Hey limeys

Politics and other such topical creams.
WestwayKid
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Re: Hey limeys

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Dr. Medulla wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 12:13pm
WestwayKid wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 11:55am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 11:43am
WestwayKid wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 10:57am
I'd almost kill for something like the NHS right now. My company is in the process of being purchased by another company and we're having to enroll in their health insurance and it is a mind numbing process. I had gotten to the point where I was familiar enough with my old insurance that I could breeze through the enrollment process every year, but now it's make my best guess and hope I'm doing the right thing because if I mess it up I'm stuck with it for an entire year.

I'm thankful to be insured, but private health insurance is hell to deal with.
When we lived in the US in the 90s, right after Clinton's failed health care restructuring, we were blown away by the power of the private health care industry propaganda re. the evils of Canada's socialized health insurance program. It was a miracle we didn't die in childbirth given how brutal and ineffective our “free” system was.
It's not just the propaganda - it's the business of misinformation. They work hard to keep things vague so that you think you know what's up, but then surprise - you guessed wrong. My girlfriend had a test done earlier this year. Nothing out of the ordinary, but she put the effort in to make sure that the provider was in network. A month later she received a bill for 20K and despite many calls we were never able to figure out exactly why it was not covered. They eventually made the charge go away and we're also not sure why that happened.
I can't wrap my head around that experience. The idea of whether to seek medical based on your bank account is barbaric. Even conservatives here aren't dumb enough to oppose it.
This is exactly how it is. People (including myself) routinely put off going to the doctor simply because of the cost. We end up skipping basic preventative care.
"They don't think it be like it is, but it do." - Oscar Gamble

Dr. Medulla
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Re: Hey limeys

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WestwayKid wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 1:15pm
People (including myself) routinely put off going to the doctor simply because of the cost. We end up skipping basic preventative care.
I do that, too, but mainly cos I don't like doctors. I always feel like I'm being morally judged for my ill health. That's on me, I know, but I still hate going to the doctor. Hell, my eventual eye surgery will be the first time I've had an operation.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

101Walterton
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Re: Hey limeys

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A friend of mine was in Vegas with her partner couple of weeks ago. He became unwell and was taken by ambulance to hospital. Turns out he had some sort of heart attack and had to have surgery to insert 3 stents.
He is home now and recovering.
The cost was $750,000!!
I could not imagine living in a country with no free health care. It should be protected at all costs.

WestwayKid
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Re: Hey limeys

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Dr. Medulla wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 2:44pm
WestwayKid wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 1:15pm
People (including myself) routinely put off going to the doctor simply because of the cost. We end up skipping basic preventative care.
I do that, too, but mainly cos I don't like doctors. I always feel like I'm being morally judged for my ill health. That's on me, I know, but I still hate going to the doctor. Hell, my eventual eye surgery will be the first time I've had an operation.
I only ever go when something is clearly wrong and even then - the fear of what it will cost looms large in my mind. I think many Americans oppose universal health care not because they don't like the idea of it, but because they've been gas lighted into thinking it's not good for them or the country.
"They don't think it be like it is, but it do." - Oscar Gamble

WestwayKid
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Re: Hey limeys

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101Walterton wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 3:07pm
A friend of mine was in Vegas with her partner couple of weeks ago. He became unwell and was taken by ambulance to hospital. Turns out he had some sort of heart attack and had to have surgery to insert 3 stents.
He is home now and recovering.
The cost was $750,000!!
I could not imagine living in a country with no free health care. It should be protected at all costs.
I have insurance through my employer and even that isn't great. I'm still paying for it (it comes out of my check). I have to hit a high deductible before they cover anything. I can only see doctors in their network (unless I want to pay not to). There are hidden fees up the wazoo. Sure, some things are covered. I can get an eye exam for $10 and then they'll cover most of my frames/contacts, but anything else I get nailed pretty hard. If I want to go to the therapist it's $60 a session out of pocket. It's a horrendous system. It's routine to see GoFundMe campaigns where someone is trying to raise money to cover their cancer care. I really don't get it. It really does feel like that Americans are content with getting the crap kicked out of them every step of the way. It's like we feel it's just part of life. Have a kid? You'd better be back at work in a few weeks and maybe we'll pay you for your time away...and that is only for moms. With both of my kids I had to use my paid time off (vacation time). I was given 2 days bereavement pay when we lost our daughter (the rest had to be made up using my PTO).
"They don't think it be like it is, but it do." - Oscar Gamble

101Walterton
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Re: Hey limeys

Post by 101Walterton »

