The following information will help you make the best decision during the open enrollment process.

What types of changes can I make to my health insurance plan during open enrollment?

If you're not currently enrolled in a health insurance plan, you may enroll at this time. If you are enrolled, you may switch plans (if this an option), correct inaccurate information, or add eligible dependents, such as a spouse and children not previously covered.

It depends on your situation. If you're young and healthy, you can go for lower premiums and higher co-pays. But if you're older, have a chronic health condition, or have young children who make frequent visits to the doctor, you're better off with higher premiums and lower co-pays. You also have to weigh the value of your health plan versus price. If you go with a cheap health plan but it doesn't pay for the benefits you need, you are not getting good value for your health insurance dollars.

A lifetime benefit maximum is a cap on the amount of benefits available to a policyholder. The cap is designed to keep the cost of benefits affordable and to stabilize potential future costs. Many health plans cap lifetime benefits at $1 million. The better the benefits, the higher the premium. A health plan with a high deductible and a low lifetime maximum benefit is typically less expensive than a low-deductible plan without any maximum-benefit limits.

If a plan has a relatively low lifetime maximum cap, think carefully about how much risk you're willing to assume. Even if you're healthy, the expenses incurred from one severe illness — including hospitalization and physical therapy — could easily exceed a $100,000 cap.

Can I switch health plans without undergoing medical screening for pre-existing conditions?

Yes. This is the one time a year (unless you experience a "qualifying event," such as the birth of a baby) during which you may make changes to your plan without having to sit out any pre-existing condition exclusion period. Otherwise, late enrollees in group health plans may have to wait up to 18 months for coverage of pre-existing conditions. Read The HIPAA law: Your rights to health insurance portability.

What's better, an HMO, POS or PPO? And what are they?

There are several health plan varieties, including traditional indemnity fee-for-service plans (FFS), health maintenance organizations (HMOs), point of service plans (POS), and preferred provider organizations (PPO). Each plan has its own features to consider before making your choice.

HMOs are the least expensive, but also the least flexible of all the health insurance plans. They require that you select a primary care physician (PCP) and obtain pre-authorizations for certain medical procedures and in order to see specialists. POS plans are more flexible than HMOs, but they also require you to select a PCP.

PPOs give policyholders a financial incentive — in the form of reasonable co-payments — to stay within the group's network of practitioners, but you can usually visit out-of-network specialists without pre-approval.

What is a drug formulary and what are pharmacy benefit tiers?

A formulary is the list of medications for which a health plan pays. Most health plans that pay for prescription drug benefits have pharmacy benefit tiers that group certain medications together for pricing purposes. Brand-name drugs that are usually in the top tier are most expensive, while generic medications are in the lower tiers and are least expensive. Your prescription drug co-pay for a medication in the lowest tier may range from $5 to $10, while your co-pay for drugs in the highest tier may range from $25 to $50. Most health plans have three or four pharmacy benefit tiers, but some have several tiers. See Health insurance basics.

What are FSAs and MSAs?

A flexible spending account, or FSA, is a benefit plan that allows companies to give their workers the opportunity to pay for their out-of-pocket health and dependent care costs on a pre-tax basis which — over time — lowers payroll-related taxes for both the employer and employees.

A medical savings account, or MSA, is a tax-deferred trust or custodial account in which you set aside money to pay for your routine, out-of-pocket health care expenses and to build up savings for your future medical costs. You or your employer contribute money to the MSA throughout the year or by making a lump-sum payment at the beginning of the year. An MSA must be paired with a major medical health plan (sometimes called a "catastrophic plan") that has a high deductible.

For more, read Medical savings accounts: Another way to pay for health care.

How can I judge the quality of competing health insurance plans?

For those who have a choice of health plans, price and whether the family's doctors participate in the plan's network of doctors are the most important factors. However, there are other criteria to use.

Accreditation groups, such as The National Committee for Quality Assurance, measure plans using a variety of quality standards. Ratings companies, such as Standard and Poor's, A.M. Best and Moody's, give you a picture of a health plan's financial strength. "Report cards" published by consumer groups, independent Web sites, and your state insurance department are other good sources of consumer satisfaction with health plans. Read How to judge the quality of a health plan.

Who can help me if I have questions?

Your human resources director or benefits administrator at work, and/or insurance company customer service departments, can answer most of your questions. Health insurance analysts with your state department of insurance can answer questions about health insurance mandates in your state, which require coverage for various conditions.