Frequently Asked Questions

Open Enrollment (OE) is a period of time occurring once per year when eligible employees can enroll in, make changes to, or cancel their benefit options for health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, and/or Flexible Spending.

In 2025, Open Enrollment for Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance runs from Monday, October 6th through Friday, October 31st at 4:30pm.

Open Enrollment for Flex Spending runs from Monday, November 10th through Wednesday, November 26th at 4:30pm.

All enrollment(s), change(s), and cancellation(s) submitted during Open Enrollment take effect January 1, 2026.

All enrollment(s), change(s), and cancellation(s) submitted during Open Enrollment take effect January 1, 2026.

Yes! There are a few options for you:

• General assistance: HR front desk staff are trained to answer basic questions about Open Enrollment, including reviewing health forms for completion and assisting with making changes to applicable benefits via the Employee Self Service (ESS) portal online. The HR front desk will be open 8:00am-4:30pm Monday-Friday.
• Regular benefits assistance: Benefits staff will be available from 2:30-4:30pm on Tuesdays and from 8:30-10:30am on Thursdays to assist with in-person Open Enrollment questions.
• Vendor Fair and benefits assistance: HR/Payroll will be providing in-person assistance with health, dental, and/or vision insurance changes during our drop-in session on Friday, October 17th, from noon-4:00pm in Room 204 of the Madison Municipal Building (MMB). This in-person assistance session will occur at the same time as our Benefits Vendor Fair in Room 215, when you can ask benefit providers direct questions! 

Yes! This year, the Vendor/Resource Fair will be on Friday, October 17th, from noon-4:00pm in Room 215 of the Madison Municipal Building (MMB), 215 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. In addition to representatives from health plans, Delta Dental, Delta Vision, and TASC, there will also be representatives from the City’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Madison Credit Union, and some of our employee Affinity Groups!

Open Enrollment informational packets for the 2026 Plan Year are available electronically. An email directing you to log on to the Employee Self Service (ESS) portal to review a Notification with more information about Open Enrollment was sent to the email address on file for you in MUNIS on the first day of Open Enrollment. If you have not already done so, you will need to log on to ESS and review the Notification as soon as possible. The Notification will confirm your Benefit Group for the memo packet (A, B, C, D, or E) and will also provide a link to the HR Open Enrollment website, where you can review packets, ratesheets, and other Open Enrollment documents for the 2026 Plan Year.

Hardcopy Open Enrollment packets are available upon request to benefits@cityofmadison.com.  

IMPORTANT: review the memo packets and rates even if you are not planning to make any changes for 2026!

If you need a reasonable accommodation with regard to a disability or medical condition, please reach out to Leah Reinardy at (608) 267-1156 or accommodations@cityofmadison.com. 

If you do not want to make changes to health, dental, and/or vision insurance, no action is required. If you do not submit changes, any existing enrollment(s) will continue into 2026 at 2026 rates.

However, even if you are not making changes, be sure to read the memo packet for your Benefit Group (and if eligible for health insurance, review the 2026 Decision Guide, especially the Enrollment Checklist on page 1) to stay informed about what’s changing in 2026!

Please refer to the Open Enrollment packets/memos for more information about rates, including expanded premium ratesheets for health insurance. In 2026, all OE materials are available digitally on the Open Enrollment page of the HR Benefits website.

Ratesheets are included WITHIN the memo packet for your Benefit Group – you need to open and read your packet to access the rates.

This year, the only way to make an Open Enrollment change to health insurance is via a paper or PDF Health Application Change Form submitted to HR. This is because the Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) will be debuting a new benefits system next year; in preparation for the new (and improved) system, they have scaled back support for myETF Benefits (their current online system). At this point in time, employees can no longer access myETF Benefits to submit changes.

Please note that an ink signature is required for all hardcopy forms - typed signatures are not accepted. If you have any questions about your form, in-person drop-off is highly recommended. Finally, no matter how you are returning your form to HR, HR needs to be in receipt of your form by 4:30pm on Friday, October 31st.