WestwayKid wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 3:14pm
101Walterton wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 3:07pm
A friend of mine was in Vegas with her partner couple of weeks ago. He became unwell and was taken by ambulance to hospital. Turns out he had some sort of heart attack and had to have surgery to insert 3 stents.
He is home now and recovering.
The cost was $750,000!!
I could not imagine living in a country with no free health care. It should be protected at all costs.
I have insurance through my employer and even that isn't great. I'm still paying for it (it comes out of my check). I have to hit a high deductible before they cover anything. I can only see doctors in their network (unless I want to pay not to). There are hidden fees up the wazoo. Sure, some things are covered. I can get an eye exam for $10 and then they'll cover most of my frames/contacts, but anything else I get nailed pretty hard. If I want to go to the therapist it's $60 a session out of pocket. It's a horrendous system. It's routine to see GoFundMe campaigns where someone is trying to raise money to cover their cancer care. I really don't get it. It really does feel like that Americans are content with getting the crap kicked out of them every step of the way. It's like we feel it's just part of life. Have a kid? You'd better be back at work in a few weeks and maybe we'll pay you for your time away...and that is only for moms. With both of my kids I had to use my paid time off (vacation time). I was given 2 days bereavement pay when we lost our daughter (the rest had to be made up using my PTO).
Terrible. My wife works for an American company but obviously on a NZ contract. She works alongside Americans who can’t believe how bad their contracts are in comparison. Even better in Australia where the unions are stronger.

Dr. Medulla
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Re: Hey limeys

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101Walterton wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 3:07pm
A friend of mine was in Vegas with her partner couple of weeks ago. He became unwell and was taken by ambulance to hospital. Turns out he had some sort of heart attack and had to have surgery to insert 3 stents.
He is home now and recovering.
The cost was $750,000!!
I could not imagine living in a country with no free health care. It should be protected at all costs.
A couple friends from here just moved to D.C. (she's in the diplomatic corps, so she's posted to the embassy there). She had quick visit to a doctor, nothing major (nipped by a dog, I think), and the bill was $25000 for, like, a half hour. None of that came out of her pocket thankfully, but that's loopy. And a firm reminder to us to get traveller's insurance whenever we go to the US.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

WestwayKid
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Re: Hey limeys

Post by WestwayKid »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 3:23pm
101Walterton wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 3:07pm
A friend of mine was in Vegas with her partner couple of weeks ago. He became unwell and was taken by ambulance to hospital. Turns out he had some sort of heart attack and had to have surgery to insert 3 stents.
He is home now and recovering.
The cost was $750,000!!
I could not imagine living in a country with no free health care. It should be protected at all costs.
A couple friends from here just moved to D.C. (she's in the diplomatic corps, so she's posted to the embassy there). She had quick visit to a doctor, nothing major (nipped by a dog, I think), and the bill was $25000 for, like, a half hour. None of that came out of her pocket thankfully, but that's loopy. And a firm reminder to us to get traveller's insurance whenever we go to the US.
I actually feel bad complaining because at least I'm white. I don't have to factor being deported or shot by the police into my daily struggles.

Thing is, not enough people seem to care. There is no true outrage. People get upset when they get dinged with a huge hospital bill, but they accept it and launch a GoFundMe campaign to help cover it. The United States might be one of the greatest examples of mass gas lighting in world history.
"They don't think it be like it is, but it do." - Oscar Gamble

101Walterton
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Re: Hey limeys

Post by 101Walterton »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 3:23pm
101Walterton wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 3:07pm
A friend of mine was in Vegas with her partner couple of weeks ago. He became unwell and was taken by ambulance to hospital. Turns out he had some sort of heart attack and had to have surgery to insert 3 stents.
He is home now and recovering.
The cost was $750,000!!
I could not imagine living in a country with no free health care. It should be protected at all costs.
A couple friends from here just moved to D.C. (she's in the diplomatic corps, so she's posted to the embassy there). She had quick visit to a doctor, nothing major (nipped by a dog, I think), and the bill was $25000 for, like, a half hour. None of that came out of her pocket thankfully, but that's loopy. And a firm reminder to us to get traveller's insurance whenever we go to the US.
Yep my friend had good travel insurance but I know a lot of people who go to the US that don’t as they think of it as a safe place.
Many years ago (when I still lived in England) I was in Aussie and had to have emergency surgery. I had no travel insurance and was lying on the operating table negotiating costs with the surgeon.
About 3 days after surgery the admin person came to the ward and told me that as I was in the Royal Brisbane Hospital (the Queen being the patron) I did not have to pay the costs. Had Ibeen in another hospital I was paying!!!

Dr. Medulla
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Re: Hey limeys

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WestwayKid wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 3:29pm
The United States might be one of the greatest examples of mass gas lighting in world history.
It's funny that the US fought against totalitarianism—German Nazism, Russian Communism—yet its elites fully identify with the techniques and purposes. Something something history doesn't repeat, it rhymes …
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Kory
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Re: Hey limeys

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WestwayKid wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 1:15pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 12:13pm
WestwayKid wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 11:55am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 11:43am
WestwayKid wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 10:57am
I'd almost kill for something like the NHS right now. My company is in the process of being purchased by another company and we're having to enroll in their health insurance and it is a mind numbing process. I had gotten to the point where I was familiar enough with my old insurance that I could breeze through the enrollment process every year, but now it's make my best guess and hope I'm doing the right thing because if I mess it up I'm stuck with it for an entire year.

