Annual enrollment is a period of time, usually but not always occurring once per year, when employees of U.S. companies and organizations may make additions, changes or deletions to their elected fringe benefit options. In most cases, employees can only make changes in benefits elections during open enrollment or when they have experienced a specific qualifying event

Qualifying event

A qualifying event is an event that results in the loss of employer sponsored benefits due to which a qualified beneficiary is eligible for COBRA benefits....

. During this time period an employer will typically communicate to all eligible employees what options they have for their benefit program. Often the vendors or insurance providers will be present to explain the details of their products. This can be done either with group presentations, or benefit fairs, or meetings one on one with each employee. As travel expenses continue to rise many vendors and insurance providers have turned to using independent contract enrollers to do the communication on their behalf.

For example, Health Advocate

Health Advocate

Health Advocate, Inc. is a national health advocacy, patient advocacy and assistance company, serving more than 6,000 clients and 18 million people and offering a spectrum of services to help employers, employees and consumers navigate the healthcare system and facilitate members’ interactions...

, Inc., a large health advocacy company that references employee benefit plans from over 6,000 employers, has a large push to update their system leading up to open enrollment, typically January 1st of each year. The process is very involved and takes several months as each employer plan may be very different.

Open season is a prominent feature of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program during which some 3 million Federal civilian employees and retirees may choose among several dozen health insurance plans for the coming year. Open season is scheduled in the fall each year, and plan enrollment decisions take effect in the following calendar year.

Fall open enrollment is also prominent in Medicare

Medicare (United States)

Medicare is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over; to those who are under 65 and are permanently physically disabled or who have a congenital physical disability; or to those who meet other...

, where almost 50 million enrollees can choose to stay in original Medicare, or join or change plans within the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D

Medicare Part D

Medicare Part D is a federal program to subsidize the costs of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries in the United States. It was enacted as part of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 and went into effect on January 1, 2006.- Eligibility and...

Prescription Drug programs for the coming calendar year.