I have some lab work that needs to be done today. I don't mind the needle stick but the billing process is quite painful. Each clinic has it's own billing department that is tied to a hospital main billing department. It would be great if you only had to deal with one or two people and one bill. That I could handle, But noooooo. You get one bill if you go there and if you pay it on the spot which seems simple enough you still get two more bills in the mail. Or should that be statements? With my medical proceedures when I am covered the bill goes to a company administrator who anaylizes it sends it to the insurer. The insurer goes over it looking for ways not to pay it then sends that back to the administrator who the sends me a summary of what was paid and what I owe. This summary is not a bill. That (the actual bill) is sent from the clinic a month or so later. And we wonder why the health care system is collapsing. Now for the kicker. In an effort to cut costs the clinic is cutting back hours. They cut back their billing department to four days a week and they've also changed their billing software. It's a system that doesn't work. If you make a payment on the spot it won't credit your account. How sneeky is that.
Now I find that they've cut back to a three and one half days week. Wouldn't want to get to work before noon now would we. Acutally 1:00pm to be exact. I'm beginning to see how this is going to work. They'll cut everything to the bone (pardon the pun) or worse they'll cut into the bone until you might catch them between the front and back nine on the local golf course if you're lucky. And don't think about using the phone for contact. You're far better off getting in your car and driving there but just remember that lunch is between 12:00 and 1:30. They might be there if they aren't busy trying to get a doctors appointment for themselves.
So what's next? I can almost see it now. Self service pay before you pump health care. Insert your credit card into the slot at the front door for access. Wait for door to open. Proceed to the nearest kiosk. Press the start button and follow the directions. Place your hand into the opening marked "Blood Test". Keep your hand still during test. Wait for the count down clock to finish. When the bell sounds you may remove your hand. Wait for the test results. When the green light flashes remove your receipt. If you have a problem please press the call button and a non English speaking attentent will assist you.
Oh and should you have any problems with your bill please feel free to use our automated phone line which will get you absolutely nowhere. May we connect you directly to our modern newly updateded psyche department?
Update: Just got back from the clinic. Now I like to pay as I go. When I have work done I go into the billing department and pay the bill. It's the same proceedure so the same cost. I kid you not the gal in there didn't know what to do when I told her I wanted to pay for what I just had done. She said " I don't know how to put this in the computer because there's no charge for it yet". I told her "how about putting it in as a credit that's how most companies do it?" She said "Oh yeah I could do that". Jimminy Christ on toast if this is how they teach people in school these days then maybe we should just tear down the schools and start over.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Oops! What's wrong with this picture?
If you can't figure it out then you really don't belong in my profession.
Actually there's two things wrong but one is technical and not knowing you would have missed it.
I'll give the answers to this later in comments.
Okay times up pencils down answer in comments
Friday, June 5, 2009
Mixed bag
Not a whole lot going on around casa Demeur right now. Planted my veggies the other day and the radishes are starting to come up and if all goes well the others should start peeking through the soil in the next few days. I'm going to bet that we'll have a cool summer as I love good tomatoes and they take hot sunny weather. Here's a little trick that I learned some years back on a first attempt. This is for all you northwest gardeners. Don't plant your seeds as deep as the package recommends. With our lack of sun they don't germinate as fast as other parts of the country.
Jobless rate skewed by temp work - Well Duh! Not only that but the bean counters don't count people who have run out of unemployment. What do the workers all of a sudden become non people? They (there's that word again) say the unemployment rate is at 9.7%. Got news for them it's more like 13% or better right now and we're still loosing over 1/2 million jobs each month. Just got an increase in my unemployment a whopping $25. Yea like I'm going right out and blow that at the nearest Wal Mart. Nope that will be tucked away in savings for when the unemployment runs out completly.
And temp work? There's not even day laborer work to be had. I hear Mexicans who used to hang out at Home Depot are going home. Didn't see any when I went for seeds and potting mix.
Education - We went from Head Start to No Child Left Behind. The problem as I see it is that the educational system is still based on an 18th century agricultural economy. With factory farms kids don't need to be wasting three months of the summer goofing off on the premise that they need to work on the farm to bring in the crops. It's become so mechanized that even in the last ten years it takes about 1/2 the people to do hand picking. And on the family farms that are left a columbine can do in a few hours what used to take days. There in lies a big problem. What to do with a population of skilled and semi skilled workers. We're becoming so efficient that fewer and fewer workers are needed to produce and service our needs. I remember in my own profession a big job would involve thirty or forty guys. Now that number is down to fifteen or twenty. So I'm thinking where will the jobs be now and in the near future? Many of the "green" jobs don't require a lot of workers. Solar panels do require a great deal of labor to build but I'm sure someone will automate the process cutting the number of workers needed.
David Carradine is dead - I liked the characters David played over the years. Most of them were calm calculated types. My first thought was that he had chosen his own demise in some type of ritualistic thought. I guess it could have been worse. He could have been found with an inflatable a jar of mayo and a sheep dog. But that would be going too far and disrespectful.
Health care - Our health care system is about to collapse. Yep you heard it here first. How so you ask? 600K people are out of work each month. That rate has been going on for some months now and is expected to continue. Assuming that 80% of those workers had some healthcare plan that's nearly 1/2 million people without health insurance which usually runs out 60 days after a layoff. In six months that would be 3 million people. That would be an addition to the already 50 million people without insurance right now. At some point the number without insurance comes close to over half of the working population of the U.S. With no alternative insurance companies will be forced to raise premiums causing employers to drop coverage or raise co-pays and premiums on workers. My guess is that they'll drop it all together both employers and workers. This will put a major strain on hospitals as the out of work seek emergency room medical.
