Open Enrollment: Pay Attention to the Details

Today, Dow Jones emailed a notice to all U.S. employees advising them that open enrollment for 2026 health insurance options will begin on Nov. 5. And while the “What’s New” article contains helpful details allowing you to begin deciding between medical & prescription, dental and vision plan options, one key element is missing from the information available thus far:

The price.

Last week, Dow Jones provided IAPE with advance notice of 2026 health insurance premiums for U.S. employees and highlighted where plans will be more expensive next year.

In short, premiums are increasing for employee-and-dependent coverage in almost all plans. Employee-only premium rates remain unchanged, as IAPE and Dow Jones agreed during last year’s contract negotiations, and premiums will remain the same for the company’s Centivo option.

For full details of 2026 health insurance options, take a close look at your open enrollment materials when your enrollment email arrives next Wednesday. Members who have joined IAPE Slack can see a recording of yesterday’s Contract 101 class, with an IAPE preview of 2026 U.S. benefits and tips for open enrollment.

The Aetna POS II plan for family coverage will continue to be the most expensive option for U.S. members. Premium rates will increase from 6.7% of salary per month to 7.2% of salary. That extra 0.5% of your pay represents a 7.4% year-over-year increase.

Obviously, none of us are thrilled that Dow Jones has opted to make health insurance more expensive for its employees, particularly as it continues to report record profits quarter after quarter. But a deal is a deal. The 2026 insurance plan premiums the company will unveil next week are consistent with the maximum changes permissible under the IAPE/DJ collective agreement. See the side-letter beginning on page 63 of our contract for details. A premium chart showing where the company is permitted to make annual increases is available in that document, and below this message.

Apart from premium increases, Dow Jones has announced other changes to its insurance plans, including an increase in the annual in-network deductible for the CDHP plan, to $1,700 individual and $3,400 family, up from $1,650 and $3,300 this year—but below the maximum allowable amount over the life of the collective agreement.

It’s not all bad news. No other costs have been shifted onto plan participants. And in 2026, the IRS will increase Health Savings Account options to $4,400 for employee-only coverage and $8,750 for families. Dependent care limits will rise to $7,500, but will remain at $1,800 for highly compensated employees.

CDHP plan participants will now have a $0 copay for 98point6 services. And diagnostic colonoscopies and breast screenings will be covered at a $0 copay under all plans.

The bottom line, however, is that Dow Jones has once again decided to make it more expensive for a significant portion of its employee population to come to work each day. That’s no way to maintain a healthy workforce.