Reviewed by Donna Fuscaldo. The publisher confirms ongoing editorial review. Prepared with AI-assisted research, writing and design.
Sources and calculations checked October 7, 2026. No interviews were conducted.
Keeping the same insurance can preserve the payroll premium without preserving the cost of using it. Arizona’s coming enrollment window makes that distinction unusually important.
Arizona state benefits open enrollment runs from October 19 through November 6, 2026, closing at 5 p.m. Arizona time. The state calls this a passive enrollment: existing selections continue for 2027 if no change is made. But an employee who wants a flexible spending account must elect it again, and unchanged medical premiums will sit alongside higher cost sharing.
The Benefit Services Division’s 2027 announcement says PPO copays will increase by $5, excluding pharmacy copays. The high-deductible health plan, or HDHP, has higher deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums, plus a rise in in-network coinsurance to 15%. Medical carriers and premiums remain the same. That is a stable price for holding coverage, with several different changes to the price of receiving care.
The distinction does not automatically make one plan better for a particular household. It does mean that checking only the premium line is an incomplete review. We separated the published changes into fixed enrollment decisions, thresholds that apply over the plan year and charges attached to individual covered services. The arithmetic below explains those changes without pretending to forecast a family’s medical bills.
Before comparing the dollars
Which benefit account are you working on?
The choices below guide the cost examples and final action summary. They do not access an account, determine eligibility or file an election.
Ordinary changes go through AZ360; life events during open enrollment require forms and supporting proof through the agency contact page. Active employees must reelect a wanted FSA.
Return-to-work retirees may have active and retiree benefits. Any cost example below is for the active-benefit side only.
The premium is only one part of the cost
A premium is the regular charge for the insurance itself. A deductible is an amount a member may have to pay for covered care before a particular benefit begins sharing costs. A copay is a specified dollar charge for a covered service; coinsurance is a percentage of the amount subject to that sharing rule. An annual out-of-pocket maximum limits certain member spending under the plan’s terms. These are different measures, so a freeze in one does not freeze the others.
Arizona’s announcement illustrates the problem cleanly. It says both the PPO and HDHP keep their carriers and premiums. For the PPO, the change is a $5 increase in nonpharmacy copays. For the HDHP, it lists higher in-network and out-of-network thresholds and a larger in-network coinsurance percentage. Readers need the schedule for their own plan and service, not a combined “health insurance increase” added indiscriminately to every bill.
For example, twelve services that each attract an affected PPO copay would produce $60 of additional copays: twelve multiplied by $5. That calculation does not mean every visit carries the increase. It excludes pharmacy copays, which the announcement says do not change. It also cannot establish that a particular appointment, preventive service or treatment falls under the affected copay rule. Check the benefit description for the service before counting it.
The same caution applies to a comparison across plans. A $60 increase in this narrow example does not prove the PPO is $60 more expensive than the HDHP. It compares one PPO cost component with its own previous rule. A full plan comparison would need premiums, covered services, network status, deductibles, account contributions and the way different charges count toward limits. Combining a simple copay change with an invented annual spending forecast would create precision the announcement cannot support.
Open one part of the bill
The charge that changes when care is used
These are hypothetical component comparisons, not total bills. First choose Active employee or Return-to-work retiree above.
PPO example: 12 affected nonpharmacy copays × $5 = $60 extra. HDHP example: 10% of $1,000 is $100; 15% is $150, an extra $50.
PPO: whole-number affected copays only, 0–1,000; pharmacy excluded. HDHP: $0–$10,000 allowed in-network charges subject to coinsurance, after the deductible and below the applicable maximum for the entire example. Other cost sharing is excluded. Dollar shares round separately to cents for display; an actual claim may use different rounding.
The bars, when an HDHP example is active, show 10 and 15 cents per dollar on the same full-dollar width. A five-percentage-point increase is a 50% larger share of the same amount.
Read the fixed examples
Twelve affected PPO copays cost $60 more because each rises $5. For $1,000 of in-network HDHP charges to which coinsurance applies after the deductible and below the annual maximum, the member share rises from $100 to $150. This does not estimate all annual care. This tool does not calculate out-of-network claims. The carrier summary lists 50% after deductible for many ordinary out-of-network services and 15% for emergency care.
