One of the worst things about being beyond the age of college students is dealing with insurance.
I hate it. I hate it. I hate it.
And this is the time of year for open enrollment.
If you're scratching your noggin wondering what this is, allow me to explain. Once a year, insurance companies or HR departments within your company will allow a restricted time period during which employees can alter their insurance coverage and/or benefits, en masse. You are free to change anything, everything, or nothing at all.
In my case, I was planning to change nothing through my organization's insurance because I do not use the insurance here. Katie and I have the same plans available to us through her work but for a much lower cost (the wonder of her working for a big conglomerate company). So, when the open enrollment packet came across my desk in the mail a few weeks ago, it stayed right there. I never touched it. I didn't see any need to.
Apparently, however, I did need to. Despite the fact that I don't have insurance here, I still have to fill out a form denying my right to be insured. Huh? We have to kill a tree so I can say "no"? That makes very little sense to me. If I already filled out a form saying that I'm denying coverage once, why do I have to keep doing this year after year after year.
And, I seem to be one of the last people on campus to turn in his forms. Hmm... I enjoyed being last in class to be chosen to present projects and the like. I even got to a point where being chosen last for team sports in grade school gym class didn't bother me anymore. But being known as the last person to turn in his insurance forms doesn't strike me as something to be proud of. Especially when one of our HR people told me today that people are scrambling to get their forms done because they don't want to be last.
We are in a race to not be last. And all over insurance form filing. How sad is that?
If you're young enough to still be a rider on your parents' insurance, I highly recommend staying there. It is much easier. Let your parents deal with the headaches.
