Mayo Employees: Your 2027 Premium Savings Can Pay for Unhurried Primary Care

If you work at Mayo Clinic, open enrollment is here.

It runs Nov. 1–15. Most of us click "keep my current plan" and get back to work.

I'd ask you to look one more time. One choice could pay for almost half or more of a HELPcare membership.

I recorded the short video above to walk through the math. Here it is in writing, so you can take your time.

The numbers that caught my eye

Mayo offers three medical plans for 2027: Mayo Premier, Mayo Select and Mayo Custom. Only Custom works with a Health Savings Account.

Here are the 2027 full-time monthly premiums:

Move from Mayo Premier to Mayo Custom, and you pay $131 a month less for yourself, or $400 less for a family.

Move from Mayo Select, and it's $65 less for one person, or $204 less for a family.

That's real money. The question is what you do with it.

What changed in 2026

Starting in 2026, federal law lets you belong to a direct primary care (DPC) practice, keep contributing to your HSA, and pay your dues from it. The IRS limit is $150 a month for one person, or $300 when more than one person is covered.

HELPcare memberships meet the IRS direct primary care rules.

So here's the idea. Take the premium you're no longer paying. Put it in your HSA before taxes. Use it for primary care from a practitioner who knows you.

How to do it, step by step

1. Compare your plan options and choose Mayo Custom at open enrollment, Nov. 1–15. Look at all three plans side by side. Only Mayo Custom is HSA-eligible. One thing to know: if you choose Mayo Custom, you can't also have Mayo's Health Care FSA.
2. Set your Fidelity HSA payroll contribution so the premium savings go into the HSA. Your premiums already come out before taxes. The savings stay pre-tax only if you send them into your HSA through payroll. Mayo's HSA booklet says Mayo doesn't make employer contributions, so this step is up to you.
3. Choose HELPcare Basic or HELPcare Premier, using the family math. HELPcare Basic is $99 a month per adult and $49 per child. HELPcare Premier is $149 per adult and $99 per child. We charge only for the first two children.
4. Coming from Mayo Premier, your $131 employee-only savings covers all of HELPcare Basic, or 88% of HELPcare Premier.
5. Coming from Mayo Select, your $65 savings covers two-thirds of HELPcare Basic, or 44% of HELPcare Premier.
6. Two adults on HELPcare Basic are $198. Two on HELPcare Premier are $298. A Basic family of two adults and two or more kids is $296. All three are under the $300 HSA limit.
7. Add children to two Premier adults, and the total goes past $300. If that's your family, call us before you enroll and we'll talk it through.
8. Join HELPcare and pay dues from your HSA within the IRS limits. Keep dues at or under $150 a month for one person, or $300 for more than one. Prefer no monthly dues? Ask about PayGo.
9. Keep a cushion for the higher deductible. Custom has a higher deductible than Premier or Select. Mayo's 2027 plan summary lists it at $1,800 for employee-only coverage and $3,600 for other tiers. Your HELPcare dues don't count toward it, and your Mayo plan still covers specialists and hospital care. So leave some money in your HSA for the year.

What your HELPcare membership includes

Your Establish Care labs alone are valued at over $1,000 at typical hospital prices. They're included every year with HELPcare Basic or HELPcare Premier, for adults.

With HELPcare Premier, there's no charge for office or phone visits, and more than 100 common lab tests are included.

With HELPcare Basic, you get a 90-minute annual physical, and sick visits come at no additional charge.

Some services have a separate charge. Anything outside your plan is billed at fair, transparent pricing, so you'll know what you're paying for.

No surprise bills.

Why I care about this

Fee-for-service medicine gets paid for volume. Too often, that gives us sick care, not health care.

We built HELPcare differently. What we add is time: unhurried visits with a practitioner who knows you and helps you take charge of your health.

At HELPcare Clinic, you're a Member. Not a Number.

I believe each person is worth knowing, not just treating. That conviction is why we do this work.

Come see our new Rochester space

We're building out a new Rochester clinic at the Haley Center, 3708 N. Broadway, Suite 105. Come get a first look at an open house:

• Thu., Nov. 5, 5–7 p.m.
• Tue., Nov. 10, 5–7 p.m.
• Sat., Nov. 14, 9–11 a.m.

Our Rochester clinic moves to the Haley Center in December 2026. Until then, you'll find us at 2150 2nd St SW, Suite 140. We also serve members in Austin and Albert Lea.

Your next step

Open enrollment for Mayo employees closes Nov. 15. Even if you've already completed it, you can still go back and make a different choice before then.

Take five minutes to run your own numbers.

Call or text 507-418-8465, or visit helpcare.health.

Or request our FREE HSA + HELPcare Starter Guide.

Let us HELP you take charge of your health.

General information, not tax advice. HELPcare Clinic is independent and not affiliated with Mayo Clinic.

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Lee Aase

Lee Aase is the founder of HELPcare LLC, which provides comprehensive membership, marketing and management services for provider-owned HELPcare Clinics, as well as metabolic health education and coaching for people interested in restoring health and reversing disease through lifestyle changes. Lee and his wife Lisa live in Austin, MN and have six married children and 21 grandchildren.