Political Discussion

Dtknuckles said:
I mean those lowland and Scandinavian countries always come up with some weird parties. What are they thinking that proportional representation works!?
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PR is a really weird one.

On the one hand we have the worlds weirdest Green Party as a party in a coalition government. They’re like an affluent guilt Green Party rather than the usual left wing insurgency and so their policies just seem to be taxing normal people who can’t afford changes into oblivion rather than proposing taxing the causes of pollution to incentivise change.

The other extreme I suppose is a conservative government hell bent on implosion with an 80 seat majority off the back of roughly 44% of the vote.
 
Oof. Just got the bill for my annual labs done at my physical last month.

My insurance was billed $1,765.00. They covered $36.66, $1,184.85 was discounted for using a network provider / negotiated rate.

I owe $543.46 and that's after telling my doctor to cut back on them and only due the essential ones. This wasn't the full panel normally ordered by my doctor. As I have said I can't afford it / my insurance doesn't cover them.

We need to address healthcare ASAP in this country. This is just absolutely ridiculous.
 
RenegadeMonster said:
Oof. Just got the bill for my annual labs done at my physical last month.

My insurance was billed $1,765.00. They covered $36.66, $1,184.85 was discounted for using a network provider / negotiated rate.

I owe $543.46 and that's after telling my doctor to cut back on them and only due the essential ones. This wasn't the full panel normally ordered by my doctor. As I have said I can't afford it / my insurance doesn't cover them.

We need to address healthcare ASAP in this country. This is just absolutely ridiculous.
Click to expand...
I started going to a primary care doctor that is affiliated with the Medicaid clinic and I find that their oop prices for things like routine labs are much less expensive than the for-profit fru-fru doctors in the large system that owns most of the medical clinics and hospitals here. I am pretty sure this system price gouges insurance companies but the insurance companies now have us foot the bill because of their very large deductibles they impose on us.

But yes, how can we have a national health strategy without nationalized health care? We now have lower life expectancies than Chinese citizens but not one politician is highlighting this fact.

finance.yahoo.com

China's life expectancy is now higher than that of the US

The US’s life expectancy continued its decline from 2020 to 2021, dropping sharply to 76.1 years.
finance.yahoo.com finance.yahoo.com
 
nolalady said:
I started going to a primary care doctor that is affiliated with the Medicaid clinic and I find that their oop prices for things like routine labs are much less expensive than the for-profit fru-fru doctors in the large system that owns most of the medical clinics and hospitals here. I am pretty sure this system price gouges insurance companies but the insurance companies now have us foot the bill because of their very large deductibles they impose on us.

But yes, how can we have a national health strategy without nationalized health care? We now have lower life expectancies than Chinese citizens but not one politician is highlighting this fact.

finance.yahoo.com

China's life expectancy is now higher than that of the US

The US’s life expectancy continued its decline from 2020 to 2021, dropping sharply to 76.1 years.
finance.yahoo.com finance.yahoo.com
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I recently heard a story about someone's experience getting a colonoscopy. It was a nightmare. They thought to check first to see if the anesthesiologist was in network. And of course, they weren't and the medical group / hospital system didn't have any anesthesiologist that was in network for this person's insurance. This person was also unable to find a in network place that had a in network anesthesiologist within a 6 hour radius. Given in, and nearly a year delayed in getting his colonoscopy, he got prior authorization from his insurance for the out of network anesthesiologist. This means he would only have to pay a 40% co insurance rather than having to foot the entire surprise bill. The bill still came to well over $2000.

Yet if you listen to the politicians, we still be far have the best healthcare system in the world. I guess they are right though if you look at it through a capitalistic lense and the profits it generates. But for care, only those who can afford to pay up receive said best care. Most do not.




NPR has a story about rent and that algorithm as well. One of the things they call out is one of the selling points of the algorithm is avoiding the appearance of collusion, since landlords no longer have to call around to see what others in an area are charging.

But since in any given area, the majority of properties are managed a small number or large corporate property management companies who all use the algorithm, the end result is essentially price fixing. Since they have a monopoly in the area and set the rate.

Sure, the landlords don't need to collude anymore, because the data the algorithm uses to set rent already has all the data.
 
www.rollingstone.com

Body Cam Footage Shows Confused Floridians Arrested for Voting as DeSantis Cracks Down

Body cam footage obtained by the Tampa Bay Times shows confused Floridians arrested for voting as Ron DeSantis cracks down on supposed election fraud.
www.rollingstone.com www.rollingstone.com

Floridians voted to re-establish voting rights to felons after completing their sentence -> DeSantis undermines it by setting an amendment that they must also fully pay any restitution before getting their voting rights back -> Confusion -> Some felons get voter ID which basically says they can vote -> Get arrested -> DeSantis cries election fraud.
M
 
Fleetwood-Matt said:
www.rollingstone.com

Body Cam Footage Shows Confused Floridians Arrested for Voting as DeSantis Cracks Down

Body cam footage obtained by the Tampa Bay Times shows confused Floridians arrested for voting as Ron DeSantis cracks down on supposed election fraud.
www.rollingstone.com www.rollingstone.com

Floridians voted to re-establish voting rights to felons after completing their sentence -> DeSantis undermines it by setting an amendment that they must also fully pay any restitution before getting their voting rights back -> Confusion -> Some felons get voter ID which basically says they can vote -> Get arrested -> DeSantis cries election fraud.
M
Click to expand...
Just reminded me of this
www.theguardian.com

