North Carolina State Health Plan members have until November 6, 2026, to make their 2027 coverage choices. The plan’s website says “2027 Open Enrollment is Oct. 12-Nov. 6, 2026,” and it opened today. The window is a week longer than the October 30 end date the plan announced over the summer.
The dates, and the extension
When the plan’s Board of Trustees met on July 10, the plan’s 2027 benefit information page put Open Enrollment at October 12 to 30. The plan’s home page, updated October 9, now lists the window as October 12 to November 6 and carries a notice that enrollment was extended until November 6. The later date is the one members should work to. The State Health Plan covers state employees, retirees and their families, so this is not a deadline for North Carolinians in general.
The plan has not published what happens to a member who does nothing, or how the duties of active employees differ from those of retirees. Members who are unsure should read the plan’s mailings or ask the plan directly before the window closes, rather than assume that no answer means no change.
The question that matters now is when a member has to decide and what happens on the day after. The only firm answer in the plan’s published material is the date: the window closes November 6. Anyone who wants a different plan, or who wants to look at the new tiered network before choosing, needs to do it by then.
The next date in this story is November 6, when the State Health Plan’s 2027 enrollment window closes, and any further change to that date or to the plan’s rates would be reported before it passes.
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What changes on January 1, 2027
The biggest change is in the provider network. The plan’s member alert from the July meeting says Preferred Provider contracts with UNC Health and Novant Health take effect January 1, 2027. They affect members of the Standard and Plus PPO plans and Medicare members in the 70/30 Plan. The Board also approved 2027 benefit changes for those plans, including some lower copays tied to a new tiered provider network, and regional maps of that network are linked from the plan’s July page.
Premiums are the other thing members will want to see. The Board approved 2027 rates for all members, but the alert does not list dollar amounts. They are in rate documents for active, non-Medicare and Medicare members on the plan’s website. Medicare Advantage benefit changes for 2027 were voted on separately, at the Board’s June meeting.
Keep your address current
The member alert asks everyone to check that their mailing address, email and phone number are correct in eBenefits, the plan’s online portal at shpnc.gov, and to confirm that their employer has their current address. Retirees have a second step: the alert says to update their information in both ORBIT and eBenefits, because the two systems do not sync. The plan says to watch for mailings with 2027 benefit information and to read them before Open Enrollment begins. A mailing sent to an old address is a mailing that does not arrive.
Medicare-eligible members also have events to attend. The plan’s website lists a 2027 Open Enrollment Medicare member webinar and in-person outreach events.
One more date to know
The plan also announced that Blue Cross NC was awarded both the third-party administrator contract and the pharmacy benefit manager contract. Both take effect January 1, 2028, a year after this enrollment, so they do not change the choices in front of members now.
Working back from November 6
Start with the plan’s own site. Log in to eBenefits through shpnc.gov, confirm your contact information, and find the 2027 rates for your category of member, whether active, non-Medicare retiree or Medicare retiree. Write down what you pay now so you can compare it with 2027.
Next, look at the network. If your doctors or hospital are with UNC Health or Novant Health, the new Preferred Provider contracts begin January 1, and the tiered network maps show which providers sit in which tier. Check each doctor you see regularly, and check where your prescriptions are filled, before you decide whether to keep your current plan.
Finally, leave yourself a few days. Plan to finish by the end of October rather than on November 6, since the deadline has already moved once and members cannot count on a second extension.
More Financial Reading
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- 17 Ways Retirees Are Tapping a Record $14.9 Trillion in Home Equity
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
