Your 2027 insurance benefits open enrollment runs this year from October 29th through November 18th. Even if you don’t plan to make any changes, it can be worth your time to ensure that you are getting the most value out of your benefit package. Because administrative plans and care provider contracts are renegotiated every year, there is constant movement that changes the value of your election. For example, your current clinic might be at a lower cost level if you switch nothing but your plan administrator (Blue Cross or Health Partners); it’s also possible that your clinic could be ... Read More >>
Insurance updates
Open Enrollment Reminder – Closes November 19th
Are you getting the most out of your healthcare dollars? Open Enrollment is the once-per-year opportunity to make any changes to your healthcare network, providers, as well as to set your pretax contributions for next year’s accounts. In addition to traditional array of services, new in 2026 is a legal benefit that can create access to legal advisors for common life events. Learn more about your options at the SEGIP website here or search for “SEGIP open enrollment” in your preferred search tool. ... Read More >>
SEGIP Health Insurance Bargaining
As a State of Minnesota employee, your healthcare provided through the SEGIP plan is bargained similarly to how the collective bargaining agreement between MGEC and the State is bargained. But because healthcare is common to all state employees irrespective of which union they belong to, healthcare is bargained with all of the unions as part of a coalition. While Minnesota employees have generally been well-positioned as other employers have increased their costs of healthcare, the economic experience of 2025 is dramatically different. Costs are rising much faster than anticipated; the ... Read More >>
Health Insurance Bargaining
Unlike regular contract negotiations where each of the state’s unions negotiates their individual contracts with the State, the healthcare plans offered to employees are negotiated jointly in a coalition. Because having different healthcare plans for each collective bargaining group would lose economies of scale and be difficult to manage, this approach has been beneficial to state employees by using the leverage of a massive pool of insured people to achieve plan offerings that meet people’s needs and are fiscally prudent. Healthcare negotiations run in tandem with normal contract ... Read More >>
Health Plan Changes for Employees Who Have Divorced With Former Spouses and Children on Their Insurance
The Minnesota office of Management and Budget has changed its policy on insurance coverage that will directly affect employees who have divorced and still have their ex-spouses on their health insurance plans. MMB interpreted Minnesota law as requiring health insurance coverage for former spouses and children, but in light of federal IRS rules on “imputed income”, has changed its interpretation of the Minnesota law. The approximately 750 State employees in this situation need to take immediate action. Employees with ex-spouses and children currently on their family coverage will have ... Read More >>
Open Enrollment is Open October 25th – November 13th
The statewide Joint Labor Management Committee met October 15th to discuss changes to next year’s health plan. There aren’t any large-scale changes in this off-cycle year, but there are some items to pay attention to. MOST important is Open Enrollment from October 25th-November 13th. Bear in mind that Veteran’s Day is right before the close of open enrollment; don’t wait until the last minute to review your coverages and make any changes! Two items discussed at the Joint Labor Management Committee (the task force that negotiates healthcare) include ensuring that you make elections that ... Read More >>