I mostly do residential and a surprising number pay with cash which is typical in rural America. I used to pay cash for many purchases but now I feel like a criminal when using cash - pffft! I guess I'll bank the cash and go cashless.....
Non-computer Corona virus thread
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I mostly do residential and a surprising number pay with cash which is typical in rural America. I used to pay cash for many purchases but now I feel like a criminal when using cash - pffft! I guess I'll bank the cash and go cashless.....
Galdorf
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britechguy
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Just seconding that. I'd say about 40% of my clients either pay me cash without asking or ask if I'd prefer cash or check. And I don't take cards, as I've never been given a bad check and prior to services like Square the amount that got eaten for credit card processing wasn't worth it to me.
Galdorf
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What covid 19?
britechguy
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"Hey, you! Out of the gene pool!!," writ large.
labtech
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Are people aware of the TRACE Act from May 1st, 2020? And it is not from tell-a-vision, LOL
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/6666/text?r=2&s=1
Excerpt:
(g) Authorization Of Appropriations.—To carry out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated—
(1) $100,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; and
(2) such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal year 2021 and any subsequent fiscal year during which the emergency period continues.
Bill name coincidence?
H.R.6666
Other purposes, huh?
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to eligible entities to conduct diagnostic testing for COVID–19, and related activities such as contact tracing, through mobile health units and, as necessary, at individuals’ residences, and for other purposes.
phaZed
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Introduced by Dems, not Trump.. and it's not signed, so it's up-in-the-air. Not to mention, if the Republicans deny that there is a crisis (like they have been) they can simply declare it "over" and this bill goes away, even if it were signed.
Tracing/Testing isn't going to stop the spread, it's only going to tell us how bad it is... and enrich the Trillion dollar medical industry by another $100B with our taxpayer money.
What SHOULD happen, is the gov. should buy the tests and distribute the tests to the test sites and reimburse a small amount per test to pay for labor and diag costs. Leaving it up to the states and corporations has failed so far in both execution and 'fraud'.
labtech
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I don't care who introduces it, as I don't really believe anybody cares more about doing the right thing over their personal interests. I was just trying to point out that some people are "doing things".
I totally agree on the abuse and lack of responsibility with taxpayer money. Heard some some stats on who benefited the most from this CV crisis. Despite what we see on the news outlets, it is the medical industry as a whole that have had the biggest profits. SMH...
britechguy
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Which, even if there wasn't plenty of outrageous price gouging (which has been going on for far too long), is precisely what one would expect of any industry where demand suddenly spikes far above usual levels, particularly for specialized care.
Anyone who's never seen, or known of, a bill for even a single day in intensive care has no idea of how high the cost is.
I'm not surprised, at all, that the medical industry is making record profits right now, but I wouldn't be surprised even if "usual, customary, and reasonable" [insurance speak] were actually all three of those things.
Sky-Knight
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Anyone else happy at least the medical industry is making the money at the moment?
For the last decade it was the medical INSURANCE industry that's been stuffing their wallets. That's a whole different animal that needs slaughtering too.
It's not one industry that needs slapping... it's two.
Also, I agree testing at this point is stupid. This can no longer be contained, all testing does is let us quantify the disaster. Though... IF this thing goes endemic... we'll need those tests to deal with flare ups later.
For the last decade it was the medical INSURANCE industry that's been stuffing their wallets. That's a whole different animal that needs slaughtering too.
It's not one industry that needs slapping... it's two.
Also, I agree testing at this point is stupid. This can no longer be contained, all testing does is let us quantify the disaster. Though... IF this thing goes endemic... we'll need those tests to deal with flare ups later.
britechguy
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Well, there are two types of testing: for active infection (particularly useful for getting a handle on asymptomatic transmission) and antibody.
My gut tells me that in addition to the mess we have going on actively that there was a lot more asymptomatic transmission to folks who had mild or no symptoms. We really need to know who's got antibodies to this thing in order to understand not only who very likely has immunity, at least for some period of time, but to estimate what portion of the population remains in the fully at-risk-of-infection category.
There is no way to do any management of a global pandemic sans data. So I'm all for testing, testing, and more testing.
phaZed
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Nah, they're one in the same... It is the hospitals that are charging $200 for an aspirin, etc. The insurance is happy to support the highway robbery, so costs can increase on the consumer side... Left hand, Right hand they are.
Sky-Knight
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@britechguy That's fine... but while we're doing that can we at least make sure we're not making the rogue state that started this mess RICHER?
We're basically paying China to destroy Central and South America at this point... and we're going to be up to our necks in that nightmare very soon. They're playing us like a fiddle, and the left screams bloody murder over some import tariffs.
We're basically paying China to destroy Central and South America at this point... and we're going to be up to our necks in that nightmare very soon. They're playing us like a fiddle, and the left screams bloody murder over some import tariffs.
britechguy
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Actually, having been in practice as a speech and language pathologist in a rehab center setting for some time, I have to disagree.
There are problems on both sides, on that we can absolutely agree. That being said, insurance is the side that, quite literally, controls the entire medical sphere in the United States. One of the reasons I am no longer a practicing SLP is that I could not deal with insurance clerks being the ones making clinical decisions, and always that were not in the best interests of the patient.