Employees may want to change health plans, go from Individual to Family coverage, go from Family to Individual coverage, add dependent(s), remove dependent(s), enroll in coverage, or cancel coverage. If you have questions about how to fill out the form for a specific change (or for multiple changes), please reach out to the HR Benefits team directly.

IMPORTANT: While documentation is not required for Open Enrollment changes, Open Enrollment changes are still subject to ETF regulations and restrictions. If you have questions about whether a specific change is possible, please reach out to the HR Benefits Team directly.

You can submit a completed health form to Human Resources in one of the following ways:

• Via in-person drop-off to HR at the following address: 215 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Ste. 261, Madison, WI 53703
• Via interdepartmental mail (inter-d) to HR at MMB Ste. 261, Care of "Benefits"
• Via fax to (608) 267-1115
• Via email: Because all City emails are subject to open records requests, the Human Resources Department cautions against submitting confidential documents via email. If email is the only or best option available to you, you may choose to email your health form to benefits@cityofmadison.com from an email address on file for you with the City, using email encryption.

Please note that an ink signature is required for all hardcopy forms - typed signatures are not accepted. If you have any questions about your form, in-person drop-off is highly recommended. Finally, no matter how you are returning your form to HR, HR needs to be in receipt of your form by 4:30pm on Friday, October 31st. If you are close to the deadline, we recommend you avoid inter-d, as inter-d delivery from most agencies takes 1-3 days. If your form is not received timely, you will be subject to the Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) late Open Enrollment process; late Open Enrollment requests are subject to ETF approval or denial and are not guaranteed.

No, so long as you have your SSN on your health form, you do not need to include your ETF ID. If you want to include your ETF ID, you can confirm it via the Employee Notifications section of ESS.

No, the only part of Section 5 that applies to City employees is the question about Individual coverage vs. Family coverage. ETF requires the use of the same form statewide, which means there are some parts of the health form that do not apply to City employees. The High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) is not a part of our Program Option via ETF; additionally, the City of Madison does not offer ETF’s Uniform Dental Benefit or ETF’s Supplemental Dental plans – City dental is 100% separate from health insurance.

If you are not currently enrolled in the City’s separate Delta Dental group plan, are eligible, and would like to enroll in coverage for the 2026 Plan Year, you must enroll online through Employee Self Service (ESS) by logging into your account at ess.cityofmadison.com.

Unfortunately, no. The Opt-Out Incentive (Section 12 of the health form) is only an option for certain State employees, and does not apply to City employees. There is no compensation or incentive to waive or cancel City benefits.

The 88% of average maximum employer contribution calculation for the City of Madison can only take into account qualified Tier 1 network providers who have service in Dane County. 2026 is the third year in a row that Dean’s rates are high enough they do not qualify for Tier 1. Unfortunately, this means that the 88% of average calculations ETF made for the City for 2026 can only take into account GHC-SCW Dane Choice and Quartz UW Health, which lessens the impact of the employer contribution.

More information about 2026 medical premium increases is also available on the ETF website. ETF provides details about this year’s rate increases, their plans to help manage future rate increases, and contact information for the Group Insurance Board for members to share concerns about premium rate increases directly with the Board.

Yes. Members of the Group Health Insurance Program can share their concerns about health insurance premium increases by contacting the Group Insurance Board. There are two ways to share feedback/concerns:

Email:   BoardFeedback@etf.wi.gov

Mail:     Department of Employee Trust Funds
             Board Liaison
             PO Box 7931
             Madison, WI 53707-7931

No. The only way to make Open Enrollment changes to dental or vision insurance is via the Employee Self Service (ESS) portal online. Any paper or PDF forms HR receives will be rejected.

Instructions on how to submit changes via ESS are available in the ESS Resource Menu in the upper-right corner of your computer screen.

Your ESS username is your MUNIS/City ID number and can be found on your paystub in the upper left-hand corner. HR or your Payroll Clerk can also confirm your ESS username for you. If you do not remember your password and/or are locked out of your account, please call IT at (608) 266-4193 to reset your password.

