Benefits Open Enrollment for 2027

Monday, November 9 - Friday, November 20, 2026

Mark your calendar for open enrollment

The open enrollment period for employee benefits will take place Monday, November 9 – Friday, November 20, 2026. During this time, you will have an opportunity to make your benefit elections for 2027.

IMPORTANT: You must complete your enrollment task in Workday to elect medical coverage and other benefits through Hamline University for 2027. Your elections for 2026 will NOT automatically carry over into 2027.

Good news about your 2027 benefit options

For the fourth year in a row, there will be no premium increase for employees who enroll in a medical plan design and coverage level (employee, employee + 1, or family) that’s comparable to their election for the previous year.

In fact, many employees will experience a premium decrease. Savings will vary based on your medical plan elections for 2027 compared to your elections for 2026, but could be as much as several hundred dollars per month.

Details about medical coverage options and benefits

Hamline is making changes to our medical plan offering to hold down premiums, preserve your choice of a high-deductible plan or a copay plan, and expand your options for conveniently choosing and accessing providers that best meet your needs.

We’re switching insurance carriers from Medica to UnitedHealthcare.
We’re reducing the number of medical plan options – i.e., combinations of benefit plan design and provider network – from 12 to 3. There will be two high- deductible plan designs, one copay plan design, and one provider network.
All three plan designs will be paired with the UnitedHealthcare Choice Plus provider network. It’s a broad national network that includes more than 1.5 million physicians, thousands of hospitals, and tens of thousands of retail pharmacies for easy access to care whether you’re at home or away. There’s no requirement to pick a care system or primary care clinic, and you can schedule visits with any specialist in the network without getting a referral first.
Beginning January 1, 2027, Hamline will introduce direct primary care from Nice Healthcare as a no-cost benefit for employees who also enroll in any of our medical plan options from UnitedHealthcare or Surest.

Expand the links below for details about the medical plan options and Nice Healthcare.

- Plan A for 2027 will be identical to the Plan A for 2026 with 100% coverage after an annual deductible of $6,500 single or $13,000 for a family.
- Plan B will be similar to the Plan B from 2026 with 75% coverage for most services after an annual deductible of $3,500 single or $7,000 for a family. An enhancement for 2027 is that prescription drugs will carry a copay ranging from $10 to $60 rather than 25% coinsurance after a deductible.
- Both Plan A and Plan B may be paired with a health savings account (HSA) so you can save and spend pre-tax dollars for qualified expenses. You’ll also be eligible to set aside funds in a limited purpose flexible spending account (LPFSA) for vision and dental expenses.
- New for 2027, both high-deductible plans automatically include critical illness coverage, accident coverage, and hospital indemnity coverage at no extra cost through UnitedHealthcare. You won’t need to elect these coverages in your Workday task for open enrollment. In addition, you’ll continue to have the option to buy similar coverage through our voluntary benefit offering from Unum.
- We’re introducing the Surest Plan from UnitedHealthcare as our only copay plan design. This innovative plan eliminates surprise medical bills.
- Unlike the Plan C and Plan D copay plans offered in 2026, the Surest Plan has no deductibles or coinsurance. All costs will be in the form of a copay. With Surest, coverage kicks in right away and out-of-pocket costs are predictable.
- Out-of-pocket costs are stable and predictable, even for unexpected care needs. The copay to visit to an urgent care center will always be $80. The copay to visit a hospital emergency room will always be $900.
- Copays for nonemergency hospital visits and office visits with primary providers and specialists will vary based on the service and provider you choose. Copays for office visits will range from $25 to $130. For hospital services, copays will range from $400 to $3,500.
- The Surest app and website enable you to compare cost and quality information so you can select the network providers and facilities that best meet your needs and know your out-of-pocket costs up front.
- Copays for most prescriptions range from $20 to $150, depending on the medication. The Surest app enables you to view the list of covered medications, see your copay up front, and find low-cost generic equivalents for brand-name drugs.
- The Surest Plan has an out-of-pocket maximum to cap your annual medical plan expenses. For in-network care, the out-of-pocket maximum is $5,500 for single coverage and $11,000 for employee +1 or family coverage. The Surest Plan is designed to protect you from reaching your out-of-pocket maximum.
- The Surest Plan can be paired with a medical flexible spending account (MFSA) so you can save and spend pre-tax dollars for qualified expenses.
- When you enroll in a Hamline medical plan from UnitedHealthcare or Surest, you’ll automatically be enrolled in Nice Healthcare. You won’t need to elect it in the Workday task for open enrollment.
- Your eligible dependents will also enjoy convenient, no-cost access to Nice Healthcare’s services even if they aren’t covered by a medical plan through Hamline.
- There are no premiums or out-of-pocket costs for Nice Healthcare services.
- Nice Healthcare provides care for a wide variety of everyday healthcare needs through virtual chat, video visits, and in-home visits by certified nurse practitioners and physician assistants. Virtual mental health therapy and virtual physical therapy are also available.
- You can use Nice Healthcare for:
  - Wellness care including annual wellness exams and sports physicals;
  - Chronic care for conditions like asthma, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes;
  - Acute care for common illnesses like colds and flu, strep throat, sinus infections, ear infections, urinary tract infections, pink eye, and rashes.
- There’s no cost for laboratory tests, X-rays, and more than 550 common medications that can be prescribed by the clinicians from Nice Healthcare.
- Your starting point is the Nice Healthcare app or website. Use it to schedule a virtual visit or in-person visit at your home. Your visit will include a review of your medical history and medications, diagnosis, care guidance, and education. Nearly all requested Nice Healthcare visits happen within 24 hours.
- If a physical exam, blood draw, rapid test, labs, or X-rays are needed after a virtual visit, Nice Healthcare will send a clinician to your home for those services.
- If your situation requires specialized care or is determined to be an emergency, Nice Healthcare will guide you to the most appropriate next step and provide relevant documents and instructions for the provider who will see you next.
- If you travel or have dependents living outside Minnesota, Nice Healthcare may still be a care option, depending on your need or location. Nice Healthcare is licensed to provide virtual visits and in-person visits in several states, and virtual visits only in several more: View service area.
- Several of Hamline’s peer institutions in the region offer direct primary care from Nice Healthcare or a similar healthcare provider and report high levels of employee satisfaction with this benefit.

