AlightRHS phone appointment -- before and during. (Whether or not receiving benefits subsidized by HPInc or HPE.)

Menu of Benefits Enrollment pages: Enrollment Menu 

Based on reports from HP Alumni Association members who have completed enrollment. Join forums: https://www.hpalumni.org  Not officially endorsed or supported. Question? Email us: info@hpalumni.org  (Updated Dec 12, 2025)

Related page: AlightRHS issues. A major bug, AARP/UHC plans, cost variations, more. AlightRHS Issues

Deadline extended if losing your health plan (because HPInc or HPE dropped your group plan -- or because your current insurer in no longer offering plans in your county) you have another week or two after the Dec 7 national policy-change deadline to buy a plan for 2026. Buy your new policy well before Dec 31 to avoid having a gap in coverage due to delays or errors. If you join a new plan after Dec 31, coverage in the new plan won't start until the month after you join. (As stated in the notice from your current insurer.)

Note: If your coverage is not subsidized, Alight Retiree Health Solutions is just one of the many ways to select and buy health policies. Some can be bought online. https://www.hpalumni.org/enroll-ways-to-buy

You may wish to buy your Advantage or Medigap plan via another path and use your HPInc RRA subsidy to buy other plans from AlightRHS -- such as Medicare Part D drug -- or non-Medicare drug, dental and/or vision plans. (The HPInc RRA does not cover hearing plans.)

Correction: RRA subsidy without purchasing from AlightRHS. https://www.hpalumni.org/enroll-rra-workaround

About the AlightRHS appointment.

Insurance agents are regulated by each state. They are required by law to be licensed in your state of residence. (Need not be a resident of your state.)

Agents are authorized to transact in a given state only on behalf of specific insurers, as indicated in your state's insurance license registry, which you can find online. (For example, California: https://cdicloud.insurance.ca.gov/cal )

There are federal rules that apply to Medicare sales agents. For example, they can't call you unless you give permission or are already their customer. https://www.medicare.gov/health-drug-plans/health-plans/your-coverage-options/plan-marketing-rules

HPAA members report that AlightRHS agents vary dramatically in experience, competence, and responsiveness. Most are working remotely. Many are seasonal employees. AlightRHS is an entry path into the industry.

They often deal with retirees from multiple companies -- so may not know specifics about how HPInc and HPE are ending group plans.

AlightRHS agents receive incentives when they place plans in your cart. They are not incented to push specific plans.

The phone appointment typically takes one hour -- two hours to include a dependent.

Before your appointment:

1. HPAA members strongly recommend that you explore your options on the AlightRHS website before your appointment.

The website you access is essentially the same as what the agent uses. The available plans can be sorted by Score, Total Cost, Premium, or insurer. For Advantage and Drug plans, you can also sort by CMS Star Rating.

Start at https://retiree.alight.com/hp (HPE: https://retiree.alight.com/hewlettpackardenterprise )  

If you don't have online access yet, click "Activate Your Account." 

Do not enter the names of your doctors.

It is unrealistic to rely on any online database -- whether from a health system, or from an insurer, or from an insurance sales agency (including AlightRHS) -- or even the official Medicare plan directory -- for plan coverage information on doctors and other providers. That is fragile, constantly-changing, second-hand information -- and may not be valid for the coming year.

Check directly with the doctors' offices to determine if your current doctors and other providers will be accepting the Medicare plan that you are considering for next year. Ask for the "billing specialist" or the "billing office." Some only accept existing patients. (Details: https://www.hpalumni.org/enroll-providers )

When filling out an online application, don't enter the doctors -- just act like you will accept any doctors in the plan.

2. Review the list of issues discovered by HPAA members:  https://www.hpalumni.org/enroll-alightrhs-issues

During your appointment, log into your AlightRHS account.

Don't completely depend on the Alight agent to select a plan. Be logged into your AlightRHS account.

Note that AlightRHS agents have no information about HPInc or HPE group coverage. You must carefully compare features yourself.

(Likewise, the Benefits Center has no information about which specific policies you have or what you are paying -- just that you bought through AlightRHS.)

Don't let agent enter doctors (or enter them yourself) -- just act like you will accept any doctors in the plan.

Once a plan is selected, the agent brings you through a lengthy application process.

Applies to all sales channels, not just AlightRHS. Required by law for most transactions.

An agent may not be required if you are making simpler transactions, such as:
- Changing from a current Advantage plan -- that had been bought from the same sales agency -- to another Advantage plan, or
- Changing from a current Medicare Drug plan -- that had been bought from the same sales agency -- to another Medicare Drug plan.
- Buying a non-Medicare drug, dental and/or vision plan. (HPInc RRA does not cover hearing plans.)

The AlightRHS website tells you if you need to make an appointment with a licensed agent to buy the plan.

The same information is entered multiple times as the agent goes through different screens. The agent is required to read each question all the way through.

Trap: If asked detailed health questions, STOP!

When applying for a health policy -- anywhere -- some innocuous-sounding questions can be critical.

If you are losing your HPInc or HPE group Medicare plan this year due to the change to open-market individual Medicare plans,
and you want to buy a Medigap plan,
and an insurance sales agent insists on you answering detailed health questions beyond "Are you disabled?" and "Do you use tobacco?"
...stop the application process immediately!

You are undergoing "medical underwriting" -- which should not happen in your case.

If an employer group health plan (including retiree or COBRA coverage) is ending, you have a "guaranteed issue" right -- i.e. without consideration of your current health ("medical underwriting") -- in every state. (This is confusing -- laws in certain states require guaranteed issue in additional situations.)

Details: https://www.hpalumni.org/enroll-guaranteed-issue

Current Medicare policy cancelled early -- or recent new enrollment canceled.

Medicare maintains a central "Enrollment DataBase" to ensure that someone cannot be enrolled in multiple plans for the same time period. Insurers automatically report new enrollment approvals to Medicare, which continuously checks for coverage overlap. If a new policy that covers the same time period is found, Medicare causes the previous policy to be canceled.

If a problem, contact the insurance sales agency that sold you the misdated plan. Or contact Medicare.

Be sure to verify the starting date entered by the agent (or yourself) when you are applying for a new policy. One member discovered that their current plan had been cancelled when picking up a prescription.

Problem with AlightRHS? -- such as the assigned agent not getting back to you or having difficulties using the system -- you can ask to switch agents. (And the HPAA has an escalation path to AlightRHS management -- which will get results: https://www.hpalumni.org/escalate-ARHS )

Despite all of this, most HPAA members report that the AlightRHS process works well once set up.

HPInc first offered subsidized open-market plans in 2017. Now used by thousands of HPInc retirees.

Next step: Menu of key Enrollment issues: https://www.hpalumni.org/enroll-menu (Membership not required.)

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