Tuesday, March 23, 2010

7 Things: Not Worried at All

7 Things: Not Worried at All
Because I work in benefits, people asked me if I was worried about the looking more than possible health care legislation.  I was not.  Here's why.
1. Having lived in Scotland and made use of the NHS (I was there long enough to be a resident and to pay the poll tax which got me "free" access to health care), I knew that government run health care was more of a good thing than bad. I know it's flawed, but so is private insurance.
2. Having lived in Scotland I also knew that government run or subsidized health care (which, by the way we already have, we're just expanding it) didn't eliminate private health care.  It did affect pricing (when people have a free choice, they are pickier about what they pay for) and quality. 
3. That so-called donut hole in the Medicare Prescription legislation bugged the crap out of me.  I used to handle the LTD and retiree plans for one client and I talked to many of them.  The cost of their medications was high, and almost everyone I talked to (which certainly wasn't a scientific sample) was going to fall into that donut hole.  As would I on my current medications.
4. Since I work in setting up enrollment systems for companies, as long as companies still provide benefits of any kind - dental, vision, life, LTD, etc - I will probably still have a job.
5. Legislation often affects my job (HIPAA, COBRA, ARRA, etc) but usually by adding complexity. 
6. People still don't understand their benefits.  I could probably just get a job explaining them to people. 
7. Of course, my mom still doesn't listen to me.