Clark has a warning for you about your health care plan at work this year. Many companies are switching to “active enrollment” this fall instead of automatic enrollment. In the past, if you weren’t making a change, you simply did nothing when you got your enrollment forms. But with active enrollment, you have to re-register or you may lose benefits, have higher premiums or be put in a reduced-choice plan. It saves the company a lot of money because people forget about registering. So, the spirit of the plans is becoming very unfriendly. You need to know the ropes and know how your plan works.

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The positive flip side of this is that more and more large employers are offering on-site medical clinics. It’s voluntary and usually free to use the clinics, and it saves the company money as well. This is great news for people with chronic illnesses like diabetes. They are more likely to see someone close by than to make an appointment and travel to a doctor’s office. It’s paternalistic, but the company is able to help you stay on the straight and narrow while keeping costs low.