BESIDES the usual New Year’s resolutions to eat less, exercise more and simply live healthier, consider another resolution to improve your well-being: expecting good healthcare benefits from your employer.

When I started work some 13 years ago, I didn’t even think about – much less ask – what health benefits were offered at the company I was joining. My 22-year-old self merely cared about whether it was a permanent position, and what the salary would be, before blithely signing the employment contract.

Two toddlers (and therefore two lifetimes) later, health benefits are the second thing I ask about, right after wrangling an agreeable salary.