I'd say that in six months or less we'll see a situation much like Wall Street and the banks experienced last October. Much like overleveraging sucked the life blood out of banks the lack of insurance money will suck the life out of our medical system. Remember you heard it here first.
Jobless rate skewed by temp work - Well Duh! Not only that but the bean counters don't count people who have run out of unemployment. What do the workers all of a sudden become non people? They (there's that word again) say the unemployment rate is at 9.7%. Got news for them it's more like 13% or better right now and we're still loosing over 1/2 million jobs each month. Just got an increase in my unemployment a whopping $25. Yea like I'm going right out and blow that at the nearest Wal Mart. Nope that will be tucked away in savings for when the unemployment runs out completly.
And temp work? There's not even day laborer work to be had. I hear Mexicans who used to hang out at Home Depot are going home. Didn't see any when I went for seeds and potting mix.
Education - We went from Head Start to No Child Left Behind. The problem as I see it is that the educational system is still based on an 18th century agricultural economy. With factory farms kids don't need to be wasting three months of the summer goofing off on the premise that they need to work on the farm to bring in the crops. It's become so mechanized that even in the last ten years it takes about 1/2 the people to do hand picking. And on the family farms that are left a columbine can do in a few hours what used to take days. There in lies a big problem. What to do with a population of skilled and semi skilled workers. We're becoming so efficient that fewer and fewer workers are needed to produce and service our needs. I remember in my own profession a big job would involve thirty or forty guys. Now that number is down to fifteen or twenty. So I'm thinking where will the jobs be now and in the near future? Many of the "green" jobs don't require a lot of workers. Solar panels do require a great deal of labor to build but I'm sure someone will automate the process cutting the number of workers needed.
David Carradine is dead - I liked the characters David played over the years. Most of them were calm calculated types. My first thought was that he had chosen his own demise in some type of ritualistic thought. I guess it could have been worse. He could have been found with an inflatable a jar of mayo and a sheep dog. But that would be going too far and disrespectful.
Health care - Our health care system is about to collapse. Yep you heard it here first. How so you ask? 600K people are out of work each month. That rate has been going on for some months now and is expected to continue. Assuming that 80% of those workers had some healthcare plan that's nearly 1/2 million people without health insurance which usually runs out 60 days after a layoff. In six months that would be 3 million people. That would be an addition to the already 50 million people without insurance right now. At some point the number without insurance comes close to over half of the working population of the U.S. With no alternative insurance companies will be forced to raise premiums causing employers to drop coverage or raise co-pays and premiums on workers. My guess is that they'll drop it all together both employers and workers. This will put a major strain on hospitals as the out of work seek emergency room medical.
I'd say that in six months or less we'll see a situation much like Wall Street and the banks experienced last October. Much like overleveraging sucked the life blood out of banks the lack of insurance money will suck the life out of our medical system. Remember you heard it here first.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
The Whig (Republican) Party
Watching Keith Olberman last night gave a good run down on what's happening to the Republican party. Looking back to the Whig party of the 1800s we're seeing history repeat itself in exactly that same way. The issues are slightly different but the process is exactly the same. What happened back then? The party split on an issue of slavery and states rights among other things. Those (and I refer to moderates) not holding the party line (that supported slavery by the way) were banished, kicked out if you will from support of the party. Those that left were anti slavery and they included Abraham Lincoln who was later elected as a republican. Seems the Republican party is following the way of the Whigs. If you're not for us then you must be a socialist or communist or some other implied derogatory term. So it appears the the Republicans are very busy eating their own. Banishing anyone not up to very extremist standards. Much like trying to polish a rotten apple this is one apple that will end up in the dumpster of history. When the Whig party was in power they had the control of most of the newspapers of the day. The Republicans of today thought they could do the same forgetting that the internet provides by the second fact checks that easily dispell any lie or falsehood they could diseminate. They think that if they repeat themselves enough times on the airwaves that the populice will believe what they are selling. Their latest has been to try and change history and blame those who have been out of power for over a decade. It doesn't and won't work but they will try none the less. It's so easy to fact check what they say that it can be done in seconds. The Republican Party is so much like the Whig Party of your great great grandpa's era that maybe it's time to put them to rest. If we're kind we'll just send them off to the retirement homes where they should have been in the first place. You wouldn't let grandpa have control of the TV remote. Why would you let him run a country?
Monday, June 1, 2009
How to get CEOs and government to do our bidding
I just had one of those bizarre thoughts buzz through the old grey matter that make one laugh. With greedy CEOs and and self serving government cronies a thought came to me. Why not insource these positions just as they do to us? We could get Apu who's great experience at running the Kwik E Mart would be an asset to running GM. There's those Cuban mechanics who've been maintaining old 40s and 50s U.S. cars for what fifty plus years now? How much more efficient can you get than that? Think of all the money we could save on salaries and bonuses. Sorry Mr. CEO we cancelled your golden parashute and we have you're replacement here. You won't mind showing him the ropes before you leave. And the new guys would feel like kings coming from near third world countries.
We could do the same for government. Take all those dictators we've been supporting and stick them in Washington. Imagine what that process would do for their psyche. Overwhelmed with lobbyists and special interest groups they'd be forced to hire image make over consultants. This would be far better than a coup or any type of torture we could dream up.
That's a monkey brain dessert up there by the way... Mmmmmm
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