How to Enroll
Open enrollment takes place online in ConnectCarolina Self Service through a two-portal system. Selections made during open enrollment take effect January 1 of the next calendar year. Open enrollment is the ONLY time you can make changes to your benefits plans unless you experience a qualifying life event such as a change in your employment or marital status. If English is not your first language, please see this flyer with open enrollment information in various translations.
Enrolling in your UNC benefits is easy!
Click on the portal name below for step-by-step instructions on how to enroll, including
how to add or change dependents and beneficiaries and upload related documentation.
State Enrollment Portal
Select your health insurance coverage with the State Health Plan and complete your tobacco attestation
UNC System Enrollment Portal
Enroll in dental, vision and all other insurance and illness plans with the UNC System and/or NC Flex plans
How to Enroll Online Using the Two Portals
In this video, UNC Benefits Consultant Vincent Berry walks through how to use the two portals in ConnectCarolina to complete your open enrollment for 2025. Follow along with the two portals video transcript.
State Enrollment Portal
For selecting your health insurance with the State Health Plan and completing your tobacco attestation
Take note!
If you want the Enhanced (80/20) Plan, you MUST opt into that plan in the State Enrollment Portal.
- All currently enrolled State Health Members will default to the Base (70/30) Plan for 2025 unless action is taken to select the Enhanced (80/20) Plan.
- Employees NOT currently enrolled in a State Health Plan will not default into the Base (70/30) Plan for next year (for example, if you are covered on another health insurance plan, as through a spouse’s benefits package).
To avoid a $60 monthly surcharge, complete the tobacco attestation in the State Enrollment Portal. Learn more about Tobacco Attestation.
- Even if you completed the tobacco attestation during last year’s open enrollment OR recently as a new hire, you must make a new attestation during this year’s open enrollment to avoid the $60 monthly surcharge.
- Tobacco attestation ONLY applies to the employee, not to their spouse or dependents.
If adding new dependents to your health insurance, you MUST upload documentation.
- See the toggles below for a list of acceptable documentation and instructions on how to upload.
How to Enroll for Health Insurance
- Log in to ConnectCarolina Self Service.
- Click on the My Benefits tile.
- Click on Benefits Enrollment on the left.
- Choose State Enrollment Portal.
- Click Enroll Now.
- Click Get Started to make all of your enrollment selections.
- Complete your tobacco attestation to avoid a $60 surcharge on your monthly premium.
- Select your in-network Primary Care Provider (PCP):
- In the prompted screen, click the Search button.
- An Aetna window will open for you to search for and select your PCP.
- Once you have located your PCP, click the name of your PCP and then click the Select this PCP button.
- By selecting your Primary Care Provider during open enrollment, you will pay less in copays when seeing that provider. You do not have to select your PCP now; you can select or change your PCP at any time later in the year.
- If you do not see your PCP listed after searching by name, try searching by the provider’s physical street address.
- If you see the name of the practice for your PCP but not the name of your individual PCP, click on the name of another PCP listed with that practice. The reduced copay will apply to seeing any PCP within the selected practice.
- Once you’ve made an initial PCP selection during open enrollment, you can update to a different PCP any time during the year. Please note that it takes about 5 business days for the change in PCP information to populate in all the affiliated systems.
- Please note that selecting a primary care provider (PCP) is not a required step in the open enrollment process, but doing so allows you to pay a lower copay when you see that provider during the year.
- If you do not have a PCP at the moment, you can select any provider from the network directory during open enrollment and then update your provider at any time later.
- If you do not wish to enter a PCP during open enrollment, you can simply leave this question blank.
- After you have made your selections and they are displayed for you to review and print, scroll down to the bottom of the page.
- Click Save Changes or your choices will NOT be recorded!
- Do not skip this VERY important step!
- If you do not click to save changes, your enrollment in this portal will NOT be complete and you will automatically default to enrollment in the Base (70/30) Plan and pay the $60 monthly tobacco surcharge for the next year.
- Print a copy or take a picture of your confirmation to keep for your records.
What if I can’t find my primary care provider in the Aetna search page?
What if I don’t have a primary care provider (PCP)?
How to Add/Edit/Delete Dependents
- Log in to ConnectCarolina Self Service with your Onyen and password and DUO verification.
- Click the My Benefits tile.
- Click Benefits Enrollment from left menu.
- Select State Enrollment Portal from left drop-down menu.
- Check, uncheck or add your dependents.
The State Health Plan requires you to submit documentation to verify your dependent’s eligibility. See information in toggles below for acceptable documentation types and how to upload them.
See the list below for acceptable forms of documentation for adding a dependent.
- For spouse and/or child/ren | 1040 Tax Form (if dependents are listed on it)
OR
- For spouse | Marriage certificate AND a shared utility bill/rental agreement/mortgage
- For child/ren | Birth certificate/s
For more about documentation for dependents, see page 2 of the North Carolina State Health Plan Required Documentation for Qualifying Life Events & Dependent Eligibility worksheet (pdf).