We strongly recommend you try to log on to ESS early in the Open Enrollment period to make sure you are able to access the portal.

IMPORTANT: ESS login now requires employees to answer two security questions (in addition to entering your password) for added security. It takes more time to reset your security questions than it does to reset your password. Because of this, we strongly recommend you do not leave your dental/vision changes to the last minute, as if you need to reset your security questions, you may not receive a response in time to log in to ESS and submit your changes.

Once you are logged in to ESS, you can navigate to the Resource Menu (an icon that looks like a piece of paper with the corner folded over; on a computer, this will be in the upper-right corner). The 2026 Dental/Vision ESS instructions are one of the first resources available. If you open these in a new tab, you can reference them while you make your changes in the Benefits --> Open Enrollment section of ESS.

If you are married and wish to cover your spouse on your dental and/or vision insurance, please make sure you have selected a coverage level that includes your spouse (Employee + Spouse or Entire Family). Then, make sure your spouse’s information is listed in ESS. If your spouse is not listed as a person to be covered, you must add your spouse’s information as a “dependent” in ESS.

No. You can put in your own SSN or a placeholder SSN like 123-45-6789. If ESS will not let you save a given number, please try a different one.

In 2025, Open Enrollment for 2026 Plan Year Flex Spending runs from Monday, November 10th through Wednesday, November 26th at 4:30pm.

The City’s Flexible Spending Account (commonly referred to as “Flex Spending,” “Flex,” or “FSA”) program allows employees to designate pre-tax dollars for eligible expenses. There are two types of FSAs:

• Medical FSA: funds elected for Medical FSA can be used for eligible medical expenses incurred by you, your spouse, and/or your qualified dependent(s) (as defined by IRS regulations) during the Plan Year and grace period.
• Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP): funds elected for DCAP can be used for eligible dependent care expenses for qualified dependent(s) (as defined by IRS regulations) during the Plan Year and grace period. In order to be eligible, the expenses must be for the purpose of enabling you to work – for example, daycare expenses for a qualified dependent child under 13.

IMPORTANT: If you have questions about what constitutes a qualifying event for Flex Spending, whether a specific person would be considered a qualified dependent for you, or anything else pertaining to IRS regulations, please reach out to HR for clarification before you sign up.

This depends on whether you enrolled in Medical Flex Spending and/or the Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP):

• For Medical Flex Spending, you will have access to your full election for the year as of 1/1/2026. Funds will be deducted throughout the year on your biweekly paychecks. You will be provided with a payment card by our Flex Spending provider, TASC, and can use this card to pay for eligible expenses as you go. You can also submit receipts for reimbursement.
• For DCAP, funds are made available only as money is added to the account; you will only have access to DCAP funds that have been deducted on your paychecks to date. You cannot use the TASC card for DCAP accounts, and will need to submit receipts for reimbursement.

Please see the Flex Spending memo (when available) for more details.

Neither HR nor Payroll can provide tax advice. If you have any questions about tax implications for electing either Medical FSA or DCAP, we recommend you speak with a tax professional.

You are the expert on your own situation. Typically, Medical FSA can be helpful if you are certain of your medical expenses in 2026. For example, because Medical FSA funds are made available as of January 1st, Medical FSA can help offset the burden of paying for a large, planned, eligible expense, such as extensive dental work. Alternately, if you have regular, recurring expenses, such as monthly prescription costs, Medical FSA can allow you to set your predicted expenses aside pre-tax.

