W&L Open Enrollment Runs April 27-May 15 Now is the time to make any necessary changes to your university benefits.

W&L Human Resources
April 27, 2026

Washington and Lee’s open enrollment period begins on Monday, April 27 and will run through Friday, May 15 for the plan year that begins on July 1, 2026.

What is open enrollment?
Per the IRS, you may only make changes to your benefits once per year — during “Open Enrollment.”  During open enrollment, you may:

• Enroll in, change or cancel benefit enrollments
• Enroll or re-enroll in flexible spending accounts for the new plan year
• Add or drop dependents from benefit plans

Outside of the annual open enrollment period, you may only make changes if you experience a “qualifying life event” such as marriage, birth of a child, loss of dependent status, etc.

July 1 Changes and Notable Information
• Health insurance premiums will increase 5% due to claims experience and the rising cost of specialty prescription drugs. Rates can be found on page 8 of the 2026-2027 Benefits Guidebook.

• The university’s health insurance will transition from Aetna to Meritain Health (an Aetna company). Meritain Health utilizes Aetna’s same network of providers and will be responsible for medical claims administration and customer service starting July 1. W&L’s goal each year is to find opportunities that help manage rising costs and keep increases as reasonable as possible. This change helped limit the premium increase to 5%.

• Aetna eliminated the Carilion Plan as of July 1. Those currently enrolled in the Carilion Plan will be automatically transitioned July 1, and all primary care physician copays will be $25.

• The prescription drug plan will remain with Optum. Both Meritain and Optum will issue new cards prior to July 1. Please check Workday to confirm your home mailing address is correct. If a change needs to be made, see Q&A (#4) for instructions. The university suggests that you refill prescriptions in late June in case cards are delayed.

• There are two changes to the health insurance plan for 2026-27:

1. For members utilizing infusion medications, the administration of such services will transition from Aetna to OptiMed as part of the plan administrator change. OptiMed expands options for members, including in-home care and the ability to receive treatment at a location of their choice. OptiMed will handle all communications with providers and facilities and will make direct outreach to eligible members shortly after July 1 to start the onboarding process.

2. GLP-1 prescriptions will move to the specialty copay tier ($100 monthly), reflecting their significant cost to the plan and helping limit overall premium increases.

• Dental Insurance through UCCI – the network of providers will change from Advantage Plus to Concordia Elevate which will result in 107 additional in-network providers. Premiums will remain the same (page 11 of the Benefits Guidebook).

• The healthcare flexible spending account (FSA) maximum will increase to $3,400. The rollover amount for the plan year ending June 30, 2027 will increase to $680. Use this list to calculate the amount to contribute. (Ensure “FSA” is selected before your search.)

• The dependent care flexible spending account maximum will increase to $7,500 per household from $5,000. This is the first increase to the limit by the government since 1986. The maximum you may contribute is $7,000 (university matches up to $500). Funds can be used to pay for dependent care services such as preschool, summer day camps, before or after school programs and child or adult daycare. Use this list to calculate the amount to contribute. (Ensure “Dependent Care FSA” is selected before your search.)

• And finally, the university will increase the long-term disability monthly benefit maximum from $7,000 to $8,000 which naturally increases the 10% retirement contribution made by the LTD carrier. This is the first change since 2007 and is effective for approvals after July 1, 2026.

Ways to Lower Your Health Insurance Premium
• The university offers to pay a greater share of the total health insurance premium to ensure you do not contribute more than 10% of your family income toward the premium. Review the information on page 8 of the Benefits Guidebook. Apply by submitting a copy of your 2025 tax return to Human Resources.

• It is not too late to qualify for a $50 to $75 per month health insurance premium reduction for 2026-2027 by participating in the university’s wellness program, Live Well W&L. You have until June 1 to log your activities.

• Click here for ways we can all work together to lessen the health insurance claims experience to mitigate future premium increases.

Steps to Take by Friday, May 15, 2026
• Review the Benefits Guidebook, which contains benefit summaries and premium information. Learn more about the university’s benefits program by visiting the benefits pages on the Human Resources website.

• Attend one of the following informational sessions to learn more and ask any questions you may have. W&L’s insurance broker and representatives from Meritain will deliver these sessions. Because they will join via Zoom, you can attend from any location; however, Human Resources has reserved Room 114 in 2 S. Main for employees who don’t have easy access to a computer or Zoom.

Zoom Sessions
— Tuesday, April 28 • 2 p.m. (https://wlu.zoom.us/j/93821577783?from=addon)
— Tuesday, May 5 • Noon (https://wlu.zoom.us/j/93622281299?from=addon)
— Monday, May 11 • 2 p.m. (https://wlu.zoom.us/j/95737094536?from=addon)

• Between April 27 and May 15, all employees, even if you don’t intend to make changes, are strongly encouraged to log into Workday and click on the Open Enrollment task in your Workday inbox to review current benefit elections and beneficiaries and make any desired changes for the 2026-2027 plan year.

• Note to employees currently enrolled in flexible spending accounts: If you want to participate for the 2026-2027 year, you must re-enroll as this year’s elections do not continue in the new year.

• To assist with enrollment, HR staff will be in Facilities (UFO) on Tuesday, May 5 from 8 to 11 a.m. and in the Elrod Commons Dining Conference Room on Wednesday, May 6 from 1 to 4 p.m. The university will provide laptops to use for enrollment. All employees are welcome to drop in with questions or for Workday assistance.

If you have any questions, contact Kim Austin.
If you need assistance with Workday, contact Suzannah Vess.
For assistance logging wellness program activities, contact Andrea Velasquez.  

Supervisors – please share this important information with employees who do not regularly check their W&L email.

Meritain Health, OPTUM, UCCI, EyeMed and Flexible Benefits Administrators have apps for smartphones that are easy to use and convenient for quick access to claims, plan information, and ID cards.