect them to read the information at their leisure.

Simplifying your benefits options and communicating their value is an effective way to share vital information with employees.

Your open enrollment communication strategy should start early and span many channels, such as:

• Group meetings or town halls to discuss benefit changes and new offerings.
• Availability for one-on-one sessions with HR leaders or benefits specialists to answer any questions.
• Periodic open enrollment reminders via email updates. Be sure to include key enrollment dates and specific instructions.
• Messaging that designates relevant points of contact for further questions and concerns, like your HR team, the Health Insurance Marketplace (for those offering an HRA), and benefit vendors.

Using multiple communication channels helps employees make their benefit selections on time and get their questions answered. Allow plenty of time for questions, encourage personal conversations to explore options further, and explain your benefits to those hesitant to speak up in a group setting.

If you've made any changes to your current benefits, share the updates with your employees and thank them for their input if you decide based on their feedback. Employee morale and performance improve significantly when your staff sees the value of their contributions and opinions⁵.

If you offer an HRA or plan to offer an HRA for the new year, you’ll want to start telling your employees about ACA Open Enrollment. That way, plan participants can find an individual health plan that works for them.

4. Provide resources to your employees

Many employers provide resources for educating employees about their benefit offerings.

These resources can include:

• Virtual information sessions, such as webinars
• Benefit fairs
• Email campaigns
• Digital enrollment kits and guides
• Health insurance marketplace updates
• Live presentations
• 1:1 benefits specialist appointments

Virtual resources are impactful because staff can use them year-round, and active employees can save them for reference when the election period comes around. For example, if you have online benefits marketing materials from last year's open enrollment, you can update them for 2025's enrollment and distribute the information well in advance.

The health insurance enrollment process can be challenging for your employees. So, consider providing an individual health insurance broker as a resource. Brokers are health insurance experts with deep knowledge of various coverage options, changing health reform, and rising medical care costs, and can guide your employees through the process.

However, each individual plan type has many nuances, so your employees may need personalized support. Provide contact information for the marketplace, health insurance carriers, vendors, or a benefits administrator in case any of your staff need help.

If you offer an HRA with PeopleKeep by Remodel Health, our award-winning customer support and benefits team and online help center are here to help you at the click of a button. We also allow your employees to shop for and compare individual plans through our software, ensuring plan participants find the health policies that best suit them.

5. Make it easy to enroll

In the past, employers relied on manual processes to enroll employees in benefits. However, with many employees working from home, virtual open enrollment is the most practical option for many employers.

While the ACA’s Open Enrollment window for individual coverage is fixed, it's crucial to make enrolling in all your company's benefits easy and inclusive for employees — regardless of their location, time of day, or device.

The key to making open enrollment straightforward — whether it's enrolling in a health benefit plan on a public or private exchange or signing up for your organization's perks — is meeting people where they are. In this digital age, your benefits enrollment program should be accessible via desktop or mobile device.

To do this, you can create a one-stop benefits platform where employees can sign in and find information and resources. Your employee benefits portal should also allow them to complete the online application process and enroll in the offerings they choose on a self-service basis. Lastly, it should have links to the marketplace for health insurance enrollment and a chat feature ready to answer other benefit questions.

The goal is to direct your employees to your digital benefits platform, where they can access everything they need during the enrollment window, all in one place.

Conclusion

It's more important than ever to show your employees that you're committed to their health and well-being. Your benefits package can either reflect or detract from that commitment. By preparing early for open enrollment, you'll have time to tailor your benefits package and highlight all your available perks. This will encourage your employees to make smart decisions about their benefits.

Providing resources, communicating early, and making enrollment easy are effective strategies to help your current employees navigate the health insurance market and improve their experience throughout the enrollment window and beyond.

Want to add a personalized HRA to your benefits package? Schedule a call with an HRA specialist to learn more about your benefit options!

This article was originally published on August 10, 2022. It was last updated on October 5, 2026.

References

1. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Marketplace Integrity and Affordability
2. City of Columbus et al v. Kennedy et al
3. BLS: Employer costs for employee compensation – June 2026
   
4. Businessolver: 2025 Benefits Insights Report
5. Asana: How team morale impacts employee performance