The Vent and Rant Thread

[CRussel]

I am _very_ happy with how medicine works here, with the sole exception that prescriptions are not part of the base medical that we all get. (You do get coverage if you qualify financially, but it's a really bad system based on what you earned two years ago.) My employer provides supplemental insurance that _does_ cover prescriptions, but I was here for a long time here without that coverage. The good part of all this, however, is that while doctors are encouraged to use generics and others in the formulary (approved list), it's quite a large list and with several different choices within types. And when the doctor determines that you need something outside that formulary, s/he simply fills out the justification and you get it, and get it covered. (My doctor has macros for the justifications on key medicines, including my combination inhaler that is both bronchodialator and steroid.)

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

....

If I *ever* used care for more than €370 at once somewhere in the last 20 years, then the only chance of that happening is getting a prescription for a skin rash a few years back, or the three stitches I needed to patch up a paper knife cut 15 years ago. Apart from those two incidents, I haven't needed a doctor for more than 20 years, except if I decide to have a checkup for some reason. "Oh, it has been 4.5 years... maybe I should make an appointment again."

Wait until you get a bit older, and then the "investment" might pay off. I got breast cancer 3 years ago, and while THAT was "day surgery" (no stay in the hospital) the side effects and after-effects have caused 3 multiple-day hospitalizations since. I am very glad not to be paying for it myself.

[pdurrant]

The NHS has its problems, but every time people from other countries talk about their health care I'm so very glad I have the NHS..

[ProfCrash]

I was thrilled with the insurance I had when I gave birth. I am thrilled most of the time because we are paying for a plan that allows us to choose our Doctor and go to specialists without needing referrals. This is the first time I have had a medication issue and I was baffled when my Doctor gave me the pneumonia vaccine and told me she would make sure that insurance covered it.

I understand that insurance does not want to pay out for a ton of medicines because they are the new fangled thing and people want them. I have no problem using most generics, as long as they have been demonstrated to be as effective as the original medication. But I should not have to change medications totally because the insurance does not want to cover what my Doctor has said I needed.

But I am lucky and can afford a great medical plan with low deductibles. I have friends who have to wait weeks to get a cast put on because they have to go to their primary care doctor, get a referral, go see that doctor and then have the treatment approved. That is crazy.

Anyway, I am miffed but breathing better.

[Blossom]

Hubby's state job wants $268 a month to cover me with a huge deductible of $600. When he worked for the factory in Tennessee we paid $20 a week and the deductible was $100-$150. It was a union job though.
Currently we are not Insured. I can't pay that much for health insurance.

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[ApK]

Originally Posted by Blossom

Hubby's state job wants $268 a month to cover me with a huge deductible of $600. When he worked for the factory in Tennessee we paid $20 a week and the deductible was $100-$150. It was a union job though.
Currently we are not Insured. I can't pay that much for health insurance.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Can you take whatever you could afford and put it into a medical savings account of some kind?

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by ApK

Can you take whatever you could afford and put it into a medical savings account of some kind?

I'm not sure. I wouldn't even know how to start to do that.

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[wodin]

Most American employers are required to offer a tax exempt medical savings account plan called a Flex Account where a fixed amount is deducted from your before tax salary and deposited to your Flex Account. You can then draw on that for certain medical expenses.

The drawback is that if you don't draw out everything by the end of the year it's forfeit, also there is a limit to how much you can deposit.

[Blossom]

I don't remember seeing anything like that in hubbys benefit paperwork. All state workers are required to contribute to a retirement fund but that's not the same thing.

It could be because he is still on his probationary period of the job that the option isn't available yet.

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[wodin]

Have him ask the HR about a Flex Account; but don't ever forget, HR is NOT your friend.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by wodin

Have him ask the HR about a Flex Account; but don't ever forget, HR is NOT your friend.

When open enrollment rolls around I will talk to him about it. The HR lady likes him she has already helped him a few times. My husband works for the state taking care of trouble youth.

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[Blossom]

It's been three days Maisy has been on the Pepcid. Yesterday I saw a small improvement but today she is starting to act like her old self.

First thing I noticed was she was able to get down on her paws faster and lay down. Today she does it within minutes instead of twenty. She is more energetic and I just caught her trying to play tag with her sister. She is climbing off and on the bed again. And...No vomiting.

I'm going to order her a drinking fountain on Friday from Amazon. It's the same one she grew up with so she should love it.


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[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Legal weed? Nope.Officially, it's forbidden, but it's tolerated. Coffee shops are in the weird position that it is allowed to sell weed, but not allowed to purchase it (so, the coffee shop has to do illegal stuff to acquire the weed in the first place... which is tolerated).

