YNHHS rolls out 2026 Benefits Program

Yale New Haven Health has announced details of the 2026 benefits program for employees, noting that while many components of the program remain the same, several changes and enhancements have been added:

Benefits program highlights for 2026 include:

• New: An out of area medical plan for employees who live 50+ miles from a YNHHS Tier 1 facility. Contributions for this plan are the same as the YNHHS Medical Plan.
• New: YNHHS’ prescription drug carrier will change from CVS to Capital Rx. Employees will still have access to the same pharmacies, plus additional options as well as enhanced customer service and access to state-of-the-art digital tools and resources.
• New: The current Employee + Child medical insurance category will be enhanced with the new Employee + Child(ren) category, providing more cost-effective coverage for those who cover themselves and their children only (not a spouse) under the YNHHS Medical Plan. 
• New: There will be smaller gaps between YNHHS Medical Plan contribution salary bands so that the increase in medical plan premiums will not be as high for those that move up a salary band.
  
  
  Changes to the 2026 benefits program include the following:
  • While YNHHS will continue to pay the vast majority of the cost of coverage, employees will see moderate increases to medical and dental plan contributions. Deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums, coinsurance and copays will not increase.
  • For employees who cover a working spouse under a YNHHS Medical Plan, the working spouse surcharge will increase from $10 to $30 per paycheck. 
  • The increase in the use and cost of GLP-1 drugs for weight loss has led to a very significant benefit plan cost increase. As a result, effective Jan. 1, the YNHHS Medical Plan will no longer cover GLP-1 drugs when used solely for weight loss. GLP-1 drugs for FDA-approved conditions will continue to be covered.

Additional customer service enhancements include a new insurance carrier, Aflac, which will administer Life, Disability and Family and Medical Leave. Aflac will also administer Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Personal Leave requests as well as the Supplemental Health Voluntary Benefits.

New life insurance and voluntary benefit options, plus increases in flexible spending and health savings account maximums will also be implemented in 2026. See the intranet for information about a webinar on Oct. 30 to learn about these voluntary benefits.

To learn more about your 2026 benefits options, visit BenefitsConnect at ynhhs-benefits.org.

Open Enrollment begins Oct. 27

Open enrollment for 2026 benefits begins Monday, Oct. 27 and runs through Friday, Nov. 7, 2025.

To learn more about your 2026 benefits options, including the medical, prescription drug, dental and vision plans, family support offerings, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), Health Savings Accounts (for those enrolled in the High Deductible Health Plan) and voluntary benefits, and to enroll, visit BenefitsConnect at ynhhs-benefits.org.

If you do not plan on making any changes, the new Easy Enroll option lets you re-enroll in your current elections with a single click. If you do not enroll during open enrollment, your current benefits elections will carry over to 2026. However, to participate in Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Accounts, if applicable, you must elect contributions for these accounts each year. (L+M and Westerly hospitals and Health at Home – Southeast employees must elect to contribute to an FSA or HSA.)

For additional information, be sure to review your Total Rewards Statement, which you received at home earlier this month, to understand the benefits, compensation and programs YNHHS offers you. Also, visit the virtual Benefits Fair at virtualfairhub.com/YNHHS, where you can stop by the “booths” of various YNHHS benefits vendors and connect to webinars and videos with information on benefits offerings.

Benefits questions? Visit HRConnect, YNHHS’ benefits service center (on the employee intranet, under Departments & Communities) or by calling 844-543-2147, option 1.