Have you been waiting to change your health insurance? Need to add a dependent or update a beneficiary? Want to enroll in the new Health Savings Account or a flexible spending account?

From October 15 to November 7, you can make these changes to your benefits and more during the Open Enrollment period, which will determine your benefit selections for the 2026 calendar year, beginning January 1.

This 3-week period is the only time during the year you can make benefits changes, such as those listed above. If you don’t need to make changes to your benefits, you don’t need to act. Keep in mind that Flexible Spending Accounts require an active enrollment every year. Elections for the 2025 plan year do not automatically renew in 2026.

To ensure we can connect you with the resources needed to complete Open Enrollment, please confirm your contact information with us is current by logging into Employee Self-Serve.

A New Way to Pay for Out-of-Pocket Medical Expenses

Beginning in January 2026, MCC participants enrolled in either the PPO2 or PPOHD medical plan will also be able to establish a Health Savings Account (HSA) to save money tax-free for qualified medical expenses.

What is an HSA?

It’s a savings account for medical expenses that has a triple tax advantage:

1. Your contributions to the HSA are deducted pre-tax, saving you roughly 20% in payroll taxes normally paid to the government through your paycheck.
2. Money in an HSA can grow through investments.
3. When you withdraw money to pay for qualified expenses, the withdrawals are not taxed.

Unlike flexible spending accounts, the HSA balance rolls over year-to-year, moves with you if you change employment, and can be invested in mutual funds, tax-free.

In addition to whatever you as an employee contribute to an HSA, your employer will be required to contribute $50 per month to each employee HSA, guaranteeing at least $600 in tax-free savings annually that can be put toward medical expenses.

If you’re enrolled in a PPO2 or PPOHD medical plan, you know the trade-off for paying the lower insurance premiums is the higher out-of-pocket costs for your medical expenses.

But with the addition of an HSA to your high-deductible medical plan, you can now benefit from both lower insurance premiums and tax-free savings to pay for out-of-pocket expenses like doctor visits, prescription co-pays, and more!

How do I take advantage of this new benefit?

If you’re enrolled in a PPO2 or PPOHD plan already, you will automatically be opted into an HSA during the upcoming Open Enrollment period.

If you are enrolled in one of our other medical plans, and you find that an HSA may be beneficial, you can use the upcoming Open Enrollment period to change your medical plan to PPO2 or PPOHD, which will allow you to benefit from an HSA. Be sure that your employer makes one or both of those medical plans available to you as an employee.

What about dental and vision costs?

Beginning in 2026, MCC will also offer a Limited Purpose Flexible Spending Account (LPFSA) that is a similar tax-advantaged account that allows you to pay for eligible dental and vision expenses. It will be funded with pre-tax contributions and can be used in addition to an HSA.

If you want to learn more about HSAs, please contact our MCC Benefits team—our information can be found in the footer of this email. In addition to that, there is also a webinar that MCC presented on HSAs.

Benefit eligible participants now have access to a full suite of Catholic-based wellbeing resources through the HOPE Wellness and EAP Platform. HOPE is MCC’s new integrated health and wellness program that empowers participants to invest in their total wellbeing: spirit, mind and body. Inclusive of a confidential Employee Assistance Program, the HOPE platform provides support for common challenges such as stress, emotional burnout, mental health concerns, and more.

Your HOPE personal health and wellness resources include:

• Catholic-centered health and wellness content, challenges, webinars, courses and resources
• Personal Assessments to understand your unique nature and the strengths God has given you
• Your Personal Wellness Coach focused on you, your health and holiness journey goals
• In-person accompaniment and seminar sessions with the HOPE health and wellness team
• Access to legal and financial consultation and support
• Work-life services, including child and adult care resources and referrals
• Spiritual direction, prayer, reflection, and bioethical consults

Employees can schedule one-on-one confidential and anonymous counseling sessions and participate in educational seminars on a wide variety of topics. HOPE replaced the TELUS platform on September 2, though Telus will continue to support employees currently receiving services. Participants can engage with the no-cost platform by visiting micatholic.org/HOPE.