Monday, November 9, 2009

No, I don't work at a hospital. Obviously.

It’s November at Corporate Behemoth, and you know what that means.

Yes. It’s time to re-enroll in health benefits.

Corporate Behemoth changed a bunch of stuff around this year, so even the folks who are willing to shell out big bucks for big coverage are sort of screwed. None of us know which anorexic little plan to choose.

One of the number crunchers in my department actually created a comparison Excel spreadsheet to help us all decide. It’s the clearest bit of info we have in our oh-Jeeeezus-please-may-we-not-actually-need-insurance-because-I’m-not-sure-I’m-picking-the-right-thing arsenal.

Today, I overheard a 45-minute conversation between three dads on my team, all trying to decide how best to protect their families. I wonder if Corporate Behemoth realizes what their attempts at saving money actually do to staff morale and productivity.

I'm worried that no one at Corporate Behemoth has the expertise to make these decisions. This concern is based on two things:

1. All of the colorful "Hey! Let's talk about health care!" info HR provided is actually written in a combination of Sanskrit and Serbo-Croatian.

2. One of my coworkers recently posed this question about our product's online content: "So, does all of the content reside in one big suppository?"

6 comments:

Emotional Mullet said...

Thanks for stopping by to comment on Ben. I totally have shin bruises too!

and, "So, does all of the content reside in one big suppository?" ...

...had me cracking up. I think I know this person.

Anonymous said...

It's a sick, sick situation out there. D's company went to an HSA--which I refer to as "Have Some Aspirin."

mel said...

We just went through this crap last month at my office too. It's all a bunch of horse hockey. I was so appalled when the speaker from the insurance company actually stated that the plans we had to chose from were better than her own. She must have nothing.

I suppose I should just be thankful that I have something.

Iron Needles said...

I cannot count how many years it has been that there has been little or no raise, but the healthcare costs go way up. So when this non-economist does the math...why, it adds up to...a big gap.

Oh, ChaCha, why must you get me started!

Seriously? This issue has me writing my congress people.

~annie said...

That last line made me laugh out loud! Please Post more like that, because "Laughter is the best medicine."

Know exactly what the insurance circus is like - we have it every single year. Usually we have three options, this year it was only two. I "chose" the HSA and hope I don't have any major expenses for the next two years because it will take that long to save up my deductible.

Wenderina said...

Oh that is totally something I would say. Professional communicator, English-major, me...I would totally get my mind and tongue in a twist and say that instead of repository and then realize it as the word hangs in the air like a bubble in front of my mouth. I'm embarrassed right now and I didn't even do it...yet.