Eligible employees have an opportunity to enroll in, cancel, or make changes to a variety of health insurance plans.
Check back on this page mid-April for Open Enrollment details.
If you need to update benefits due to a qualifying change in status,
visit the Qualifying Change in Status webpage.
Open enrollment is your annual opportunity to enroll in, cancel, or make changes to your medical, dental, vision, life, accidental death and dismemberment, and disability plans, and enroll in a Flexible Spending Account (FSA). Additionally, for those eligible or participating in the VEBA, this is your opportunity to assess your options.
Open Enrollment begins April 23 and ends May 9 at 11:59 p.m. with plan changes effective July 1. After Open Enrollment ends, you cannot make mid-year changes unless you experience a qualifying change in status event, or wait until the next Open Enrollment.
The following changes are effective for the upcoming Fiscal Year, July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026 (FY26).
Review each plan you participate in below. Action is not required on your part if you do not want to make changes to your existing medical, dental, or vision coverage, unless you want to enroll in an FSA.
If you are currently enrolled in an FSA, you must re-enroll for July 1 – June 30!
If you want to make changes or review what plans you are currently enrolled in, click the View or Change Benefits button for instructions. (New Instructional Videos will be available beginning April 23)
| Plan | Changes |
| Presbyterian |
|
| UNM LoboHealth |
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FY26 Medical Rates (See Rate Change FAQs below)
For FY26, CVS Caremark® will continue to provide prescription drug benefits. There will be no prescription drug plan changes for the upcoming Plan Year.
Read about UNM’s Prescription drug plan through CVS Caremark®.
There are no plan or rate changes for FY26. Read about UNM’s Dental insurance plan through Delta Dental of New Mexico.
For FY26, there are no changes to the plan design or rates. Read about UNM’s Vision insurance plan through VSP.
For FY26, there are no changes to the plan designs or rates for insurance plans through The Hartford.
During Open Enrollment, you can make changes to your Life, Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability, and Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) insurance plans via the online Life, Disability, and AD&D Web Form available through LoboWeb beginning April 23, 2025.
Life Insurance | AD&D | Short-Term Disability | Long-Term Disability
This is your opportunity to enroll in an FSA for the FY26 Plan Year. If you are currently enrolled and want to continue to take advantage of FSA in the upcoming Plan Year, you must re-enroll.
The FY26 Health Care FSA Plan Year maximum election is $3,300 and the carryover amount will increase to $660. The FY26 Dependent Care FSA Plan Year maximum election is $5,000.
Individuals who will meet or exceed the salary threshold of a Highly Compensated Employee as determined by the IRS, and considering enrollment in the Dependent Care FSA plan should review the tax advisory on the FSA webpage prior to enrolling.
Health Care FSA funds can be used for:
Check out the FSA Store for even more eligible expenses!
FSA Debit Cards will be arriving in mailboxes around July 1 for new FSA enrollees.
For more information about claim deadlines, “use it or lose it” provisions, and other plan rules, visit the FSA webpage.
Opt Out: During Open Enrollment, current VEBA participants have the opportunity to opt out of their VEBA contributions. By opting out of VEBA, participants forfeit access to retiree medical and dental benefits.
Opt In: Employees who previously opted out of VEBA have one opportunity to opt back in. This Open Enrollment is available to those employees who opted out between June 1, 2019 and May 1, 2020.
HR will contact VEBA Opt-In eligible employees directly. For more information, visit the VEBA webpage.
Did you miss the info sessions? Review the session slides HERE!
We understand your concern regarding the increase in health premiums. Several factors contribute to how much health care costs are projected to increase for the upcoming fiscal year. These include a post-COVID-19 surge in high-severity, high-cost conditions, economic factors such as inflation related to labor and supply costs, and trends in employment and wages within the healthcare sector. Additionally, there has been an increase in the utilization and cost of specialty medications (e.g., GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy).
Despite these challenges, please rest assured that UNM remains committed to ensuring your healthcare needs are met while striving to minimize the financial impact on our employees.
UNM's self-insured model ensures that approximately 94% of the premiums paid by employees and UNM directly fund healthcare services, such as doctor visits, hospital stays, and prescriptions. While we partner with insurance companies like BCBS and Presbyterian for administrative services, including claims processing and customer service, our self-insured approach enables us to manage costs effectively. By self-insuring, we can prioritize providing comprehensive coverage to our employees while saving costs that would otherwise go towards profit margins.
UNM collaborates with external benefits consultants to assess the funding required to cover healthcare claims and administrative costs for the upcoming fiscal year. This analysis considers factors such as the previous year's costs, national and local healthcare trends, and projected needs. The increase in premiums reflects the necessary adjustments to ensure adequate funding for healthcare services and support continued access to quality care for our employees..
Calculating your estimated premium contributions is made easy with our Benefits Calculator. Simply visit UNM Benefits Calculator and input your relevant information to receive a breakdown of your estimated premium contributions for the upcoming Plan Year. This tool will help you make informed decisions about your benefits coverage and understand any changes in your premium contributions based on your salary level and coverage choices.
No, there are no planned changes to the available healthcare plans or coverage options for the upcoming Plan Year. You can continue to access the same comprehensive medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage options offered by UNM.
During the Open Enrollment period, you will receive detailed instructions on how to review and make changes to your current benefits elections. This typically involves accessing the online enrollment portal or submitting paper forms provided by Human Resources. We'll ensure you receive all necessary information to make informed decisions about your benefits.
Yes, Open Enrollment provides an opportunity to review and update your dependent coverage. You can add or remove dependents from your health insurance plan as needed. Please ensure to review the eligibility criteria and any documentation requirements outlined in the enrollment materials provided.
While there are not new programs or resources available, we want to remind you of resources to support your wellness journey, including the LoboWell Newsletter. Created by our Benefits & Employee Wellness team, LoboWell delivers a wealth of health-improving information right to your inbox monthly! Our newsletters cover nutrition, fitness, emotional, and financial well-being, curated to help you unlock your best self and achieve a better work-life balance. Subscribe today by emailing listserv@list.unm.edu with the subject line blank and the message "subscribe LOBOWELL-L Firstname Lastname". Start receiving valuable wellness wisdom straight to your inbox!
If you have questions about Open Enrollment, contact Benefits & Employee Wellness at hrbenefits@unm.edu or 505-277-6947.
