It’s open enrollment season — that annual ritual where millions of Americans stare down a spreadsheet of premiums, deductibles, and fine print, trying to make the least worst decision for their health.
In any year, it’s stressful. But this fall, it’s especially fraught: health insurance premiums are set to soar, and as the government faces its longest shutdown ever, politicians are still gridlocked on any meaningful fix. For people trying to simply sign up for coverage, the chaos makes a complicated system feel even more impossible.
That’s where The Vox guide to using your benefits comes in.
This series is your compass through the bureaucratic fog — explaining not just what your options are, but why they’re so confusing in the first place. In his latest piece, Vox senior health correspondent Dylan Scott unpacks the goofy way we pay for vision care in the US and the absurd logic of a system that treats vision as a luxury rather than a necessity.
From there, the package explores every corner of the open enrollment maze, from the hidden rules that determine whether therapy or other essential care is actually covered to how to spot when you’re being overcharged. We explain why flexible spending accounts make saving for health care feel like a part-time job, and how America’s job-based insurance system keeps so many people stuck with confusing, costly choices.
Health care shouldn’t be this hard, but these stories make sense of a system that was never designed to be easy. Understanding your benefits is one way that you can take back some of your power in our health care system. Especially right now. You can read all of our stories here.
This kind of work is made possible by our Vox Members. If you would like to support Vox’s independent journalism, please consider becoming a Vox Member today.
—Paige Vega, senior climate and Future Perfect editor
