JHANDLEY wrote:
>     Once again I ask:  Why do we as professionals see such things as
>     medical coverage as an added benefit?  What other profession
>     out there does this philosophy transfer to?

Unfortunately, since the American polity has decided over the past 4
years that no one has a fundamental right to medical care, medical
coverage IS by definition an "added benefit."  Even in a
union-represented, state service museum curator position in Wisconsin,
one is not entitled to full medical benefits for 6 months.  One can
choose to forgo coverage and enroll after 6 months OR one can enroll
within 30 days but pay the full premium oneself for the first 6 months.
Since we're still considered a progressive state in some ways, I'm
hardly surprised that medical coverage elsewhere is worse.

Unfortunately, the fashionable tendency to view medical care as just
another profit-making enterprise will not make it more likely that
museums will be able to improve in this area.

Doug Kendall
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