Several relevant considerations for Medical FSA elections

• All expenses must be incurred during the Plan Year or grace period. If you incur an expense in December 2025 (for example, if your child gets braces in December), that is not an eligible expense for 2026 Flex Spending funds, as the expense was incurred before the start of the plan year on January 1st.
• IRS regulations govern Flex Spending maximums, parameters, limitations, and documentation requirements; employees are responsible for confirming their own eligibility for Flex Spending per IRS regulations.
• If your spouse has a Health Savings Account (HSA) through their employer, you are ineligible to participate in Medical FSA per IRS regulations.
• Some expenses require a Letter of Medical Necessity (LMN) in order to be eligible for Medical FSA. If you are unsure whether a given expense requires an LMN or not, please contact HR or TASC.
• It is not possible to move funds between Medical FSA and DCAP accounts.
• Once the first payroll with your Flex Spending election has been processed, the election cannot be rescinded, even if you have made a mistake.
• Flex Spending elections can only be amended midyear within 30 calendar days of an IRS-defined eligible qualifying event.
• If you have funds remaining at the end of the year, it is possible to make qualifying purchases from the FSA store or similar IRS-compliant marketplaces.
• Any funds remaining at the end of the grace period will be forfeit.

Neither HR nor Payroll can provide tax advice. If you have any questions about tax implications for electing either Medical FSA or DCAP, we recommend you speak with a tax professional.

You are the expert on your own situation. Typically, employees who know they have qualified dependent(s) and an ongoing, stable childcare situation prefer to sign up for DCAP during Open Enrollment, as signing up during the Open Enrollment period ensures your DCAP election is divided equally between all paychecks in 2026, which lessens the financial burden on any given paycheck.

DCAP is also unique in that a change in the cost of coverage – for example, the start of daycare, summer camp, or another childcare program that enables you to work – is a qualifying event to enroll in DCAP midyear if you have an eligible dependent (per IRS regulations).

IMPORTANT: if you are not yet sure of your DCAP expenses (or if you will have DCAP expenses at all), HR would recommend waiting until you are certain of your expenses in 2026 to enroll midyear.

Several relevant considerations for DCAP elections

• All expenses must be incurred during the Plan Year or grace period.
• IRS regulations govern Flex Spending maximums, parameters, limitations, and documentation requirements; employees are responsible for confirming their own eligibility for Flex Spending per IRS regulations.
• It is not possible to move funds between Medical FSA and DCAP accounts.
• Once the first payroll with your Flex Spending election has been processed, the election cannot be rescinded, even if you have made a mistake.
• Flex Spending elections can only be amended midyear within 30 calendar days of an IRS-defined eligible qualifying event.
• DCAP is not for spouse/dependent medical expenses.
• Any funds remaining at the end of the grace period will be forfeit.

No. If you wish to participate in Flex Spending for 2026 (Medical Flex Spending and/or Dependent Care Assistance Flex Spending), you must actively enroll via ESS during the Flex Spending Open Enrollment period.

You will have until March 15th, 2026 to incur claims against your 2025 FSA and DCAP funds and until March 31st, 2026 to submit claims for expenses incurred through March 15th.

No. The only way to enroll in Flex Spending for 2026 is via the Employee Self Service (ESS) portal online. Any paper or PDF forms HR receives will be rejected.

Your ESS username is your MUNIS/City ID number and can be found on your paystub in the upper left-hand corner. HR or your Payroll Clerk can also confirm your ESS username for you. If you do not remember your password and/or are locked out of your account, please call IT at (608) 266-4193 to reset your password.

We strongly recommend you try to log on to ESS before the Flex Spending Open Enrollment period starts, or else early in the Open Enrollment period, to make sure you are able to access the portal.

IMPORTANT: ESS login now requires employees to answer two security questions (in addition to entering your password) for added security. It takes more time to reset your security questions than it does to reset your password. Because of this, we strongly recommend you do not leave your Flex Spending enrollment to the last minute, as if you need to reset your security questions, you may not receive a response in time to log in to ESS and submit your enrollment.

No. DCAP is not for dependent or spouse medical expenses – it is only for the cost of care for eligible dependent(s) that enables you to work, such as daycare expenses.

If you are married and your spouse is enrolled in a Health Savings Account (HSA) through their employer, by IRS regulations you are ineligible to participate in Medical Flex Spending through the City. You are still eligible to participate in Dependent Care Assistance Flex Spending (DCAP), but cannot enroll in Medical Flex Spending.