Neverending Covid-19 Coronavirus

ranbalam said:
Thank you both. This relaxes my mind. I won't bother to take any of the info to social media though, people there don't like science. Hmmm, maybe if I yelled this info while driving and posted it to Youtube it would resonate. :)
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It's mind boggling to me how for months the Supreme Leader has been touting the idea that there is nothing to worry about because he's working so hard and spending so much money on making a vaccine, and now that the vaccine is out, it's dangerous and you should not take it.

The idea that conservatism has become being in opposition to whatever the center and left believes today, is so true.
 
Turbo said:
The idea that conservatism has become being in opposition to whatever the center and left believes today, is so true.
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True and frustrating. How can people say in the same breath that Covid isn't dangerous but the vaccine is? Come on.

"I stick my face in a fan all the time. It's those safety features that will really hurt you."
Or
"I don't get brake jobs, those new parts they use kill people"

Damn, I'm fired up today...a couple beers and a bowl after work should help.
 
I'm going to have to record the 11pm news tonight on NBC 10 Boston.

They are running promos for an investigative story about covid long haulers and insurance companies refusing to pay their medical bills.

The story about shouldn't your insurance be required pay these bills? Why they say they aren't, and what can do about it.

NBC 10 will talk to a couple of covid long haulers who have hundreds of thousands of dollars to more than a million dollars in medical debt that their insurance companies refuse to pay leaving them in financial ruins.

This angers me that this can happen with private insurance and is just yet another reason why we need medicare for all.
 
nolalady said:
This new variant is going to break our medical system. It's already starting in the UK.

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Heard on the Today show this morning that a New Variant has now been detected in the United States. I think somewhere in the midwest. It is very similar to the UK variant, but is believed to mutated similarly here in the United States. It's been detected in only one patient so far. They don't know how prevalent it is yet and need to study it. But they expect it is in community spread.

Like the UK variant, it is more contagious.
 
RenegadeMonster said:
Heard on the Today show this morning that a New Variant has now been detected in the United States. I think somewhere in the midwest. It is very similar to the UK variant, but is believed to mutated similarly here in the United States. It's been detected in only one patient so far. They don't know how prevalent it is yet and need to study it. But they expect it is in community spread.

Like the UK variant, it is more contagious.
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Here's the latest I've seen:
There are now at least 56 cases of B117 in eight states. California (26) and Florida (22) have reported the most. Single cases have also been found in New York, Florida, and Georgia, and Colorado officials have confirmed two cases.
www.cidrap.umn.edu

CDC: Variant COVID-19 strain likely circulating in many states

www.cidrap.umn.edu www.cidrap.umn.edu
 
RenegadeMonster said:
I'm going to have to record the 11pm news tonight on NBC 10 Boston.

They are running promos for an investigative story about covid long haulers and insurance companies refusing to pay their medical bills.

The story about shouldn't your insurance be required pay these bills? Why they say they aren't, and what can do about it.

NBC 10 will talk to a couple of covid long haulers who have hundreds of thousands of dollars to more than a million dollars in medical debt that their insurance companies refuse to pay leaving them in financial ruins.

This angers me that this can happen with private insurance and is just yet another reason why we need medicare for all.
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I did some digging on Google to see just what might be going on here. As it has me curious, and I'll be long in bed before 11 so I'll have to watch the news story tomorrow.

What I have found:
news.bloomberglaw.com

Covid `Long Haulers’ Ask Who Pays When Sickness Just Won’t End

Millions of Covid-19 survivors facing long-term side effects don’t know what their future health-care needs will be, how much their treatments will cost, and how much or even whether health insurance companies will pay for it. Much depends on whether the Affordable Care Act survives.
news.bloomberglaw.com news.bloomberglaw.com
Group health plans and insurance companies are supposed to cover diagnostic testing for Covid-19 under federal laws passed in response to the pandemic. Plans shouldn’t charge deductibles, co-payments or coinsurance for office, telehealth, urgent care or emergency-room visits where a Covid-19 test is given or ordered.

But no federal law requires insurers to pay for coronavirus treatment.

“Insurers can put coverage limits on anything,” said Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health law and policy at George Washington University. “It doesn’t matter if it’s Covid-related or not.”

