If I want to be removed from my employer’s provided insurance plan and it refuses to remove me during an open enrollment period, what can I do other than quit my job?
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If I want to be removed from my employer’s provided insurance plan and it refuses to remove me during an open enrollment period, what can I do other than quit my job?
Asked on November 25, 2014 under Employment Labor Law, Ohio
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
You don't indicate what insurance you wish to be removed from; if it is health insurance, you have a right to decline it (but remember: if you do, you will not be able to be reinstated until next open enrollment, unless certain qualifying life events occur); if you employer will not let you do this, contact the insurer or insurance adminstrator directly, explain the situation, and ask them to help out. Do this before the open enrollment period ends, since once it ends, you are locked into whatever your status had been.
If you are talking about another employer-provided benefit, like life insurance, if you have to pay for it, you typically have the right to decline it, but if you don't pay anything and it's just given to you, you might not be able to--it would simply be something that comes with your job, like sick or vacation days.
If you have an employment contract (which would be unusual; most people don't, unless they are in a union), however, you need to look at what the contract says--the terms of the contract will affect or control what you can do vis-a-vis insurance.
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