Back to school means new shoes for the kids in my house. Two pair, one for inside and one for out on the playground. I head out to the mall in September and ask the sales clerk for a shoe my son liked, size four-and-a-half, please. She comes back and earnestly tells me she has a size three and a size ten.

Okay, what part of my request didn’t she understand?

If he has a four-and-a-half foot, it is unlikely I will squeeze him into a three or have him swim in a size ten. If you cannot provide me with what I have asked for, say so and send me on my way. Wasting my time does not adhere me to their business to come back in the future.

We’ve all been there … whether at the drive through window, the retail outlet or car dealership … you ask for one thing, expect to receive what you asked for only to be disappointed when it doesn’t come through.

The same is true in group benefits. If you have asked for 80% prescription drug coverage, for example and told your employees they have coverage for their pharmaceuticals, how disappointed are you in the process, the insurance carrier and ultimately the broker who sold you the plan, when your employees come back wondering why the prescription their doctor prescribed was not covered?

Is it because the plan only covers least cost alternative drugs? Perhaps the plan is hampered by formulary structures or new limitations imposed by the insurance provider.

You can get what you want. You don’t have to accept a cookie cutter plan for coverage. With the right benefit broker, providing the most accurate information at the on-set, you will get the plan you wanted because ultimately it’s your money and you want to spend it wisely!

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