Prior to January 1, 2014 insurers offering individual medical coverage typically allowed new members passing underwriting to enroll at any time throughout the year.
Individuals usually can make changes to, or sign up for, their health insurance or fringe benefits only once per year[2] during the annual enrollment period or when they have experienced a specific qualifying event.
[3] Open enrollment periods are used in insurance markets to limit adverse selection risks resulting when enrollees can switch plans at will.
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.
Some campaigns have proven controversial, making broad claims of benefits without clarifying properly who is eligible, and depending on paid endorsers such as celebrities and retired politicians to sell low-quality plans.