Open enrollment: compare your job's health plans side by side

Paste the numbers from each plan's Summary of Benefits and Coverage; get a plain side-by-side and questions for HR. It won't pick a plan for you.

What it does

No bot required, and it won't choose a plan for you. HealthCare.gov says insurance companies and job-based health plans must give you a short, plain-language Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) and a Uniform Glossary so you can make "apples-to-apples" comparisons. You can ask your plan or HR for a copy any time, and each SBC includes coverage examples for two common situations (diabetes care and childbirth). HealthCare.gov's glossary explains the terms: the premium is what you pay for coverage whether you get care or not; the deductible is what you could owe for covered care before the plan begins to pay; a copayment is a fixed amount and coinsurance is your percentage share; and the out-of-pocket limit is the most you'd pay for your share of covered care in a plan year. That limit never includes premiums, balance-billed charges or care the plan doesn't cover, and some plans don't count every cost toward it. Paste the numbers from two or three SBCs into any chat AI and it lines them up, works out rough totals for a light-use year and a worst-case year (premiums plus the out-of-pocket limit), and lists questions for HR about your doctors, prescriptions and network. It's a comparison worksheet, not insurance advice.

Copy-paste prompt

No bot needed: paste this into Grok, ChatGPT, or Claude.

Help me compare health plans during my job's open enrollment. Use HealthCare.gov's Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) page and its glossary as background. Don't tell me which plan to pick, and don't give insurance or medical advice.

Who's covered: [just me / me + spouse / family of 4]. Enrollment deadline: [date from HR].
For each plan, the numbers from its SBC and the enrollment site (no member IDs or medical details):
Plan A: [name]; my premium per paycheck [amount] and paychecks per year [52 / 26 / 24 / 12]; deductible (individual / family) [ ]; out-of-pocket limit (individual / family) [ ]; primary care visit [copay or coinsurance]; specialist [ ]; generic drugs [ ]; urgent care [ ]; emergency room [ ]; network type [HMO / PPO / EPO / high-deductible]; out-of-network covered? [yes / no]
Plan B: [same list]
Plan C (optional): [same list]

1. Make a side-by-side table of those numbers. Mark anything I left blank as "check the SBC."
2. Work out the yearly premium for each plan (premium per paycheck × paychecks per year).
3. Show two scenarios, clearly labeled as rough math:
   - Light-use year: yearly premiums, plus [2] primary care visits at the cost I gave.
   - Worst-case year: yearly premiums + the out-of-pocket limit for my coverage level.
   Remind me the out-of-pocket limit never includes premiums, balance billing or services the plan doesn't cover, and some plans don't count every cost toward it.
4. Explain premium, deductible, copay, coinsurance, out-of-pocket limit and network in one or two plain sentences each.
5. List questions to ask HR or the plan: Are my doctors, hospital and pharmacy in network? Are my prescriptions on the formulary, and in which tier? Is there an HSA or FSA, and how does it work with each plan? What do each SBC's coverage examples show?
6. End with: this is a comparison worksheet, not advice. HR, the plan's member services, or a licensed benefits counselor can answer specific questions.

Keep it calm and organized.