Annual Benefits Enrollment for Active Employees Ends October 24, 2025

MEC Benefits Committee

With less than ten days remaining before Annual Benefits Enrollment closes, we encourage everyone to take advantage of the opportunity that we are afforded during this annual process.

You will find a Price and Compare tool on the Your Benefits Resource page, which is available from the Employee Services tab on Flying Together.  While this tool can be helpful in assisting us to see the costs associated with the various health plans that are available, we must guard against making health and welfare decisions exclusively on the basis of the monthly premium cost.  Other very critical cost considerations include deductibles, copays, coinsurance and out of pocket costs.

This year, the company is introducing two new plan options – Kaiser HSA HMO and Informed Choice, an Aetna plan.  Both of these plans offer additional options at a reduced cost as compared to the Traditional PPO plan costs. However, what also comes along with these new plan options are significantly higher deductibles and out of pocket costs both in and out of network.

Your MEC Benefits Committee strongly recommends that, in addition to the consideration of cost of a medical plan, you should ask "Is my doctor in this plan?", “How much is the "out of pocket?", "Will it cover me for all accidents and illnesses?" and "How will my pre-existing medical condition be considered?" 

Once you make your election of coverage for 2026, you have committed to that plan for the year. For this reason, we encourage you to compare plans, but remember if "something sounds too good to be true, it probably is." 

It should not be lost on anyone that missing from the company’s “2026 Decision Guide” is any highlight of the Traditional PPO Plan.  This plan offers some of the lowest individual and family deductibles while providing the most expansive access to medical resources, both in and out of network.  In addition to the Traditional PPO plan, there are four additional contractual plans outlined in Section 29.B.1, which include the Core Medical PPO, the Core Medical EPO, the Core Medical HDHP, and the Select Regional Plans.   

One additional change to the platform being used to record our benefit elections occurs at the end of the selection process. Whereas in years past, we completed the process using a submit button, this year completion of the Annual Enrollment process occurs when we CONFIRM our benefit elections.     

If you have questions on the Annual Benefits Enrollment process, contact the UABC at 800-651-1007.