When it rains it pours

Post #434,880 by drook 6/28/20 6:35:36 PM 6/28/20 6:35:36 PM Reply	When it rains it pours I got a call last week that my father had been in a car accident. They suspect he had a stroke, because he was altered when he took the car. I came out to help my mother, and see if dad was going to need a caregiver. But before I got here ... I was sitting cross-legged on the floor in the airport for an hour. When they called my group, I tried to stand up. I couldn't feel my foot at all as I put it down on the side instead of the bottom. I still couldn't feel the foot, but I knew it was hurt. I didn't feel like staying in Charlotte any longer so I got on the plane. It didn't hurt while I was sitting there, but I couldn't put any weight on it when I got to Baltimore. I had the paramedic look at it. She couldn't confirm what was wrong, but could put a splint on it. They had a porter come with a wheelchair and get me to the shuttle bus to the train station. I hobbled into the station to wait 2 hours for my train, then to my seat. In Philly it to me 5-10 minutes to get to the escalator and up to ground level to meet my ride. At my aunt's house I propped it up and put ice on it. This morning I still couldn't put any weight on it, so I went for x-rays. Yup, broken. And the doc said this break is typically fixed surgically. Fabulous. This is exactly what I was hoping to be dealing with. -- Drew
Post #434,884 by boxley 6/28/20 9:07:26 PM 6/28/20 9:07:26 PM Reply	any idea of the cause? "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
Post #434,885 by drook 6/28/20 11:33:27 PM 6/28/20 11:33:27 PM Reply	It just keeps getting better He may have had a stroke, but apparently it's Alzheimer's/dementia, and it's been getting bad for a while. He thinks he still owns cars and motorcycles that he hasn't had for 20 years. He's seeing people in the house who aren't there. And not only has my mother not been saying anything to me about it, she's losing it, too. Thinking is still fine, but short-term memory is gone. She asked me four times today what happened to my foot. The Aunt I'm staying with told me that my mother moved my father's 401k, their entire savings, to ... somewhere else, but she doesn't know where the paperwork is. The only good news is my brother talked to mom and she's on board with getting an in-home caregiver (until the savings run out, assuming they still have any, but that's a separate conversation). -- Drew
Post #434,888 by boxley 6/29/20 12:13:45 AM 6/29/20 12:13:45 AM Reply	your foot not the parents :-) "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
Post #434,890 by drook 6/29/20 12:16:47 AM 6/29/20 12:16:47 AM Reply	Thought I said ... Yeah, I did I was sitting cross-legged on the floor for an hour. My foot was asleep when I tried to stand up, and I stepped on the side instead of the bottom of my foot. Cracky snappy. -- Drew
Post #434,891 by boxley 6/29/20 12:18:35 AM 6/29/20 12:18:35 AM Reply	ok missed that, ouch! "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
Post #434,894 by Ashton 6/29/20 4:07:09 AM 6/29/20 4:07:09 AM Reply	Most sorry to hear of so narsty a convergence as seems near enough ... Diabolical. Don't know how common is my similar encounter with some of your (surprises): When my Uncle broke his hip, just feet from any chance to grab him, i next found that my Aunt's confusion had deteriorated greatly since last I'd visited (I was there after a shopping trip with Uncle, in the event). What surprised was--later on--Uncle said that "he didn't know she was That-far along"; I wondered how he could have missed. that. y'know? The event elected moi as Conservator of both, thus one tip: You may have to look in odd places for the papperwork you'll be seeking. I (plus a friend of both, an LVN who oversaw Uncle's treatment) found things in dresser drawers along-the-way, which just didn't fit any rationale. Good Luck re all the un-expectables!
