Workscape Institute

My 7 year old son is at it again, asking me questions in a rapid-fire manner with no rhyme or reason; “Dad, how many miles away is the sun?  Why is grass green?  Who did Honus Wagner play for and why is his baseball card worth over $2 million?”  As that confused look sets in while I contemplate my answers (in-between the ums and the ahs), I reply, “Jack, lets look it up on the Internet”.  At those moments, I truly appreciate and value technology.

Each year when I receive my health and welfare benefits packet from human resources and start to review my options, I’m told that I get that same look of confusion on my face.  I am fortunate to work for a company that offers many plan options but with that flexibility comes some complexity.  As we sit down and start to review our many options, my wife Sarah and I ask ourselves: what plans provide the right coverage, what plans provide the right price, what is the best combination of coverage and price, what will be our anticipated out-of-pocket expense, should we set aside money in a flexible spending account and, if we do, will we leave money on the table at the end of the plan year?

Again, technology to the rescue!  Accessing a company site at any time from a computer with internet connectivity, we can land on a page that provides a wealth of health insurance information.  From that landing page or portal we can:

o Review summary plan descriptions;
o Rank plans based on preference;
o View different plan option features side-by-side;
o Answer questions to help anticipate our family health care needs over the next 12 months to determine potential out-of-pocket expense and to know the appropriate amount to set-aside in a FSA account, and;
o Make our benefits elections.

From that one site, we can even individually assess our health to help understand what actions and measures to take to support and promote a healthy lifestyle.  Another powerful example of using computers and the internet to learn, communicate and to educate.

Speaking of learning, as Jack and I explore the world through the web, we’ve learned that the Honus Wagner T206 baseball card is one of the oldest and the rarest in the world.  One of the reasons for the card’s rarity is that original baseball cards were produced from 1909-11 by the American Tobacco Company and distributed in cigarette packs.  In addition to being one of the finest baseball players ever, Wagner, as an early promoter of healthy behavior and fitness, objected to children having to buy cigarette packs to get baseball cards.  He quickly refused permission of the American Tobacco Company to produce his card and, as a result, only 50 to 200 original Wagner cards were ever produced and distributed.

As a health advocate and visionary in his day, I bet Mr. Wagner would be very impressed with how technology is being leveraged to more effectively communicate and promote health and wellness practices.  Of course, discovering the value of his T206 baseball card would also be a pleasant surprise!