What questions should I be asking during the open enrollment period at my company?

Comparing health insurance plans is critical during open enrollment because employers are cutting back on benefits as premiums escalate. You need to know which plan offers the best mix of benefits and the lowest cost for you and your family. Once you choose a plan, there's no turning back for a year.

Here are questions to consider when looking for affordable health insurance:

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• How much will I pay out of pocket for premiums?

• How much are co-payments for services? Note that co-pays might be higher for seeing out-of-network physicians.

• What is the annual deductible?

• What benefits are most important to me and my family, and are those offered by the health plan?

• How much flexibility does the plan provide? HMOs are the least expensive and least flexible of health plans, requiring you to have a primary-care physician and get pre-authorizations before seeing specialists. Point-of-service plans are more flexible than HMOs but still require you to have a primary-care doctor. Preferred provider organizations charge lower copays for using practitioners within their networks.

• Are my family's physicians part of the plan's provider network? If not, you could end up paying more in co-pays or might have to switch doctors.

• How is coverage for prescription drugs structured? Most health plans that cover prescription drugs feature co-pay tiers, with the least expensive co-pays for generic drugs and the most expensive co-pays for brand-name drugs.

Learn more about choosing a health insurance plan during open enrollment.

Also, find out how health care reform laws have changed this year's group health plan rules.