Sources: Arizona’s 2027 changes, 2026 HDHP SBC and 2027 carrier summary. Arithmetic is ours.
A five-point coinsurance increase is a 50% larger share
The HDHP’s new in-network coinsurance is 15%. The 2026 State of Arizona Summary of Benefits and Coverage, hosted by the University of Arizona, confirms the previous 10% share for services such as ordinary primary-care and specialist visits. The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona 2027 HDHP summary shows 15% for those in-network services after the deductible. On a fixed amount of covered care to which coinsurance applies, the member’s percentage is therefore half again as large: 15 divided by 10 equals 1.5. Calling that merely a “5% increase” would blur percentage points and relative change.
Take an illustrative $1,000 of allowed in-network charges that are subject to coinsurance, after the deductible has been satisfied and while the member remains below the applicable out-of-pocket maximum. A 10% share is $100. A 15% share is $150. The $50 difference belongs to that narrow slice of care. It is not a prediction of the member’s annual increase, and $1,000 here means the amount subject to the sharing rule, not necessarily a provider’s original sticker-price bill.
Moving outside that slice changes the question. A charge before the deductible is met cannot simply be multiplied by 15% and called the entire member bill. A charge that reaches an applicable maximum also needs the plan’s accumulation rules. Out-of-network care follows separate terms. The 2027 carrier summary lists 50% after the deductible for many ordinary out-of-network services, but 15% for emergency care. A blanket out-of-network multiplier would erase that exception. The tool stays with the in-network comparison and does not price an out-of-network claim.
The figure also says nothing about a household’s probability of needing care. A person who has few coinsurance-subject services may experience the change differently from someone who uses many. The useful conclusion is specific: holding the relevant allowed charges fixed, the member share rises from ten cents to fifteen cents per dollar. Whether that increases the household’s actual annual spending, and by how much, depends on the care and plan provisions that apply.
The deductible and maximum increases use a different percentage
For in-network single coverage, the HDHP deductible rises by $85 to $1,785. Subtracting the stated increase gives the previous $1,700 threshold, and $85 divided by $1,700 is 5%. For family coverage, the new $3,570 deductible is $170 above the previous $3,400, also 5%. These are dollar thresholds, separate from the percentage charged in the coinsurance portion of a bill.
The published in-network out-of-pocket maximum rises by $175 to $3,675 for single coverage and by $350 to $7,350 for family coverage. Both increases are 5% of the reconstructed old figures, $3,500 and $7,000. A larger maximum is not a bill sent to every member. It changes the applicable ceiling for people whose covered cost sharing reaches it under the plan’s rules.
Two thresholds, not two extra bills
Where the HDHP’s published limits move
Choose HDHP and a network above, then choose the coverage level. Old values are reconstructed by subtracting the agency’s stated increase.
In-network single: deductible $1,700 → $1,785; out-of-pocket maximum $3,500 → $3,675. Both increase 5%.
| Network / tier | Deductible | Out-of-pocket max. |
|---|---|---|
| In / single | $1,785 +$85 | $3,675 +$175 |
| In / family | $3,570 +$170 | $7,350 +$350 |
| Out / single | $5,250 +$250 | $9,135 +$435 |
| Out / family | $10,500 +$500 | $18,270 +$870 |
All eight published changes are 5% of the reconstructed previous threshold. Deductibles and maxima are not added together as separate extra bills. The carrier summary says family thresholds apply when more than one person is covered. Covered medical/pharmacy deductibles, coinsurance and copays count toward the maximum; check full plan materials for service-specific rules.
Sources: 2027 enrollment announcement and 2027 carrier summary, footnotes 4–5. Horizontal bar lengths share the labeled dollar scale within the selected comparison.
Out-of-network figures are higher and also increase. The new deductible is $5,250 single and $10,500 family, increases of $250 and $500. The new out-of-pocket maximum is $9,135 single and $18,270 family, increases of $435 and $870. Subtracting the increments gives old figures of $5,000, $10,000, $8,700 and $17,400 respectively; each published increase is 5% of its corresponding old amount.