Details about other benefits

Monthly premiums for the dental plan offered through Delta Dental will increase by 8% to $25.65 for single coverage and $66.73 for family coverage. There are no changes to the dental plan benefits or networks.

There will be no changes to the plan design or premiums of the:

Vision plan offered through EyeMed
Critical illness plan offered through Unum
Hospital indemnity plan offered through Unum
Voluntary life insurance and AD&D insurance plans offered through Unum. If you wish to enroll yourself (or a spouse) in voluntary life insurance for the first time during open enrollment or, if you enrolled previously but wish to change the amount of coverage for you (or a spouse), you (or a spouse) must go through the medical underwriting process. Email Gina Lund for more information.
Short-term disability plan offered through Unum
Long-term disability plan offered through Unum. You must provide evidence of insurability to enroll for the first time during the open enrollment period.

Details about tax-preferred accounts

Contribution limits will increase for some types of tax-preferred accounts and remain the same for others. Confirmation of certain increases by the IRS is still pending:

Health savings account (HSA) (confirmed):
- Individuals: Increasing by $100 to $4,500.
- Families: Increasing by $250 to $9,000.
- Catch-up contribution for age 55+ will remain the same at $1,000.
Medical flexible spending account (MFSA) and limited purpose flexible spending account (LPFSA) (both pending):
- Contribution limit: Increasing by $100 to $3,500.
- Maximum balance you may carry over from 2027 to 2028: Increasing by $20 to $700.
Dependent care flexible spending account (DCFSA) (confirmed):
- The contribution limit will remain the same at $7,500.
- There is no carryover provision for funds that remain at the end of the year. These funds are “use-it-or-lose-it.”

Resources to help you prepare for open enrollment

Hamline’s 2027 Employee Benefits Guide provides an overview of all benefits and should be a go-to resource as you think about your benefit elections for next year. Our benefits consulting partner also hosts a benefits resource website that is up-to-date with your 2027 benefit options.
Open enrollment season begins the week of Monday, November 2 with informational events. All benefit-eligible employees received calendar invitations during the week of October 19 for these events:
- Virtual Information Session: Tuesday, November 3, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Mike Schulz from Hamline’s benefits consulting firm, NFP, will present an overview of all benefit offerings and changes for 2027, with time for questions and answers. A link to join this virtual session was included in the calendar invitation you received via email during the week of October 19.
  
  Did you miss it? View a recording of the Tuesday, November 3 session here.
- Virtual Information Session: Wednesday, November 4, 10 - 11 a.m. Representatives from Surest and Nice Healthcare will each spend 30 minutes providing an overview and answering questions about these new benefit offerings. Check your email in-box for an invitation (with link to join the session) that you received during the week of October 19.
  
  Did you miss it? View a recording of the Wednesday, November 4 session here.
- Benefits Fair in Anderson 111: Thursday, November 5, 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Drop in any time during the fair. Representatives from UnitedHealthcare, Surest, Nice Healthcare, and Hamline’s benefit consultant and Human Resources team will be on hand to answer your questions. There will be snacks and swag, too, so don’t miss the benefits fair!

Important dates and details to keep in mind

On the morning of Monday, November 9, you’ll receive a task in Workday with a link to complete your open enrollment. It will remain available in Workday until you submit it, but not later than the evening of or through Friday, November 20.

No action = no coverage

This is a very important deadline. If you don’t take action to make your benefit elections during the open enrollment period, you won’t have coverage for 2027.

The only opportunity to change your benefit elections outside of the open enrollment period is if you have a “qualifying life event,” such as marriage, divorce, death, birth or adoption of a child, turning 26 and aging out of a parent’s health plan, or loss of coverage from another source.

Questions? Email Gina Lund in the Benefits Office.

Contact information

Gina Lund, benefits administrator

651-523-2464

1536 Hewitt Ave., MS-C1904
Saint Paul, MN 55104
United States

glund02@hamline.edu