Employees eligible for health care benefits are encouraged to learn more about insurance and their individual elections in preparation for taking action during the annual open enrollment period this October.

A good starting point is the Get Savvy About Health Insurance webpage, which is maintained by the benefits office in the Office of Human Resources. The page was developed to provide a quick overview of information to help employees improve their understanding of health insurance.

“Employees who gain a basic understanding of their health insurance feel more empowered when navigating health insurance processes,” said Cindi Peterson, UO benefits manager. “Learning a few basics, such as the roles of the different players involved, commonly used terms, and a summary of the benefits and coverage, makes the experience of using health insurance less confusing.”

Learning the language and knowing current benefit elections also provides employees with key information needed to make informed decisions during open enrollment.

“We encourage all benefit-eligible employees to visit the Get Savvy webpage to improve their health insurance knowledge or get a quick refresher in advance of open enrollment,” Peterson said.

Open enrollment happens each year and gives benefit-eligible employees the opportunity to review benefit offerings and keep or change their elections for the following year. Participating in open enrollment is mandatory; all benefit-eligible employees are required to take action even if no changes to current elections are made. The deadline for completing open enrollment is Oct. 31.

The benefits office will share additional information in the weeks ahead as the open enrollment period approaches, including enrollment instructions and information about benefit plans. The open enrollment webpage has more information for employees about processes and deadlines.