It’s too early for a clear read on how insurers will deal with these long-hauler costs. Patients have to go through lengthy appeals processes with their insurance companies when a claim is denied, so disputes have yet to reach the courts.

The Affordable Care Act prohibits most health plans from refusing to cover people or hiking their costs if they have a pre-existing condition. But those safeguards could be wiped out if the Supreme Court strikes down or guts the ACA.

Even if Obamacare remains, insurance plans that fall under the law’s purview can decide what treatments are medically necessary and which doctors they’re willing to pay for. And its protections don’t apply to the short-term health plans expanded by President Donald Trump in a 2017 executive order.
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Basically I read this as the insurance companies are saying the care for the long haulers is either not medically necessary or mandating only certain doctors can care for them. Then there are the short term plans that are exempt from ACA protections so they can do whatever the hell they want.

Medical care for long haulers is expensive, so it is no surprise that insurance companies don't want to pay for it.

And it seems like the only thing you can do is go through a lengthly appeals process with their insurance.

We likely wont hear what the out come for those appeals will be until later this year at the earliest.

They don't want to pay for long hau
 
RenegadeMonster said:
I did some digging on Google to see just what might be going on here. As it has me curious, and I'll be long in bed before 11 so I'll have to watch the news story tomorrow.

What I have found:
news.bloomberglaw.com

Covid `Long Haulers’ Ask Who Pays When Sickness Just Won’t End

Millions of Covid-19 survivors facing long-term side effects don’t know what their future health-care needs will be, how much their treatments will cost, and how much or even whether health insurance companies will pay for it. Much depends on whether the Affordable Care Act survives.
news.bloomberglaw.com news.bloomberglaw.com



Basically I read this as the insurance companies are saying the care for the long haulers is either not medically necessary or mandating only certain doctors can care for them. Then there are the short term plans that are exempt from ACA protections so they can do whatever the hell they want.

Medical care for long haulers is expensive, so it is no surprise that insurance companies don't want to pay for it.

And it seems like the only thing you can do is go through a lengthly appeals process with their insurance.

We likely wont hear what the out come for those appeals will be until later this year at the earliest.

They don't want to pay for long hau
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The good news on this is that they are debating letting long haulers get disability. The bad news is that we are only just debating.

Whether or not long haulers can access disability benefits is a hot topic in the advocacy community. It seems clear that long-haulers qualify for protections under the Americans with Disability Act, Landry and her colleague Rick Glassman said. This would afford them accommodations for things like housing and accessing government services. What is less clear is if they can access benefits through Social Security Disability Insurance.
www.wgbh.org

Can COVID Long-Haulers Access Disability Benefits? Experts Are Uncertain

After the worst of the pandemic has subsided, society will have a new group of people dealing with long-term medical challenges and, experts say, the scale of the impact in areas like disability insurance is hard to predict.
www.wgbh.org www.wgbh.org

Much like dialysis patients, my guess is that long term, these people will need to be covered through Medicare--after 22 months on dialysis, you are eligible for Medicare regardless of age--with supplemental help from Medicaid. In the end, the American tax payer will cover this cost, because private insurance will likely pressure the government to take on these costs. With the more extreme versions of Covid long haul symptoms, these people cannot work and will eventually lose their jobs and their private insurance. However, people with long haul spouses could impact private insurance, because they are still working but their spouse is racking up medical bills.

I really think this all is going to depend on how much of an impact long haulers are to insurance pay out trend. If they are costing too much on a percentage basis, I could see private insurers pressuring the government to "do the right thing" and cover long haul covid costs like they deal with dialysis. This will eventually get calculated by actuaries to see if it's worth spending the money to pressure the government to cover these costs or if they should just shut up and cover the costs because it's the most cost effective thing to do. My guess is that they will go with the first option framing it as some sort of responsible corporate social justice initiative.
 
nolalady said:
The good news on this is that they are debating letting long haulers get disability. The bad news is that we are only just debating.

