A financial advisor told consumers to use an "algorithm" to pick health insurance during open enrollment. The algorithm consists of looking at three things. Cost, choice, and savings options.
That's not an algorithm. That's a list. A f*cking grocery list has more computational complexity than this. You know what else is an algorithm by this standard? Checking if you're hungry before eating. Seeing if it's raining before grabbing an umbrella. Confirming your pants are on before leaving the house.
The advisor presumably said this with a straight face. Probably charged someone money for it too. "Here's my proprietary algorithm: consider factors." Groundbreaking stuff. Really earning that fiduciary duty.
Open enrollment exists because employers discovered they could make you do homework every year to keep your medical coverage. You get three weeks to compare deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums and coinsurance percentages while pretending you understand what any of it means. Then you pick the same plan you had last year because the alternative is reading a 47-page benefits guide written by someone who hates you.
But sure, let's call it an algorithm. Let's dress up "think about stuff before buying it" in fancy language so it sounds like financial advice instead of what your mom told you when you were seven. Next week this same advisor will unveil a machine-learning model for deciding whether to bring a jacket. The week after that, a blockchain solution for remembering to pay your rent.
The three factors are choice, cost, and savings options. Choice means which doctors you can see. Cost means how much you pay. Savings options means the other ways you pay. Add them up, subtract your dignity, and you've successfully executed the algorithm.
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