Post #434,900 by Andrew Grygus 6/29/20 12:11:29 PM 6/29/20 12:11:30 PM Reply	Yup, convergence seems to be going around. My assistant, T. Got thrown our of room she's rented for 10 years by the land lady's insane, drugged up daughter. She put all her belongings in storage while searching for a room. Was still searching for a room when her brother went in for cancer in Texas, so she went there to support him. The visit to Texas got extended because the brother got stuck in quarantine for two weeks due to COVID before the doctors would look at him. Meanwhile, she was doing her publication work for the church over the Internet (which is how she normally worked). Then the church pretty much closed down, cutting off her income. Then she came down with severe intestinal problems, but didn't see a doctor due to the COVID. When she did, the surgeon told her that being near death was common now because people put off seeing a doctor due to COVID. She was nearing death from a ruptured appendix. Got emergency surgery but wasn't recovering at all well. Turns out she also has other abdominal abscesses. Now she wears a bag with a tube going into her innards to drain stuff. She remains pretty much bed ridden and can't do any work. The storage outfit calls her daily with threats, demanding she pay up the past due rent. Now she's staying with her mother in Alabama. "We'll all remain serene and calm, when Alabama gets the Bomb". Well, at least she hasn't got the COVID yet - hope she's not in Montgomery county. I've told her in the past what Jesus will say to her during the Judgement, for being a Republican, a rabid Trump Supporter, and a rabid believer in the Church of Paul - but maybe Jesus has decided not to wait.
Post #434,903 by Ashton 6/29/20 4:20:09 PM 6/29/20 4:20:09 PM Reply	Ummmm.. Send Her a couple bucks? ..if she loses-Too, all-her-Stuff: well, you know.. [Even if she's so ethically deranged as to merit mountains of obloquy.. this is surely a kinda litmus-test of, simple generosity-of-spirit, innit?] I mean--that you Dislike the object of pity!--(in my 'cases' anyway, having been there)--I aver that such improbable acts generate the better-kind of endorphins. (Nor would I even attempt to rationalize any list-of Why??s) Carrion ..it's all around ..but remains-Unreal ;^>
Post #434,909 by Andrew Grygus 6/29/20 5:23:20 PM 6/29/20 5:23:20 PM Reply	Oh, I've bailed her out of one disaster . . . . . after another, but she refused any assistance for her stuff in storage. When this is all over she's pretty much going to have to start life over anyway. It's all fallen completely apart - just when she thought she was through with troubles. She has a bit of an arrogant streak which has not served her well in recent times, and it took her a long time to get over no longer being a cute young chicky who could get away with anything. She sure did try to hang onto that though.
Post #434,918 by Ashton 6/29/20 8:00:48 PM 6/29/20 8:00:48 PM Reply	Ahh.. Understood (!) to a fare-thee-well. :-) {{sigh}} There was a young-un who stiffed me outta a ~$600 'loan' (for some cockamamie 'trip' or other), way-back. Still am in regular contact with her (older) sister; when X's name came up, first thing she said was, "Did A. say anything about me??" (D punted; already knew the story, and shares with moi that er, 'Cream of the Jest?'--as ever needs patience). As-in: [Heh..] proof positive that she still-Realizes the scam And nowadays (when she's a lawyer of some ilk + usual excessive-$$) with which to attempt some sorta atone?ment: Well, You. Know. Schadenfrude preview? as the Sis and I are likely to remain in contact and these two + many (used to) congregate farmily-style: it shall become Fun to see if she finally Grows a Pair, eh? Over & Out.
Post #434,920 by Andrew Grygus 6/29/20 8:52:08 PM 6/29/20 8:52:08 PM Reply	Translation: Woman: "Could you please loan me some cash? I'll pay it back right away. Promise Translated: Give me some money - errr ... Please. Actually T has made more effort to pay me back than any other woman has, but she is still significantly behind. At this time I'm not sure I'll ever see her again. I don't see how she can afford to be in Los Angeles now - unless she dumped the church and went back to working for media companies. One of the Immutable Facts of human existence: women are expensive.
Post #434,892 by pwhysall 6/29/20 2:53:30 AM 6/29/20 2:53:30 AM Reply	Well, shit Get well soon, and I hope the US medical system doesn't adversely affect your finances too badly.
Post #434,893 by drook 6/29/20 3:44:37 AM 6/29/20 3:44:37 AM Reply	Truth I'm out of state, so anything that happens here is out of network. -- Drew
Post #434,895 by crazy 6/29/20 8:17:02 AM 6/29/20 8:17:02 AM Reply	You're not getting surgery out of state are you? I assume whatever you doing now was diagnosis and then get you back home for the follow up, right? Or is there a time constraint?
