Health Insurance and Self-Control
Today was one of those days that didn't seem to have a lot of value, either in itself or for things done that might lead to other good things later.
I had three small tasks I planned to get done before moving on to other things: deal with the failure of my primary care doctor to charge my insurance for lab tests, find an eye doctor, and order a new health insurance card. I accomplished only the first, even though I spent several hours working on the tasks. I spent far too long on the internet trying to find the information I needed. Companies really need to hire people to test the logic of their sites. For example, if I'm on a page about identification cards and I click on the link saying I need to order one, don't send me to a page that tells me to contact client services using the phone number that's listed on the back of the card. And when I'm on the page that lists my contact information (address and e-mail information) and tells me to click on the link if that information is incorrect and I'd like to fix it, don't send me to a page that tells me only how to update my e-mail address and says nothing about what to do about an incorrect address. And really I'd prefer it if my health insurance company, when I inquire about my coverage, doesn't send me to a page telling me I don't have the right privileges to access that information. And when I finally dig up a phone number to speak with a person, don't lead me through a bunch of steps asking me to provide identifying information, make we wait on hold, and then finally allow me to speak to a rep, only to require me to repeat the identifying information. And then, it's really awesome if your company's computer system isn't all fucked up--I don't like it when the agent has to put me on hold indefinitely to go look something up in the paper version. I finally just hung up. Now, I know they have my phone number (I had just given it to them two times), but they never called me back with the response to my question.
Could such overwhelming and all-encompassing incompetence be sheer happenstance, or are they the result of deliberate efforts of a health insurance company to provide inefficient and ineffective services in order to limit the cost of services they must provide, and to maximize their profits by limiting the amount of money they spend on staff and computer systems??
My head was killing me after all this. I ate some lunch and that calmed me down a bit. And then I realized: I don't have to let this ruin the rest of my day and dominate my experiences. I can choose how to respond and I don't want to let that damn company have any more control over my time or thinking. I can choose how the rest of my day will go. I can bitch and moan about that company and how inept they are and how my other insurance company used to be better and blah blah blah. But I can choose to bracket the problem until a later point (tomorrow) when I can call them back and deal with the problem. Realizing that I had that control over my experience was an awesome feeling.
Something I contemplated later and which I'm still mulling over, is how to think about personal responsibility for exerting that control. I was well rested, I had just eaten, and I had minimal pain today. Those factors made it relatively easy for me to take a step back and control my reaction to frustration and anger. But it still took considerable self-management efforts for me to get to the point of recognizing that I was suffering from an emotional state I could to some degree control, and then to control it. The capacity to engage in self-regulation varies in me from one moment to the next. Some days, even if all the conditions are the same, it seems like I have to exert more effort to control myself than on others.
The capacity to self-regulate seems to vary across people as well. Some people seem to be generally good at it, others not so much. It's a very valuable skill and I feel like I've only begun to learn it in the last three years. I wonder if it can be taught.
I think it would be interesting to break it down to analyze its components. It involves not only knowledge, but also belief. And I think there's a fair amount of skill involved as well. With respect to teaching it, teaching the knowledge is pretty straightforward. And the development of the skill can be developed through practice. It's the belief that's the real sticking point. Until someone believes that they can control their reactions to circumstances, no amount of knowledge or skill is sufficient.
And I wonder to what degree we can control our reactions. As I mentioned, I know in my case, pain, lack of sleep, and lack of food lower my ability to control my reactions. I imagine my prior life experiences also shape my capacity to control my reactions. What about my genetic background? I've read that resiliency is, at least to some degree, heritable.
What are the implications of varying degrees of resiliency (for lack of a better word to describe what I'm talking about) for public policy? Should we have universally applicable standards of accountability for people if resiliency is developed to different levels in different individuals?
I had three small tasks I planned to get done before moving on to other things: deal with the failure of my primary care doctor to charge my insurance for lab tests, find an eye doctor, and order a new health insurance card. I accomplished only the first, even though I spent several hours working on the tasks. I spent far too long on the internet trying to find the information I needed. Companies really need to hire people to test the logic of their sites. For example, if I'm on a page about identification cards and I click on the link saying I need to order one, don't send me to a page that tells me to contact client services using the phone number that's listed on the back of the card. And when I'm on the page that lists my contact information (address and e-mail information) and tells me to click on the link if that information is incorrect and I'd like to fix it, don't send me to a page that tells me only how to update my e-mail address and says nothing about what to do about an incorrect address. And really I'd prefer it if my health insurance company, when I inquire about my coverage, doesn't send me to a page telling me I don't have the right privileges to access that information. And when I finally dig up a phone number to speak with a person, don't lead me through a bunch of steps asking me to provide identifying information, make we wait on hold, and then finally allow me to speak to a rep, only to require me to repeat the identifying information. And then, it's really awesome if your company's computer system isn't all fucked up--I don't like it when the agent has to put me on hold indefinitely to go look something up in the paper version. I finally just hung up. Now, I know they have my phone number (I had just given it to them two times), but they never called me back with the response to my question.
Could such overwhelming and all-encompassing incompetence be sheer happenstance, or are they the result of deliberate efforts of a health insurance company to provide inefficient and ineffective services in order to limit the cost of services they must provide, and to maximize their profits by limiting the amount of money they spend on staff and computer systems??
My head was killing me after all this. I ate some lunch and that calmed me down a bit. And then I realized: I don't have to let this ruin the rest of my day and dominate my experiences. I can choose how to respond and I don't want to let that damn company have any more control over my time or thinking. I can choose how the rest of my day will go. I can bitch and moan about that company and how inept they are and how my other insurance company used to be better and blah blah blah. But I can choose to bracket the problem until a later point (tomorrow) when I can call them back and deal with the problem. Realizing that I had that control over my experience was an awesome feeling.
Something I contemplated later and which I'm still mulling over, is how to think about personal responsibility for exerting that control. I was well rested, I had just eaten, and I had minimal pain today. Those factors made it relatively easy for me to take a step back and control my reaction to frustration and anger. But it still took considerable self-management efforts for me to get to the point of recognizing that I was suffering from an emotional state I could to some degree control, and then to control it. The capacity to engage in self-regulation varies in me from one moment to the next. Some days, even if all the conditions are the same, it seems like I have to exert more effort to control myself than on others.
The capacity to self-regulate seems to vary across people as well. Some people seem to be generally good at it, others not so much. It's a very valuable skill and I feel like I've only begun to learn it in the last three years. I wonder if it can be taught.
I think it would be interesting to break it down to analyze its components. It involves not only knowledge, but also belief. And I think there's a fair amount of skill involved as well. With respect to teaching it, teaching the knowledge is pretty straightforward. And the development of the skill can be developed through practice. It's the belief that's the real sticking point. Until someone believes that they can control their reactions to circumstances, no amount of knowledge or skill is sufficient.
And I wonder to what degree we can control our reactions. As I mentioned, I know in my case, pain, lack of sleep, and lack of food lower my ability to control my reactions. I imagine my prior life experiences also shape my capacity to control my reactions. What about my genetic background? I've read that resiliency is, at least to some degree, heritable.
What are the implications of varying degrees of resiliency (for lack of a better word to describe what I'm talking about) for public policy? Should we have universally applicable standards of accountability for people if resiliency is developed to different levels in different individuals?
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