Survived Busy Season!!!

This is the worst time of year for anyone who works in insurance. When the ACA was upheld, groups were given the option to renew in December to keep their plans. So a *ton* of groups moved to December. Awesome. Nothing said "Happy Holidays" quite like being insanely busy and crying over spreadsheets (technically I only cried once this year... My story and I'm sticking to it!). It's like tax season for accountants.

 Honestly, if I never see another spreadsheet again in my life, it will be too soon. Spoiler alert: I will see one in than 12 hours.

They seem so easy.

Look at a quote and add numbers.

But somehow it isn't. The formatting is off. Then the numbers don't round. And how did I miss that all the copays are after the deductible?! Did I spell deductible right? How many times can I look at a word before I forget how to spell it? I literally don't know if I'm spelling Silver correctly. Does that say Silver or Sliver? Sliver plan sounds cooler anyway! I had to Google how to get an ampersand in the header (FYI, you put two of them in a row and Excel only shows one). WHY IS THIS TAB DEFAULTED TO BE 8 PAGES WIDE??

Also, I am generally in favor of the ACA. But individual rates make my eyes bleed. Groups under fifty (who didn't grandmother) have a rate for each age. It isn't too bad usually, but when the group is getting close to fifty, it is insane. This number limit doesn't include dependents by the way (although you only pay for 3 children under 20). So you can have a group with thirty employees but end up with seventy rates. I have literally had someone give me a correction and not be able to see what is wrong even when it is written down for me! 632 looks just like 682 when you're on chart number 45 of the season.

 I probably would have completely lost my damn mind if it wasn't for the people I worked with. It's so nice to have people you trust being able to help. And the fact that everyone asks if you need anything before they leave and it isn't just a weird courtesy is awesome. Plus, it's nice to have people who understand what is going on. I love Caleb, but I think his eyes glaze over when I complain about hard v soft mandatory generic. Which is 100% understandable.

We made it to the other side though. Everyone is still speaking to each other. During my sabbatical I missed last busy season, so I wasn't *quite* prepared for how it was going to turn out. I'll be ready for next busy season!