Post #434,897 by drook 6/29/20 8:23:30 AM 6/29/20 8:23:30 AM Reply	That's what I need the consult for Do I need surgery; and if so, how long can I defer it? -- Drew
Post #434,899 by TB D 6/29/20 11:47:46 AM 6/29/20 11:47:46 AM Reply	Re: Truth Sorry to hear that. Medical networks are bullshit. We should have national health care by now. Hope things start looking up. Crazy times.
Post #434,931 by CRConrad 6/30/20 10:50:03 AM 6/30/20 10:50:03 AM Reply	Are none of these weird "networks" nation-wide? If not, why not? It's not as if the insurance companies behind them are all tiny just-one-state outfits, is it? And: People travelling between states, is that a shockingly new development that has only started after the Corona pandemic, or WTF?!? I really don't get your fucking system. The USA spent the 20th century basking in the admiration of the world, for being some kind of "Mecka of modernism" -- but when one looks closer at it, a lot of the country is run on much more 19th-century principles than the rest of the world. (Like, banking: Sending paper checks around in the post... Sheesh!) -- Christian R. Conrad The Man Who (used to think he) Knows Fucking Everything Mail: Same username as at the top left of this post, at iki.fi
Post #434,932 by mmoffitt 6/30/20 11:23:37 AM 6/30/20 11:23:37 AM Reply	Individual states are responsible for issuing insurance licenses. bcnu, Mikem It's mourning in America again.
Post #434,940 by CRConrad 6/30/20 3:56:43 PM 6/30/20 3:56:43 PM Reply	Yeah, so? If you're MegaInsurance Corp, you just get licenses from many/all of them, no?
Post #434,966 by mmoffitt 7/1/20 9:59:52 AM 7/1/20 9:59:52 AM Reply	It's not cut and dried. Todd below described what networks are, but the nut of it is that before you go into a state to sell your health insurance, you better be sure you can get enough business in that state to have the numbers of insured high enough that you can negotiate reasonable (read: profitable) fees with that state's healthcare providers. Simply put, you've got to be sure you can make money in the state first. You can't look at our system with the belief that our health insurance industry is designed to provide health care for our population. It isn't. Our health insurance industry is designed (like everything else) to bring value to the shareholders. Having to pay for somebody's actual health care is just "a cost of doing business" that is avoided wherever possible. Our health insurance industry is in the business of collecting premiums, not paying claims. bcnu, Mikem It's mourning in America again.
Post #435,022 by Ashton 7/4/20 4:15:44 PM 7/4/20 4:15:44 PM Reply	(That this mode has been perpetual: defines the Shame of USian ongoing, fecklessness): Duh!
Post #434,937 by TB D 6/30/20 12:50:51 PM 6/30/20 12:50:51 PM Reply	Re: Are none of these weird "networks" nation-wide? If not, why not? We don't have a system. We have a bunch of "things" for different classes of people. FWIW, a "network" is a collection of service providers (doctors, hospitals, labs, etc...) for which an insurance company has negotiated "special rates" in exchange for exclusive access to their subscribers. Every insurance company has its own rate card, which is why you can't get a handle on what a "typical price" is for anything. It is absolutely insane. Also, insurers are regulated by the state so while we might have a big company like Aetna as an umbrella company, I end up with Aetna CA - California specific version whose network only exists in CA. The existence of networks is part of why our stuff is screwed up. The other part is that only employers can afford to buy insurance so it gets tied to your job and ifyou're unemployed, you're uninsured. Of course the "cash" rate card is the most expensive one. This is a great article on four models of health care systems in use around the world. And then it explains how the US has elements of all but no coherent system. From the fine article: These four models should be fairly easy for Americans to understand because we have elements of all of them in our fragmented national health care apparatus. When it comes to treating veterans, we’re Britain or Cuba. For Americans over the age of 65 on Medicare, we’re Canada. For working Americans who get insurance on the job, we’re Germany. For the 15 percent of the population who have no health insurance, the United States is Cambodia or Burkina Faso or rural India, with access to a doctor available if you can pay the bill out-of-pocket at the time of treatment or if you’re sick enough to be admitted to the emergency ward at the public hospital. The United States is unlike every other country because it maintains so many separate systems for separate classes of people. All the other countries have settled on one model for everybody. This is much simpler than the U.S. system; it’s fairer and cheaper, too. ----- USA is a shit hole country.