I'm thankful to be insured, but private health insurance is hell to deal with.
When we lived in the US in the 90s, right after Clinton's failed health care restructuring, we were blown away by the power of the private health care industry propaganda re. the evils of Canada's socialized health insurance program. It was a miracle we didn't die in childbirth given how brutal and ineffective our “free” system was.
It's not just the propaganda - it's the business of misinformation. They work hard to keep things vague so that you think you know what's up, but then surprise - you guessed wrong. My girlfriend had a test done earlier this year. Nothing out of the ordinary, but she put the effort in to make sure that the provider was in network. A month later she received a bill for 20K and despite many calls we were never able to figure out exactly why it was not covered. They eventually made the charge go away and we're also not sure why that happened.
I can't wrap my head around that experience. The idea of whether to seek medical based on your bank account is barbaric. Even conservatives here aren't dumb enough to oppose it.
This is exactly how it is. People (including myself) routinely put off going to the doctor simply because of the cost. We end up skipping basic preventative care.
Up until last year I hadn't been for a checkup in 15 years. And I found out nowadays that's like a 15 minute thing. They don't even check your blood anymore just to see if everything's level. You have to have some kind of symptom for them to do any kind of real workup. Probably will wait another 15 if this is the way of things now.
"Suck our Earth dick, Martians!" —Doc

WestwayKid
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Re: Hey limeys

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Kory wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 3:39pm
WestwayKid wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 1:15pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 12:13pm
WestwayKid wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 11:55am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 11:43am


When we lived in the US in the 90s, right after Clinton's failed health care restructuring, we were blown away by the power of the private health care industry propaganda re. the evils of Canada's socialized health insurance program. It was a miracle we didn't die in childbirth given how brutal and ineffective our “free” system was.
It's not just the propaganda - it's the business of misinformation. They work hard to keep things vague so that you think you know what's up, but then surprise - you guessed wrong. My girlfriend had a test done earlier this year. Nothing out of the ordinary, but she put the effort in to make sure that the provider was in network. A month later she received a bill for 20K and despite many calls we were never able to figure out exactly why it was not covered. They eventually made the charge go away and we're also not sure why that happened.
I can't wrap my head around that experience. The idea of whether to seek medical based on your bank account is barbaric. Even conservatives here aren't dumb enough to oppose it.
This is exactly how it is. People (including myself) routinely put off going to the doctor simply because of the cost. We end up skipping basic preventative care.
Up until last year I hadn't been for a checkup in 15 years. And I found out nowadays that's like a 15 minute thing. They don't even check your blood anymore just to see if everything's level. You have to have some kind of symptom for them to do any kind of real workup. Probably will wait another 15 if this is the way of things now.
There isn't any $$$ to be made in an average checkup. They want you out of the exam room so they can bring in someone who "needs" a test or two.
"They don't think it be like it is, but it do." - Oscar Gamble

WestwayKid
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Re: Hey limeys

Post by WestwayKid »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 3:35pm
WestwayKid wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 3:29pm
The United States might be one of the greatest examples of mass gas lighting in world history.
It's funny that the US fought against totalitarianism—German Nazism, Russian Communism—yet its elites fully identify with the techniques and purposes. Something something history doesn't repeat, it rhymes …
Exactly.
"They don't think it be like it is, but it do." - Oscar Gamble

Kory
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Re: Hey limeys

Post by Kory »

WestwayKid wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 3:47pm
Kory wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 3:39pm
WestwayKid wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 1:15pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 12:13pm
WestwayKid wrote:
03 Dec 2019, 11:55am


It's not just the propaganda - it's the business of misinformation. They work hard to keep things vague so that you think you know what's up, but then surprise - you guessed wrong. My girlfriend had a test done earlier this year. Nothing out of the ordinary, but she put the effort in to make sure that the provider was in network. A month later she received a bill for 20K and despite many calls we were never able to figure out exactly why it was not covered. They eventually made the charge go away and we're also not sure why that happened.
I can't wrap my head around that experience. The idea of whether to seek medical based on your bank account is barbaric. Even conservatives here aren't dumb enough to oppose it.
This is exactly how it is. People (including myself) routinely put off going to the doctor simply because of the cost. We end up skipping basic preventative care.
Up until last year I hadn't been for a checkup in 15 years. And I found out nowadays that's like a 15 minute thing. They don't even check your blood anymore just to see if everything's level. You have to have some kind of symptom for them to do any kind of real workup. Probably will wait another 15 if this is the way of things now.
There isn't any $$$ to be made in an average checkup. They want you out of the exam room so they can bring in someone who "needs" a test or two.
Well I guess that will eventually be me if they don't care about preventative.
"Suck our Earth dick, Martians!" —Doc

Dr. Medulla
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Re: Hey limeys

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Scarfolk, I love thee, you are a tonic for my sour soul: https://scarfolk.blogspot.com/2019/12/e ... 1970s.html
Image
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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