Whether or not long haulers can access disability benefits is a hot topic in the advocacy community. It seems clear that long-haulers qualify for protections under the Americans with Disability Act, Landry and her colleague Rick Glassman said. This would afford them accommodations for things like housing and accessing government services. What is less clear is if they can access benefits through Social Security Disability Insurance.
www.wgbh.org

Can COVID Long-Haulers Access Disability Benefits? Experts Are Uncertain

After the worst of the pandemic has subsided, society will have a new group of people dealing with long-term medical challenges and, experts say, the scale of the impact in areas like disability insurance is hard to predict.
www.wgbh.org www.wgbh.org

Much like dialysis patients, my guess is that long term, these people will need to be covered through Medicare--after 22 months on dialysis, you are eligible for Medicare regardless of age--with supplemental help from Medicaid. In the end, the American tax payer will cover this cost, because private insurance will likely pressure the government to take on these costs. With the more extreme versions of Covid long haul symptoms, these people cannot work and will eventually lose their jobs and their private insurance. However, people with long haul spouses could impact private insurance, because they are still working but their spouse is racking up medical bills.

I really think this all is going to depend on how much of an impact long haulers are to insurance pay out trend. If they are costing too much on a percentage basis, I could see private insurers pressuring the government to "do the right thing" and cover long haul covid costs like they deal with dialysis. This will eventually get calculated by actuaries to see if it's worth spending the money to pressure the government to cover these costs or if they should just shut up and cover the costs because it's the most cost effective thing to do. My guess is that they will go with the first option framing it as some sort of responsible corporate social justice initiative.
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The long-hauler aspect is something I've been following from a slightly different angle... My wife had a bout with Lyme disease about eight years ago, and there are definitely lingering effects she continues to struggle with. This has been a much-debated issue over the years, apparently, with some doctors claiming "long haul" Lyme disease simply isn't a thing - that once the active infection is gone, that's the end of the story. Others insist it definitely is a thing, and that there should be more study and treatment options for those experiencing it. So we see the parallels with COVID now, and are at least hopeful it may lead to some reconsideration for other diseases like Lyme.
 
nolalady said:
Much like dialysis patients, my guess is that long term, these people will need to be covered through Medicare--after 22 months on dialysis, you are eligible for Medicare regardless of age--
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Holy shit that is terrible. Dialysis is way better than death, right, but it's still slow torture.

Sorry, this isn't covid-specific, and thus off-topic, but yikes was my immediate and visceral reaction
 
www.npr.org

Why You Should Still Wear A Mask And Avoid Crowds After Getting The COVID-19 Vaccine

It takes time after vaccination for immunity to the virus to build up, and no vaccine is 100% effective. Plus, scientists don't yet know if the vaccine stops viral spread. Here's what's known so far.
www.npr.org www.npr.org

I imagine many once we start vaccinating everyday people that they will resume their normal lives going out in public, large crowds and not wearing a mask like they are suddenly immune and invulnerable to COVID-19.
 
RenegadeMonster said:
www.npr.org

Why You Should Still Wear A Mask And Avoid Crowds After Getting The COVID-19 Vaccine

It takes time after vaccination for immunity to the virus to build up, and no vaccine is 100% effective. Plus, scientists don't yet know if the vaccine stops viral spread. Here's what's known so far.
www.npr.org www.npr.org

I imagine many once we start vaccinating everyday people that they will resume their normal lives going out in public, large crowds and not wearing a mask like they are suddenly immune and invulnerable to COVID-19.
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Hopefully it does stop spread and we just need to catch up with the data, otherwise yeah there is definitely going to be a problem.
 
RenegadeMonster said:
www.npr.org

Why You Should Still Wear A Mask And Avoid Crowds After Getting The COVID-19 Vaccine

It takes time after vaccination for immunity to the virus to build up, and no vaccine is 100% effective. Plus, scientists don't yet know if the vaccine stops viral spread. Here's what's known so far.
www.npr.org www.npr.org

I imagine many once we start vaccinating everyday people that they will resume their normal lives going out in public, large crowds and not wearing a mask like they are suddenly immune and invulnerable to COVID-19.
Click to expand...
Why imagine? Simply the knowledge that a vaccine is coming as emboldened most people to go back to their regular routines. I still see masks in the more free thinking areas around me, but the crowds are stupid and the further out into the suburbs into rural America you get, the less masks you see.
 
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