[speaker001:] there we go uh so uh what do you consider the most important benefit besides salary
[speaker002:] boy I I I don't know that's a that's a a tough one uh uh and it's uh I suppose it's it's changes as uh as perception my perception changes of of what uh I'm getting gypped on this week or this month uh uh
[speaker001:] that week right
[speaker002:] uh we're just uh going through uh uh well there's a couple of changes to the to the uh our health plan and uh and I guess right now the one in my mind is health insurance but uh
[speaker001:] um
[speaker002:] if I step back I'm not sure I'd I'd uh say that what what about you
[speaker001:] well um I uh right now I'm into a weird situation I'm a graduate student that that
[speaker002:] oh okay
[speaker001:] uh I don't have that many benefits per se
[speaker002:] yes
[speaker001:] um
[speaker002:] okay but but on the other hand one of these days you'll be out looking for a
[speaker001:] sort of get yeah yeah my wife has a real job and I simply see from her angle um uh I think health insurance is real real important
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] uh I've I've I've I've discovered I mean even in my case it's sort of they're really um a pain in the neck about it up here because the university makes me buy a small they they have a mandatory they have what they call the mandatory portion of their health insurance
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] they offer insurance to everyone but then the basics that are major medical they they force you to buy here now I'm covered by my wife's anyway but I still pay them a hundred dollars a semester
[speaker002:] right okay
[speaker001:] for uh mandatory so that's sort of annoying that I'm paying for something I'm not getting in that case I'd rather that that went to something else
[speaker002:] and and yeah and the benefits you're getting for that hundred dollars semester uh you you never use because you just use your wife's
[speaker001:] right I mean uh and and and it turns out that actually uh the benefits they you know that that hundred dollars sort of would would entitle me to go to the university health services here you know and and use them and it turns out that I do think they're very they're excellent physicians there so through my wife's HMO we've registered for them as our primary care physicians so we go there anyway so they're they're so if they were to bill which which I believe they don't but if they were to bill the HMO for my business they could in in theory be getting paid twice for the same thing but they're not thank God um
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] but anyway uh otherwise I I would imagine uh good vacation is is important although I don't know if that's really a deciding factor for many people on a job I don't you know
[speaker002:] uh yeah I it uh the that that's a a negative about uh where where I am in that uh well I came out of uh I worked five years civil service and there it's uh if I remember right you well if they they accumulate it as hours per week or something like that and or hours per pay period or something but anyway it works out as I remember basically to uh you start at at uh two and a half weeks or something like that and it at three years uh it goes to four weeks I believe and I I'm coming up on I've been at TI now uh uh coming up on fifteen years and it and it just uh this year is going to go to four weeks here so uh uh yeah that's a that that is a a a negative but uh
[speaker001:] oh wow so that's the real
[speaker002:] but not probably not at probably not a deciding factor but uh
[speaker001:] yeah I mean I don't you know I don't I know my wife uh I think she gets you know about two weeks a year I guess but they're pretty good about it if she wants other time off they you know usually let her
[speaker002:] yeah well that that yeah that's that's the thing is how how flexible they are for comp time kinds of kinds of things and uh uh
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] that's the the the uh yeah that's uh why it hasn't made all that much difference is because the with the civil service that you could take you could take your vacation in increments of one hour
[speaker001:] oh really
[speaker002:] and uh and but uh there wasn't uh anything as far as comp time so you tend to dribble away a week of it a year uh you know an hour here a couple hours there kind of a thing
[speaker001:] no yeah
[speaker002:] uh where as uh here I uh things are free enough to that uh the the actual vacation time per year probably isn't that isn't that much different but uh
[speaker001:] that's oh that's a
[speaker002:] but the yeah I think the I think the health insurance I think that's that's going through changes everywhere to uh the they've uh uh
[speaker001:] that's reasonable I think
[speaker002:] gone through a couple years ago here where they uh will cover you much better if you go to their designated hospitals and now they're in the process of developing a list of of uh designated doctors uh so that just routine visits uh they will compensate much better for if you go to their designated doctors which which uh my assumption is that that will not include my doctor since uh he keeps real busy without having to to uh yeah
[speaker001:] yeah weigh are see such of things yeah I think I was watching something the other day about that actually on uh a news special or something like that and they were saying how in some sense that that's good because that makes health care affordable for everyone and makes you know lowers the cost of everything and all insurance and in other cases it's actually bad because it winds up people you are talking to they have much less of a choice in who they can use and stuff like that so
[speaker002:] well and and I think in the in the in the much bigger picture than uh to some extent hospitals and doctors have some uh fixed amount and if if you don't work for somebody that's got enough clout to to uh uh give you you know give you these rates and make this agreement then uh you're you're not covered by that and and the added costs get passed on to you so uh I'm not I'm not sure it my uh
[speaker001:] um-hum right
[speaker002:] one of the phrases I use is that that it's moving towards uh private socialized medicine that uh in terms of the negatives of of of always heard in terms of socialized medicine you you have no choice on who you who you go to for a doctor and things like that uh where it's the government that decides here it's it's uh
[speaker001:] at least us who decides
[speaker002:] yeah uh and but it but it's the the same the effect is the same as the you you uh get left out of the loop more I I I know that their uh idea is that uh if if you have to pay a bigger share you'll you'll be more careful about spending the spending the money and and helping hold down the costs but uh I
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] I don't know in terms in terms of uh the health care uh I uh find that that uh although I've I've been lucky enough to never have any big problems but that that uh the cost is not a a big factor I want to I want to know if the doctor's doing the right thing to make me get better
[speaker001:] right you want to know that that when you pick a doctor you know you you could pick one who you could have some sort of a feeling about yeah that that's the
[speaker002:] yeah yeah and