- Log in to ConnectCarolina Self Service with your Onyen and password and DUO verification.
- Click My Benefits
- Click Benefits Enrollment
- Select State Enrollment Portal from left drop-down menu.
- The ebenefitsnow State Health Plan website will open.
- Click Document Center from the left side menu under My Documents.
- Click the + New Document button.
- To add attachment, drag file to center of page or click the + circle button and follow prompts to select file.
- Once the document loads, the file name will appear, indicating the file was accepted.
- Type the name of the document (ex: copy of marriage certificate) into the Document Name field.
- Click the drop-down arrow beside the Type of Document box to choose Dependent Document as the document type.
- Click Save Document button.
Scan/email them to benefits@unc.edu. Be sure to include your name and PID.
Need help or have questions? Get assistance for the State Enrollment Portal, the State Health Plan and your tobacco attestation.
Save those selections!
Click to save/accept your selections as the final step in EACH portal.
If you do NOT click to save/accept, your selections will NOT be active for the next year.
Print a copy or take a picture of your confirmation for both portals to keep for your records.
UNC System Enrollment Portal
Use the UNC System Enrollment Portal to make your plan selections for UNC System and/or NC Flex benefits plans:
- Accident
- Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D)
- Cancer & Specified Illness
- Critical Illness
- Dental
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- Group Term Life
- TRICARE supplement coverage
- Vision
Take note!
To have a flexible spending account (FSA) for 2025, you MUST enroll (or re-enroll) during this year’s open enrollment period.
- Even if you had an FSA for 2024, you MUST re-enroll during this year’s open enrollment to have an FSA for 2025.
If you do NOT wish to enroll in benefits plans other than health insurance, you only need to complete enrollment in the State Enrollment Portal and do not need to access the UNC System Enrollment Portal for any enrollments.
Check your dependents and/or beneficiaries.
- See toggle below for how to add or change dependent and/or beneficiary information for UNC System and/or NC Flex benefits plans.
How to Enroll for UNC System and/or NC Flex Plans
- Log in to ConnectCarolina Self Service.
- Click on the My Benefits tile.
- Click on Benefits Enrollment on the left.
- Choose UNC System Enrollment Portal.
- Click Continue.
- Make all of your enrollment selections.
- After you have made your selections and they are displayed for you to review and print, scroll down and click Submit My Elections.
- One last pop-up message will appear.
- Click Accept or your choices will NOT be recorded.
- Do not skip this VERY important step!
- If you do not click to accept, your enrollment in this portal will NOT be complete and none of your selections will be active for the next year.
- Print a copy or take a picture of your confirmation to keep for your records.
- AD&D coverage (both Voluntary and Core)
- Cancer & Specified Disease
- Critical Illness
- Life insurance
…here’s how to add or update information for your dependents and/or beneficiaries:
- Log in to ConnectCarolina Self Service with your Onyen and password and DUO verification.
- Click the My Benefits tile.
- Click Benefits Enrollment from left menu.
- Select UNC System Enrollment Portal from left drop-down menu.
- A new tab will automatically open up to the UNC System Benefits Portal page.
- Click drop-down arrow for the Main Menu to the right of the menu bar at the top of the page.
- Click Your Beneficiaries under the Your Profile section.
- Scroll down to view your current beneficiary designations.
- To make changes, click the blue Add/Edit Beneficiaries button.
If at first you are not able to edit/add beneficiaries to your free coverage for the Core AD&D or other plans, you will be able to do so as part of the review process prior to the final confirmation of your choices (this review process is initiated after clicking the “I’m Done” button).
Need help or have questions? Get assistance for the UNC System Enrollment Portal, UNC System Benefits and NC Flex.
Enroll by Friday, Oct. 25!
Be sure to allow ample time to complete your enrollment.
You can edit your benefits selections in both enrollment portals as much as you like during the open enrollment period. However, ALL selections MUST be saved by 11:59 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, to be active for the next year.
Both enrollment portals automatically close after 11:59 p.m., Friday, Oct. 25.
While you’re in ConnectCarolina…
Review your contact information. Having your correct phone number, email and mailing address in the system means you don’t miss any important information sent to you throughout the year.
You can update contact information like your name and address and take care of other benefits-related items any time of year in ConnectCarolina. The changes you make in ConnectCarolina take effect once you save them in the system and will automatically update in both enrollment portals.
Need help?
If you have questions or need assistance with your enrollment, you have several help options.
Click below to visit our open enrollment help webpage to learn more.
Get help with your enrollment Printable pdf with instructions for how to enroll
Open enrollment information applies only to UNC-Chapel Hill benefits-eligible permanent employees:
permanent full- and part-time SHRA, EHRA Non-Faculty and Faculty working a minimum of 20 hours a week. Temporary employees working 30 hours or more per week may be eligible to enroll in the State Health Plan’s High Deductible Health Plan; eligible temporary employees will be notified by a UNC Benefits email.
Learn more about benefits eligibility.