It would be misleading to add the deductible increase to the maximum increase and present the sum as an extra guaranteed bill. They describe different points in the same insurance structure. The 2027 carrier summary says covered medical and pharmacy deductibles, coinsurance and copays count toward the out-of-pocket maximum. One payment can therefore be relevant to more than one threshold; the amounts are not separate annual charges to stack on top of each other.
The carrier’s footnotes also resolve an important family question. When more than one person is covered, the family deductible has to be met before ordinary deductible-dependent benefits begin paying; the family out-of-pocket maximum likewise applies. For in-network family coverage, the $1,785 individual deductible should not be mistaken for a separate point at which one family member automatically enters post-deductible sharing. The relevant family threshold is $3,570. Preventive care has its own treatment, with the summary listing in-network preventive care at $0.
That distinction changes the comparison an employee should bring to enrollment. A single employee can examine the single thresholds. Someone covering a spouse or child needs to examine how the family’s covered spending accumulates toward the family amounts, rather than double a single-person estimate and assume that recreates the benefit. The threshold ruler shows the published totals; it deliberately does not attempt to turn individual claims into a family-year forecast.
Our source check combines the official indexed enrollment instructions, the full eight-page 2026 HDHP benefit summary and the carrier’s one-page document headed 2027 HDHP Summary of Options. The two PDFs independently confirm the old and new thresholds and coinsurance used here. We have not read the full 2027 enrollment guide or SBC: direct access to the agency site was blocked during this review. The narrower carrier summary supports this component comparison, but readers still need the full current plan materials or carrier help for treatment exclusions, authorization requirements and their own service-specific questions.
Passive renewal leaves the FSA decision unfinished
The state’s instruction to do nothing if keeping the same benefits includes a prominent exception: flexible spending accounts require reenrollment every plan year. An employee can therefore retain the same medical plan correctly and still fail to make a wanted FSA election. Reviewing the insurance selection and reviewing the account contribution are separate tasks.
For 2027, the announcement lists a $3,400 contribution limit for Health Care and Limited Purpose FSAs, $100 higher than before. It lists the Dependent Care FSA limit as unchanged at $7,500 for single filers and married couples filing jointly, or $3,750 for married couples filing separately. These are published ceilings, not recommendations to elect the maximum or determinations of anyone’s eligible amount. Account rules and a household’s expected eligible expenses still matter.
The HDHP’s HSA contribution limits also rise in the announcement: $4,500 for employee coverage, up $100, and $9,000 for family coverage, up $250. The state says its own contributions remain unchanged. A higher contribution limit is permission within the applicable account rules, not an additional employer deposit or a promise of free money. Before setting a payroll contribution, check how employer contributions and any other contributions fit within the applicable limit.
Do not let similar account names hide different functions. The agency’s forms page identifies the Health Care FSA with the PPO and the Limited Purpose FSA with the HDHP/HSA arrangement, where that account is for dental and vision expenses. The enrollment page, rather than a saved form from an earlier year, is the starting point for current 2027 materials. A personal tax or eligibility question may need more than the annual-change announcement can answer.
A recommendation from ALEX is not an election in AZ360
The state offers ALEX to help people compare benefits. Its enrollment page warns twice that using ALEX does not enroll anyone. A recommendation or a completed decision-tool session is an intermediate result, not a transaction in the benefits system. Actual ordinary elections and changes go through AZ360.
The published route for checking existing selections is AZ360, then EMMS, Profile and Benefits. During enrollment, the benefits section is where employees can change plans, change coverage or add and drop dependents. A useful review starts by checking what is already selected, then deciding whether it remains appropriate under the new cost-sharing schedule. If a change is wanted, complete the actual enrollment process and retain the confirmation the system provides rather than stopping at the comparison stage.
As of this October 7 review, the window has not opened. The agency says step-by-step videos and quick-reference guides will be posted by October 19. That makes this a preparation period: identify current selections, locate the relevant 2027 guide and decide which questions need answers. It is not evidence that a selection made in a decision tool today has been filed for 2027.
