Healthy choice

It is Open Enrollment for health care plans right now and my company has offered us an overwhelming menu of different plans. It is all within the same umbrella provider, so the network is the same (we're not choosing one set of doctors over another). What is different is the specific level of coverage across a range of services, and somehow these clever insurance people have come up with over 30 different variations.

Sometimes more options is not better.

For the last week (applications are due Wednesday), the office has been abuzz with the sound of consultants trying to optimize their health care plans.

Every time I've asked a colleague which plan they've chosen, they've had a clear answer, and all said the same thing:

"I made a spreadsheet."

While it may cause you to question my consultant DNA, and may further explain why I still don't know what I am going to choose, I have not built a spreadsheet. My approach has been to wade through the plans, look at other people's spreadsheets, get exasperated that this is taking up so much of my time and decide that I am going to deal with it later so I can do some of my actual work.

This strategy was only going to get me so far, and now is the time to make a decision. I've printed out all the options and I'm getting my darts ready. I expect to be done with all of this hoo ha very shortly.