Post #434,952 by crazy 6/30/20 7:01:38 PM 6/30/20 7:01:38 PM Reply	Thank you for being here Your viewpoint is always welcome. Aka: Todd's back, yay!
Post #434,956 by Ashton 6/30/20 7:26:34 PM 6/30/20 7:26:34 PM Reply	Preach It! Brother; that's Best short-summary yet peeped; we suck so hard: it's a [-]-vacuum Bizness Appreciations from moi: As a privileged-White-person, one also with the (rare-as-hens'-teeth) de-$$Bizness-icated Retirement coverage: I daily count [those 'blessings' things]. Gloating?--not a fucking-Bit: know too many who are among the Majority-totally-Fucked by the disgusting root-cause of most every absurdity we might care to analyze: 'Murican Vulture Kapitalismo is the root-Cause of this Failed-'state's predicament as-we-speak. It cossets the very-Ethics-free tiny minority as have pillaged this banana-'republic' throughout my lifetime /from the 'Tipping-Point' of sentience arriving in my jelloware. (Much of our National Clusterfuck derives IME from the 'accident' that: in Males, testosterone enables/intesifies! the Violence-tic) ... from the pig-ignorance folkways-growing-up on to --> the totally Ethics-free daily habits [some %Huge] of virtually every 'Bizness': management and daily-operation [Daily-Lying] takes its toll in destroying Conscience. Add-in the Rebel-flag-masturbating masses and ya gets: Just What you so ably ..just wrote. (I feel privileged too, that IWE--even exists) as the rarest kinda tribes. This amidst the so-many-wannabes' Hangouts, where maudlin-BS is the general level of such time-filler spots ..at grammar-school vocabulary-levels [emulating too often that deranged Man-child-in-Chief]. Etc. So.. Thanks Todd [Et Alia!]. Competence!, especially within a Clusterfuck Collection to End-all-clusterfucks: proves to be in shorter supply as the stakes climb ^Upwards^ via the anti-gravitas of the Fascists' chosen form of Non-governance. Circus of the Macabre.. ..we gets to Examine it, whether wanting-to or not. 40
Post #434,964 by mmoffitt 7/1/20 9:47:12 AM 7/1/20 9:47:12 AM Reply	Exactly. One thing of note, California has, for example, stricter labor laws than most states. It makes sense for Aetna to carve their California business out separately. They sure don't want their Indiana office to be subject to the sort of employee protection laws that are present in California. It's a minor contributing factor to why the umbrella company carves themselves into smaller bits, but its contribution is non-zero. Also, in those negotiations you mentioned, Aetna lumping together the members they have in Michigan, Illinois or New York doesn't help them in California. No provider (physician, lab, hospital, etc.) cares how many non-California members a company has and so there's no incentive for Aetna to have everyone lumped together. bcnu, Mikem It's mourning in America again.
Post #434,994 by Ashton 7/2/20 2:53:46 PM 7/2/20 2:53:46 PM Reply	Nice ..but ugly, clarification.
Post #435,035 by jake123 7/5/20 11:36:07 PM 7/5/20 11:36:07 PM Reply	Holy geez Hi Todd. Good to see you again.
Post #434,974 by boxley 7/1/20 1:15:38 PM 7/1/20 1:15:38 PM Reply	as usual it depends is the answer, I work for a large multinational comany US side we have presence in many states so the company rents an insurance company to process claims for the cheapest cost possible. The one they rent has mostly nationwide coverage so If I travel I can usually find a provider that is under their umbrella. "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
Post #434,898 by malraux 6/29/20 10:54:52 AM 6/29/20 10:54:52 AM Reply	Holy wow, Drew. Best of luck for all of that Regards, -scott Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.
Post #434,926 by a6l6e6x 6/29/20 11:31:40 PM 6/29/20 11:31:40 PM Reply	Amen to that! Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #435,036 by jake123 7/5/20 11:39:04 PM 7/5/20 11:39:04 PM Reply	Ouch. That's gonna suck. I'm sorry you're having to deal with health coverage designed after Lowry's model. Best.

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