When expectations were more reasonable


webmaster | 03/22/12

Back in the dark ages, while I was still in college, I was offered a job by a church publishing company in St. Louis, Mo. The company was looking for somebody to edit a magazine, and it invited me to St. Louis for an interview.

Why would they ask for me? Well, at the time, I was the editor of a college magazine, and Christian Board asked the magazine’s adviser for a name, and he sent them mine.

I drove to St. Louis and met with the people at Christian Board, who were very friendly and polite. They also were very funny. Anybody who may think Christian publishers spend all day with furrowed brows scowling have it all wrong.

During the interview, the subject of hospital insurance came up. Since I was still a college student, I wasn’t quite sure what they were talking about.

“If you get sick and have to go to the hospital,” I was told, “this will pay for it. It covers sicknesses and even operations.”

There may have been more to that conversation, but if there was, I don’t remember it. I was young and bullet-proof, and certainly didn’t think I would ever need to be hospitalized.

The people who interviewed me assured me the Christian Board would pay for the insurance.

They never said anything about birth control being provided. (Back then, birth control consisted mainly of the word “no!”) Nor did they promise doctor visits would be paid for. They never promised me a knee replacement. Just hospitalization.

As it turned out, they decided to hire somebody else, and they probably still are patting themselves on the backs for that decision.

Now, of course, we seem to expect health insurance to cover everything. I think those expectations have us in some trouble. Jim Glynn’s column on this page tells a little of why that is. I suggest you read it.


comments powered by Disqus