Maybe US mainstream media should begin using the term ‘fascism’ | Robert Reich

My tweet about Ron DeSantis provoked outrage in rightwing media – perhaps it hit the nerve of the fascism now taking root in the Republican party?
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
RenegadeMonster said:
I recently heard a story about someone's experience getting a colonoscopy. It was a nightmare. They thought to check first to see if the anesthesiologist was in network. And of course, they weren't and the medical group / hospital system didn't have any anesthesiologist that was in network for this person's insurance. This person was also unable to find a in network place that had a in network anesthesiologist within a 6 hour radius. Given in, and nearly a year delayed in getting his colonoscopy, he got prior authorization from his insurance for the out of network anesthesiologist. This means he would only have to pay a 40% co insurance rather than having to foot the entire surprise bill. The bill still came to well over $2000.

Yet if you listen to the politicians, we still be far have the best healthcare system in the world. I guess they are right though if you look at it through a capitalistic lense and the profits it generates. But for care, only those who can afford to pay up receive said best care. Most do not.




NPR has a story about rent and that algorithm as well. One of the things they call out is one of the selling points of the algorithm is avoiding the appearance of collusion, since landlords no longer have to call around to see what others in an area are charging.

But since in any given area, the majority of properties are managed a small number or large corporate property management companies who all use the algorithm, the end result is essentially price fixing. Since they have a monopoly in the area and set the rate.

Sure, the landlords don't need to collude anymore, because the data the algorithm uses to set rent already has all the data.
Click to expand...
www.politico.com

Health insurance prices set for takeoff

www.politico.com www.politico.com

This year, employers may again ask their workers to pay up, given the softening economy and recent health trend surveys. Willis Towers Watson, an insurance advisory firm, found that three-quarters of health insurers believe their customers’ bad habits and overuse of the medical system are driving up costs.

^^Note that WTW is saying that people actually using their benefits and getting medical care is the culprit here. How much further down this path are we going to go before we, as a society, realize that health care should not be a profit generating venture?
 
nolalady said:
www.politico.com

Health insurance prices set for takeoff

www.politico.com www.politico.com

This year, employers may again ask their workers to pay up, given the softening economy and recent health trend surveys. Willis Towers Watson, an insurance advisory firm, found that three-quarters of health insurers believe their customers’ bad habits and overuse of the medical system are driving up costs.

^^Note that WTW is saying that people actually using their benefits and getting medical care is the culprit here. How much further down this path are we going to go before we, as a society, realize that health care should not be a profit generating venture?
Click to expand...

I hate that they blame overuse of the medical system.

Nothing irks me more than when I complain about the costs being passed on to me for things like labs only to have someone tell me insurance isn't for covering routine / preventative healthcare. It's for covering catastrophic medical emergency only such as you were in a bad car wreck, had a heart attack or so on. . And that my expectations are out of alignment with reality. And that's just "how it is". Most of these comments come from boomers.


What is healthcare if you are not supposed to use it for anything but an emergency. I think we are getting to caught up in the differences of what healthcare is and what insurance is. Insurance shouldn't be what provides healthcare. Because that essentially means we don't have healthcare if insurance gets narrowed down to not coving any routine / basic care.
 
nolalady said:
How much further down this path are we going to go before we, as a society, realize that health care should not be a profit generating venture?
Click to expand...
…never?🤷🏾‍♂️. There is the “American exceptionalism” ego that will stop us from ever admitting this. One has to wonder if these insurance providers would change their tune if people and businesses simply opted out of this whole system. Unfortunately as long as politicians continue to receive govt healthcare and line their pockets from the insurance industry, we won’t be seeing any changes.
 
Dtknuckles said:
Well empathy isn’t a commodity. 😕

You I had a strange interaction on a dating app that even points to relationships being commodified.


Her: I don’t know a 70’s Miles album but I can tell you a story about my dad driving with him from Boston to NY.

Me: ohh this sounds promising!

Her: what do you bring to the table?

😂
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What did you answer, cause that one sounds like a keeper.
 
nolalady said:
www.politico.com

Health insurance prices set for takeoff

www.politico.com www.politico.com

This year, employers may again ask their workers to pay up, given the softening economy and recent health trend surveys. Willis Towers Watson, an insurance advisory firm, found that three-quarters of health insurers believe their customers’ bad habits and overuse of the medical system are driving up costs.

^^Note that WTW is saying that people actually using their benefits and getting medical care is the culprit here. How much further down this path are we going to go before we, as a society, realize that health care should not be a profit generating venture?
Click to expand...
I mean, it isn't necessarily the medical consumer either... my hepatology PA ordered all kind of labs that had absolutely nothing to do with my liver, including the A1C that diagnosed me as diabetic. If she had not run that blood work though, it probably would have been next year before I found out... maybe because all my doc really orders is a fasting glucose test and doesn't always tell me its fasting when he sends me to the lab immediately after seeing him.... @RenegadeMonster 's annual eoc sounds closer to a routine rheumatology visit lab bill to me. Except that I am fortunate to have outstanding insurance (hopefully next year too. It's open enrollment, I always dread opening that damn book, but need to.)
 
I just applied for debt forgiveness, I think. I don't know. The damn daily newsletter from work said I had to apply by October 31 for the Public Service LF. I hit a link and filled out a very short form. It was a much quicker process than the crap that MOHELA sent me to that I could not make heads or tails of. I may have just signed my life away in a work sponsored phishing scam...
 
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