Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Selection Season - Tell 10 Friends!

What is it about Fall weather that makes you feel so good? The kind of weather that requires you wear jeans and a sweatshirt. Maybe it is because it reminds me of football, the beginning of the Christmas season, memories of going to Grandma’s house, or maybe it is just the fact that you are no longer limited to indoor activities. Whatever the reason this is my favorite time of the year.

Does anyone else get the emails that ask you to forward to 10 friends and see what happens? Up to this point I have refused to participate but I have always wondered if it is worth me annoying my friends with a silly email to find out what would happen. I mean, it is just email… how many exciting things could happen—really?

It is selection season! Everyone around me is having to make their 2008 health care plan selections. I think it should be called Health Care Gambling Selections. The plans that are offered force you to make a prediction about your health—to gamble with your health. What does it mean if you bet against yourself? At face value I guess it means you will be paying more to the insurance company. It makes me wonder if betting against my health is actually bad for my health. Does it give me an out for living well all the time? Is it healthier to use my insurance selection as a motivator to live well? Shouldn’t I be taking comfort in the fact that I am eating right, exercising, and have no symptoms of concern right now?

If I am doing everything I should to stay healthy I should be betting against the insurance company and saving my money. It seems like it should be an easy decision but the fear of the unknown is an amazing thing. You just never know what will happen over the course of a year. I guess we have all heard the stories about people who got sick or injured and had financial problems because of unexpected health care costs. No one wants to go through that if they don’t have to. So the gambling games goes on and now it seems like a decision that is less about cost and more about what will give me peace of mind.