Also, and this is really sad, too, it's because of how insurance has perverted things with "in network discounting" that some of the $200 aspirin has come to be. If you charge 25 cents for an aspirin (which is still way above cost), you'll very often not get paid a single penny for it. If you charge $200 the insurance company knocks off $199 and actually pays through $1.
But what's most outrageous is that if you are unfortunate enough not to have insurance, you have no legal recourse when you're charge $200 for that aspirin. When I was a teenager (which was a long, long time ago) and was a volunteer at my local hospital, we occasionally had different professionals come in and give talks. To this day I will never forget one local doctor saying, "Whatever you do, always have medical insurance, even if it's terrible medical insurance, because the hospital still has to discount to whatever they'd be willing to pay even if it's you paying the whole thing out of pocket as part of your deductible. Otherwise, you're able to be billed whatever the provider wants to charge."
Health care in the USA has been screwed up for many decades, and its "compounding factors" constantly at play in a private, for-profit system that escalate the rate of insanity. And, if anyone thinks non-profit hospitals don't make a profit, well . . .
phaZed
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Please elaborate... The US has been destroying that part of the world for 50+ years. We didn't need China's help.
I believe you have taken the BLUE pill, you're still in the matrix if you think it's Left vs. Right - they both in this together - the selling out of America. The little squabble-fights are for US to worry about while the real action happens right under our noses.
britechguy
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A) I don't think that one can accurately say that the Chinese state "started this" in any meaningful sense.
B) I really don't know to what you're referring with the, "We're basically . . .," comment. Elaboration would be needed.
[PS. to Phazed: We were apparently thinking, and typing, the same thing almost simultaneously.]
phaZed
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Whichever way the "order" comes from, insurance or hospitals, they're both in cahoots.
In my area, for the past 15 years or so, HCA (Health Care Associates) have gobbled up almost every hospital and even small outfits (like Optometrists, Dental offices, etc.)
Take a look at their Wiki page, it tells a story of problems with THEM, not the Insurance - though I fully agree with you per the insurance-hospital thing.. hard to quantify the issue as an outsider (me). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HCA_Healthcare
EDIT: I have personally been overcharged, erroneously billed literally YEARS after service, and given insurance run-arounds, from the hospital. Have dealt with bum-billing at least 8 times in 13 years. Have gone to court and won against them once. Horrible company/hospitals. Has cost me $1000's to go to court, but still "saved" money by not paying $24,000 to them.
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Sky-Knight
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@britechguy, @phaZed
I'm not really trying to blame the left specifically here. They're just the ones that recently pitched a fit over tariffs of Chinese goods.
But the fact remains, China is using all the money we're shoving into their hands to not only prop themselves up, but to buy off anyone they possibly can. This is resulting in serious damage to Africa, as well as Central and South America. And yes I'm aware of our own stupidity involving the latter two as well.
Which is why I'd prefer if we're going to shove money at a semi-hostile nation state... at least we could shove it at our neighbors in this hemisphere first? Heaven knows they need it, and when the dust settles perhaps we can make up for some of that past stupidity while we're at it.
China has the benefit of a leadership with actual goals. Those goals include our destruction... they're acting on a plan based on their goals. We're over here playing the red v blue game while the planet burns in the balance.
I'm not really trying to blame the left specifically here. They're just the ones that recently pitched a fit over tariffs of Chinese goods.
But the fact remains, China is using all the money we're shoving into their hands to not only prop themselves up, but to buy off anyone they possibly can. This is resulting in serious damage to Africa, as well as Central and South America. And yes I'm aware of our own stupidity involving the latter two as well.
Which is why I'd prefer if we're going to shove money at a semi-hostile nation state... at least we could shove it at our neighbors in this hemisphere first? Heaven knows they need it, and when the dust settles perhaps we can make up for some of that past stupidity while we're at it.
China has the benefit of a leadership with actual goals. Those goals include our destruction... they're acting on a plan based on their goals. We're over here playing the red v blue game while the planet burns in the balance.
phaZed
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It's hard to "blame" China for much of this at all, though. It's all by our own doing. WE made it so.
I think you could literally take the word "China" and replace it with "USA" in each of your sentences, and the outcome is "True".
China could have been a great ally but we kept F'ing them via actions and policies for decades - like much of the world. The Empire is not long for this world, IMO.
I think you could literally take the word "China" and replace it with "USA" in each of your sentences, and the outcome is "True".
China could have been a great ally but we kept F'ing them via actions and policies for decades - like much of the world. The Empire is not long for this world, IMO.
Sky-Knight
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@phaZed, in regards to the COVID-19 situation, there was one nation that had the power to contain it. They ignored it... and worse depending on how cynical you view the chain of events, intentionally spread it beyond their borders to ensure all this wouldn't just be on their heads alone.
China had the WHO running interference for them... but the left is upset Trump wanted to de-fund the WHO? Of course every executive decision he's made in the last six months has been garbage... so I don't want to defend him either.
But yeah, the US has been run by petulant children for at least my entire lifetime, and all of that is coming home to roost.
China had the WHO running interference for them... but the left is upset Trump wanted to de-fund the WHO? Of course every executive decision he's made in the last six months has been garbage... so I don't want to defend him either.
But yeah, the US has been run by petulant children for at least my entire lifetime, and all of that is coming home to roost.
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