Marijuana is on the slow road to legalization in the US.

In New York City, where I live, it's been de facto legal for some time. It's technically illegal, but you would have to really work at it to get busted. Walking up to a cop smoking a joint, blowing the smoke in his face, and saying "Want a toke, officer?" might do it. Dealing might, too, but might not, as below.

A dealer I knew years back who was one of a group that sold from a park explained what had actually happened when I had heard about a problem with the police. He said "No, it was 'Show some respect'." The cop had responsibility for the park, and knew quite well the group was selling marijuana. Just don't do it while he was watching. If they did, he'd have to bust them. (And he made it very clear that anyone trying to deal harder stuff like crack cocaine would get busted.)

The cop on the beat has better things to do than bust people for smoking pot. If he busts them, he must appear in court against them, which is a waste of everyone's time.

A former co-worker talked about a talk he attended given by a University of California law professor, who said all such laws had an "Us vs Them" basis, and were the result of a dominant group attempting to suppress a lesser one. The US efforts that resulted in Prohibition were that sort of thing. Criminalization of marijuana in the 1930's was another, with the target the black communities where marijuana was a common recreation. ("Them darkies smoke that stuff! Can't have it leaking over into our communities!" Er, too late... )

Marijuana is now legal for medicinal uses in several municipalities, and the areas in question are having the unusual experience of figuring out what to do with all the taxes collected as part of the process. The Governor of New York State recently signed into law a bill making medical marijuana legal. The camel's nose is now in the tent. I just know there are people in the New York City government imagining the tax revenues sales of marijuana over the counter would generate, and rubbing their hands and drooling. It won't just be medicinal. The same stores selling cigarettes made from tobacco would have no problem selling cigarettes made from marijuana, and licensed, inspected, and taxed, with actual rated potency has a lot to recommend it.

That's idiotic. Allow it or forbid it, not some sort of stupid half breed arrangement.

Forbidding it simply won't work. Allowing it is politically fraught. A half-assed compromise where it is technically illegal, but the laws are seldom actually enforced is a step along the path.

In Germany, games censorship is foolish. Is that also the case for 18+ games? Seeing that children don't play games that are not fit for them is a task of the parents, not of the government.

It should be. It becomes a task of government because too many parents don't want to do it. I see a lot of that in efforts to censor sex. The ostensible reason is "protect the children", but the cynical part of me suspects the real reason is "protect the parents from having to deal with questions they aren't comfortable answering". Sorry, mom and dad, but if you're a parent. that's your job. If you aren't willing to do it, you shouldn't have kids.

Scrapping all the stupid rules and differences would go a long way. If there's one Europe, then everything, from pricing and rules should be the same. If it can't be, then there shouldn't have been a push to create a single Europe.

Part of the problem with the EU is EU regulations in addition to local ones. I believe a lot of the opposition to the EU that resulted in Brexit was from small and mid-sized businesses doing business in the UK who were unhappy with EU rules on top of existing local ones. Larger businesses that did business outside of Britain had a different opinion.

But a common currency and rules has side effects that should have been obvious going in. When you have a common currency and accounting standards, it's suddenly glaringly obvious who is economically healthy and competitive and who isn't, and why. You can't hide problems behind different currencies, accounting procedures, and government smokescreens. And you learn the hard way which nations should never have been incorporated in the EU in the first place.
______
Dennis

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Wait until you get a bit older, and then the "investment" might pay off. I got breast cancer 3 years ago, and while THAT was "day surgery" (no stay in the hospital) the side effects and after-effects have caused 3 multiple-day hospitalizations since. I am very glad not to be paying for it myself.

Obviously I was a bit exaggerating in my post. I'm happy enough that I don't need a doctor often. What I do get miffed about, is the fact that I have been paying thousands upon thousands for insurance for years, and *if* I need something, such as new glasses (which is a serious cost in my case), I *still* have to pay for them myself. I can get a €200 discount every two years, but firstly, it doesn't stack; if you make a claim after four years, you'll only get €200. Secondly, the cost is €7.50 a month to be able to make the claim. That comes down to €180.

So, I would need to first pay €180, and then get new glasses every two years (which are *a lot* more expensive than €200), for a total 'savings' of €20. That's useless.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

So, I would need to first pay €180, and then get new glasses every two years (which are *a lot* more expensive than €200), for a total 'savings' of €20. That's useless.

Well, that's really the way insurance operates. It's terrible for something that's a known, regular expense.