Whelmed, Legalized Gambling and Where's My Money Fooh?

Hey can someone be "Whelmed"? I mean you can be overwhelmed and possibly underwhelmed, but I never heard of anyone being whelmed. So what exactly are you over or under then?

That's a side issue. I'm a bit overwhelmed now. Mainly because I was looking at my benefits package (my 3-month grace period is ending this month and I'll be full-fledged at my company). Cool! To commemorate this momentous occasion I get to sift through the quagmire of my benefits package.
Giggidy!

So there are 3 Basic Setups: medical, dental and vision.

Within Medical there are 2 HMO programs and like 4 PPO programs.

Then you get a table and chart that outlines what can and can't be done, who the doctors can and can't be, what you'll be paying if you do X, and then you carry the 2...

One of the motifs in my life is that I'm all about choice. However, does this seem a bit like legalized gambling? Basically if you take one choice you'll pay less money per month, but if you rupture a spleen, you'll pay a lot more. You can pay more per month and if something happens you pay less at the office than you would on the other, but if nothing happens, you'll be out more money per month. Same goes for car insurance although it's not as detailed. I suppose it is gambling saying, "you have to pay us this amount but no matter which time you need it, you'll have access to the same amount".

I laugh at the terminology used by insurance companies:

Copay: No that's MY immediate payment and insurance is covering the other (which I and my company are paying for too...just more slowly). Don't distract me from the fact that I'm paying something! Just less if I were to not have a job...if anything it's a doctor visit discount. I'm not co-paying a hamburger if I use a coupon.

Contributions: Hahah...oh you mean what I pay per month to get this? Yeah I guess it's a contribution...to help my own cause with my own money in conjunction with a company that I work for. So... I guess that's not as much of a contribution as it is what I pay per month for this benefit.

Don't you just love euphemisms?

And I'm not a big fan of "copayment" anyway. I can deal with the 10 dollar doctor visits, but the car insurance is what I really get miffed about. By miffed I mean pissed. If I get car insurance, get in an accident and my bill comes out to be 300 bucks, but I have a 350 co-pay, that's wack! Why am I paying all this money for insurance? "In case of a major accident you'll be covered". Yeah, well that 300 bucks is still coming out of my pocket...cover THAT! I'm broke, my car is damaged from an accident, help me. Maybe then I can supersize my meals! ;-)

Ok, so back to the doctor visits...let's say you don't use any of these things. You're really healthy, don't visit the doctor, you poo honey and you're a borderline immortal. Shouldn't you get your money back? Or at least have it transfer to the next company you work with? Perhaps the account can be YOURS and you carry it over with you no matter what company you work for. But I guess that's part of the "package" you get.

I have a habit of oversimplifying things. But you know what...why do things have to be so complicated in the first place? People who aren't as educated, or don't have a lot of time, or don't have a lot of money or are lazy people like myself, don't always have time to sift through and learn all the red tape and loopholes associated with these things to understand which is better for them. This goes for taxes too...man is that a headache. But if you can afford to have an accountant, or have enough time to learn tax codes, you can really save a lot of money. So basically the people who don't necessarily need the cash can save a ton! Nice.

You would think that things are a matter of common sense, but something that I say often is "not all sense is common". I think Chuck D said that originally. Listen to Chuck D.