On my mind this morning – May 30, 2020

Sad and not surprised by the riots in Atlanta last night. I’m filled with rage and I don’t face racism every day. I don’t see people who look like me murdered on camera on a regular basis. I feel like America is so broken right now and I don’t know what to do or where to start.

Killer Mike. For a guy who did not want to be there and had nothing to say it was 8 minutes of brilliant testimony. “Plot, Plan, Strategize, Organize and Mobilize.” It should be required viewing.  https://youtu.be/JxHWVJYXkeU

I wonder sometimes how my black friends function. How they can sit in a meeting with me talking about some inconsequential work issue and not want scream at me or rip my head off. This who system and country is so messed up right now. And it's gotten worse day by day over the last 3 years.

Which leads me to my next bullet. It’s absolutely political. From the racist occupying the White House to his enablers through every level of government down to local reps who vote against hate crimes bills and voting rights and for loosening gun laws that arm and enable Ahmaud Arbery’s killers. And don’t give me any of the “both sides suck” bullshit. We have a decision to make in November. It’s like picking from two pizzas. One may have olives and mushrooms you don’t like and not have the pepperoni you want, but the other has a giant turd in the middle of it. This should not be a hard choice. Unless you just love the turd. Vote. Them. All. Out.

Running. I’ve been a runner for over 30 years. Right after Jenny and I got married we lived in a new neighborhood and I would always check out the new houses, sometimes looking for a door that was not locked so I could see what they looked like. I thought maybe the builder might come up and be mad sometime but even that never happened. It never dawned on me that a neighbor would come up to me with a gun. It’s just not part of my reality.

Also running. I just finished listening to The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin. Some of what he describes from the 50’s and 60’s seems to have barely changed. “God gave Noah the rainbow sign, no more water but fire next time.”

Police. I got pulled over by my local sheriff’s deputy last year at 2 am. I ran a red light two miles from my house after I’d been driving all day and was just exhausted. He asked me if I had been drinking (I had not). He never asked me to take a breathalyzer or field sobriety test, he never asked me to get out of my car. He ran my license and tag, told me to be careful and sent me home. Not even a warning. How do I square that with the experience so many of our black friends and neighbors have?

The Toxic NRA Brand

It's taken far too long and cost far too much blood and tears, but the NRA brand is finally becoming toxic. A growing list of airlines (United and Delta), rental car companies (Enterprise, Hertz, pretty much all of them), insurance companies (Chubb, Met) and Symantec virus protection are cutting corporate ties with the NRA. Pressure is coming down on Apple, Google, and Amazon to drop NRA TV from streaming services.

So they can't fly, rent a car or get insurance and we'll be able to hack their computers before long. And they won't be able to watch TV or use a cell phone when they start boycotting all these companies.

I can see the day rapidly coming when even some Republican politicians will be running from that NRA "A" ranking, returning or rejecting campaign cash and declining their support.

It's a long overdue and welcome change to the discussion.

And a child shall lead us.

Amen.

Healthcare is hard.

Health care is hard.

My benefits annual enrollment period opened at work this week. I've always been fortunate to have a good job with a good company that offers employees a variety of benefits options. I have four health insurance companies to choose from with five plans each for a total of 20 choices. Premiums range from $600 per year to $20,000 per year for my family of 5 with varying deductibles, out of pocket maximums and choices of doctors. It comes with an 80 page "Benefits Buyer's Guide", webinars, modeling tools, and regular reminders to make sure we sign up. And I am extremely grateful to work for a company that helps to absorb the cost of my family's health care and tries to offer options that meet their employees' needs.

The choices are complicated and much of it boils down to knowing what expenses you are most likely to have for your current conditions and a gamble on whether you'll get expensively sick, along with how flexible you want to be with your choice of doctors. A somewhat informed roll of the dice. It's a heck of a way to run one sixth of our economy ($3.2 trillion or almost $10,000 per person).

It's complicated. And I'm a pretty sophisticated insurance buyer. I've been in the insurance business for 25+ years. I can't imagine what it's like for someone trying to navigate the process without the benefit of experience, education and the dedicated efforts of an employer committed to ensuring that all of their employees get the coverage we need.

As an aside, health insurance is not the same as the the property and casualty side of the business I've spent my career in. It's a combination of insurance, financing and incentives.

But many people enrolling through the ACA (i.e., Obamacare) exchanges are facing just that. A shortened enrollment period, along with deep cuts in advertising (90%) and funding for Navigators (41%) to help people figure out their coverage needs and options.

Like I said, it's hard, but we make it a lot harder than it has to be.

One of the many good things about the ACA is that it's changed the conversation. When Congress and the president roll out new plans, the CBO looks at the millions of people that will lose coverage and the thousands that are likely to die due to a lack of coverage and most people recognize that as a bad thing. Maybe now is finally the time for a conversation that begins with the agreement that more covered people is a good thing and broader access (ultimately universal) is the goal.

Meanwhile, go to healthcare.gov and get covered.