Open enrollment is your annual shot at reviewing and changing your employer-sponsored healthcare benefits. Unlike the rest of the year, you can enroll in a new plan, drop coverage, add or remove dependents, and tweak your FSA or HSA contributions without a qualifying life event. For most employers, this window is 2-4 weeks in late fall, with changes starting January 1st. Miss the deadline and you're locked in until the next cycle, or until you hit a qualifying event like marriage, birth, or job loss.
Traditionally, you log into your company's benefits portal (Workday, ADP, or another benefits admin system), review the plan options (HMO, PPO, HDHP with HSA), compare premiums, deductibles, and networks, and make your picks. There's a new category of benefit: the Health-to-Wealth™ approach. It changes what changing your plan can mean. Instead of just swapping one carrier for another, you can now add a system that works alongside your existing plan to turn verified preventive health actions into automatic wealth. That system is WellthCare™.
What you can actually change during open enrollment
Open enrollment is about three types of plan changes. Understanding these will help you make a smarter choice, especially if you're considering WellthCare:
1. Changing your medical plan
You can switch from a traditional major carrier (Blue Cross, United, Cigna, Aetna) to another carrier, or from a traditional co-pay plan to an HDHP with an HSA. Compare these variables:
- Monthly premium - what you pay each paycheck
- Annual deductible - what you pay before the plan starts covering most services
- Out-of-pocket maximum - the most you could pay in a year
- Network - which doctors and hospitals are in-network
- Rx coverage - drug tiers, pharmacy networks, and PBM involvement
Most employees stop there. But there's a new metric: preventive engagement and wealth-building potential. WellthCare is an add-on to your medical plan, not a replacement for it. During open enrollment, you can elect to add WellthCare at no new out-of-pocket cost to your employer, and it changes the value of whatever plan you pick.
2. Changing your supplemental benefits - like WellthCare
Many employers now offer voluntary benefits that go beyond traditional medical, dental, and vision. WellthCare is one of them, and it's unique because it creates wealth from health. During open enrollment, you can:
- Add WellthCare at no new out-of-pocket cost to your employer, funded through pre-tax elections and tax efficiencies rather than new employer spending.
- Start earning reward dollars at the WellthCare Store™ for simple actions like an annual physical, lab work, or a preventive scan.
- Automatically build SEP or pension retirement savings from those same actions, with no paperwork and no extra deductions.
- Access $0 co-pay care that gets used before your primary plan, reducing your out-of-pocket drain.
Because WellthCare works alongside your plan, you don't have to rip and replace anything. You simply opt in during enrollment, and the effect is immediate: reward dollars as you complete preventive actions, less out-of-pocket spending, and a growing retirement account.
3. Changing your benefits admin and compliance setup
Open enrollment is also your chance to adjust how you manage benefits, like updating your payee information, setting up auto-deposits for HSAs, or confirming dependent eligibility. For employers who adopt WellthCare, the system includes compliance-grade recordkeeping for ERISA, HIPAA, and ACA requirements, so employees never have to worry about missing a form or deadline.
How to evaluate if your current plan is the best option
Most people only compare premiums and deductibles. But the real question is: Does your plan help you get healthier and wealthier, or just cover you when you're sick? Here are the key factors to consider this open enrollment:
- Rate of premium increases - Traditional major carriers have been raising premiums faster than wages. If your plan's cost is going up more than 5-7% a year, it's time to look at alternatives like a self-funded plan or an add-on like WellthCare that reduces claims.
- Prevention alignment - Does your plan reward you for preventive care beyond a free annual physical? Most don't. WellthCare rewards verified preventive actions with real, spendable dollars that go to the WellthCare Store and your retirement account.
- Pharmacy transparency - PBMs (pharmacy benefit managers) are under fire for hidden spread pricing. If your Rx costs keep climbing, ask about WellthCare Pharmacy™, which replaces the PBM with aligned, transparent pricing.
- Retirement benefit gaps - Nearly half of private-sector workers have no workplace retirement plan. WellthCare automatically funds a pension or SEP based on your health behavior, turning a weak benefit into a compounding wealth tool.
You can ask your HR team for a WellthCare Readiness Index™ evaluation, which uses your actual health behavior data (not guesses) to show your employer how much they'd save by expanding to WellthCare Complete™ (the full self-funded option).
The only change you might need is adding WellthCare
The most powerful change you can make during open enrollment is adding a Health-to-Wealth™ Benefit System that works with whatever plan you already have. WellthCare pays you back three ways at once:
- Reward dollars at the WellthCare Store™ - Earned when you complete actions like a preventive scan or lab test. No reimbursement and no paperwork.
- Automatic retirement contributions - Deposited to your SEP or pension account and compounded over time. Every verified preventive action adds to your long-term wealth.
- Out-of-pocket savings - $0 co-pay care used first reduces the drain on your deductible and FSA/HSA balance.
This flywheel (used-first care, less out-of-pocket, earned store dollars, growing retirement) means that even if you keep your existing medical plan, your total cost of healthcare drops. WellthCare is the first Health-to-Wealth™ Benefit System that rewards verified preventive actions with real, spendable store dollars and automatic retirement contributions funded by employer savings, all within established federal benefit frameworks.
Who can add WellthCare
WellthCare works for most W-2 employees, but eligibility has limits worth checking before you enroll. Participation is limited to W-2 employees in your employer's Section 125 plan. Business owners are not eligible, including self-employed individuals, partners, LLC members taxed as partnerships, and owners of more than 2% of an S corporation. Their family members qualify only if they are W-2 employees themselves.
There is also a coverage requirement. To receive benefits, you and your covered family members must be covered under ACA-compliant employer-sponsored group health coverage, either through your employer or a spouse's employer. WellthCare is built to work alongside that coverage and be used first. It is not a standalone health plan or a replacement for major medical.
What to do right now
Open enrollment windows are narrow. Here's your action plan for this year:
- Review your current total cost - Don't just look at premium. Factor in deductible, copays, Rx costs, and lost FSA funds.
- Ask your employer if WellthCare is offered - If not, ask your HR team about adding it. The case is simple: lower claims, higher retention, and no new employer out-of-pocket cost.
- Enroll in WellthCare if available - Enrollment takes a few minutes. You complete preventive actions, and the system verifies them and does the rest. You'll see your store dollars and retirement balance grow in the app.
- Use the Readiness Index™ - After 6-12 months, request a report to see if expanding to WellthCare Complete™ could save your employer 30-45% on premiums while you keep all your benefits.
Open enrollment used to be about picking the least-bad insurance plan. Now it can be about joining a system that pays you back for getting healthier. That's the power of changing your plan the right way. Healthcare that pays you back.