The close is 5 p.m. Arizona time on November 6, not midnight. The agency repeats the same window on its homepage. Anyone enrolling from elsewhere should work from the stated Arizona-time deadline rather than assume the computer’s local time is the deadline. Waiting for the last evening would leave little room to resolve an access or submission problem.
A life event during open enrollment takes a paper route
Ordinary annual changes and qualified life events are not the same process, even when they happen during the same weeks. Arizona says the Life Events Wizard in AZ360 will be unavailable during open enrollment. A person with a qualified life event in that period must submit a paper enrollment form and supporting documents through the agency’s contact form.
Follow the submission, not just the recommendation
ALEX can advise. The correct route must receive the change.
Recommendation only
Ordinary changes: AZ360. Qualified life events during open enrollment: paper form and supporting documents through the agency contact form.
Return-to-work retirees use AZ360 for active benefits and the Return-to-Work Retiree Form for ADOA retiree benefits. A retiree switching to ASRS is instructed to decline ADOA coverage in AZ360.
Sources: enrollment routes; current forms; life-event rules.
“Paper” describes the form, not an instruction to mail it to an address found elsewhere. The published submission route is the Benefit Services contact form. Start from the current forms and event instructions, identify the event and its effective-date question, and provide the required evidence. Do not assume that making a forward-looking annual election also fixes a life-event change affecting current coverage.
Event deadlines can differ. The agency’s qualified-life-event page explicitly provides a 60-day window for loss of Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program coverage, with coverage beginning the first day of the month after receipt of documentation. Other events have their own rules and required evidence. The annual November 6 close does not replace every event-specific clock; ask Benefit Services which one applies rather than treating open enrollment as extra time for an earlier event.
New employees also have a separate entitlement to enroll. The homepage tells new hires to enroll by the 31st day from their start date. The 2027 announcement gives a two-step instruction for hires in its stated October 19–November 9 group: make the 2026 new-hire election first, allow one business day for processing, then return to consider 2027 changes and reelect any wanted FSA. Because that new-hire date range extends beyond the ordinary November 6 close, a new employee should confirm the individual process with staff. It is not a general extension of open enrollment for everyone.
Retirement changes both the route and the records
Existing retirees can also keep their present coverage without reenrolling, according to the announcement. Those who want to change it use AZ360. A retiree moving to an Arizona State Retirement System plan is specifically told to decline ADOA coverage in AZ360. That affirmative step matters in a passive-renewal year: an intended switch elsewhere should not be treated as automatic cancellation of the current ADOA selection.
Return-to-work retirees have two sides to manage. The state directs changes to active benefits through AZ360, while ADOA retiree-benefit changes use the Return-to-Work Retiree Form submitted through the contact page. Changes to ASRS benefits go to ASRS. One person’s employment history can therefore produce more than one administrative route; the active-employee HDHP arithmetic in this article should not be copied onto a retiree plan.
For someone retiring for the first time, the forms page explains an additional records issue: a new retiree account is established, the employee account closes, and supporting dependent documents must be resubmitted because they cannot be transferred. Having supplied a marriage or birth certificate during employment does not establish that the new retiree account already has it. Confirm the correct current form and documents before assuming a missing dependent will carry across.
If a problem remains, choose the right type of help. The forms page sends enrollment eligibility, missed deadlines and AZ360 technical appeals to ADOA, while appeals of denied carrier claims follow the carrier’s process. A screenshot of a portal error and a disputed medical claim are different records for different questions. Keeping that distinction clear can avoid losing time in the wrong queue.
For 2027, the practical review is therefore wider than “Did my premium change?” Check which services cost more, whether an account needs a fresh election, and where the intended change has to be submitted. The deadline can be met only by finishing the right process. An unchanged insurance selection, a decision-tool recommendation and a completed benefits election are three different things.
Finish the relevant process
What to check before November 6
- Review current selections and the 2027 guide before deciding whether to change plans.
- Reelect a wanted FSA; passive insurance renewal does not do that.
- Use AZ360 for ordinary changes, and the agency’s form route for a qualified life event during open enrollment.
- Keep the 5 p.m. Arizona-time close separate from new-hire and life-event deadlines.
Start with the official enrollment page. If the correct route or effective date is unclear, use Benefit Services before the relevant deadline.