Deal or No Deal

It is Benefit Enrollment time. Ugh. This is something I deal with mostly alone. Somehow Jim gets out of this chore by throwing up his hands and proclaiming that he doesn't understand the US healthcare system, and they don't have to worry about these things in Canada, so he can't help. I'm not sure why that works, since I am a US citizen and I don't understand healthcare either. It's not like I took a class on it in school.

So this year I notice an option to use an online tool that will assist me in my choice of health plans. All you have to do is answer a few questions and it will recommend a health plan for you. Sounds great. I start to answer questions...and realize I have a problem. What do they mean, would I prefer to get in to see a doctor quickly, or pay $xx less in premium? Is that really a choice? I picture myself bleeding on the floor of an ER and saying to myself "I wish I'd paid the higher premium!"

Would I rather have a doctor that communicates well, or a lower deductible?? Is this really a choice? First of all, show me one who communicates well. And then if you DO, do I really have to pay more for them?? I picture them in medical school dividing the doctors into categories: Communicates Better than Your Avg Fifth Grader...you will demand high deductibles; Communicates Like a Farm Animal...too bad, you will get the patients too cheap to pay high deductibles.

You get the idea. You may think I'm exaggerating this survey, but I'm not. I was really astounded by the "trade-off" questions. I can see what they are doing, of course, setting my expectations low so that when I get frustrated with my level of service next year I will think back to this survey and say to myself "Oh yeah, I guess I DID pick the cheaper option..." Very sneaky.

To which Jim just shakes his head and laughs. "We just don't have these questions in Canada." Hmmm...perhaps they just have low expectations from the beginning...most of life is, after all, management of expectations. Meanwhile, I made my choice and I can look forward to a year full of late doctors who don't explain anything. I guess I'll just consider myself lucky if they sanitize their instruments (if something isn't on that survey, can I assume it is included in the basic premium??)