• 0 Posts
  • 21 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
Cake day: June 3rd, 2023
  • Saganaki@lemmy.onetoA Boring Dystopia@lemmy.world•US patients charged for ‘hospital facility fees’ – even if they don’t set foot in one
    8·
    5 months ago

    Add my stories to your list.

    My 3 yo son got diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma and had surgery to remove a chunk of his spinal cord (that’s where the tumor was). He finished his first round of chemo and was scheduled to do some in-patient PT at a facility 0.2 miles away from the hospital he was in.

    • Ambulance ride duration: 30s
    • Ambulance cost: $6000
    • Insurance coverage: $500

    I straight up said “send it to collections. I don’t care. My son has cancer.” They fought for 6 months before going down to $250. I gave in.

    Another: There’s a medication you take to cause your marrow to produce white blood cells quickly (the downside is that your bones feel like your burning—at least that’s how my son described it at 3 years old). This medication saves money in the long term since it means fewer ER visits for a cancer patient.

    Coverage denied. Every. Time. Appealed every time, and got it covered. I probably spent close to 20 hours on calls & on hold just to get it covered for each treatment (~50 weeks I think?).

    I make decent money (by my area’s standards) have very good insurance through my work, too. Despite all that, I had to dip into retirement & college funds to pay for various treatment. Hit out of pocket maximum every time and they always find something to deny.

    It was fucking exhausting. Still is with ongoing issues and regular scans. He’s clear (so far) but man, fuck paid health insurance.

  • Saganaki@lemmy.onetoNews@lemmy.world•Hawaii rules against public carrying of guns without permit citing ‘aloha spirit’
    32·
    9 months ago

    In many states, you actually need (liability) insurance to purchase a car. And you can’t get car insurance without a license. Some states have a grace period, but it is required. Even if you only intend to drive it on your own private property. Is it enforceable? Probably not, but it is the law.

    Not only that, legally you still need to register your car with the state. I’ll concede the “you can buy cars immediately but not guns” argument, but that really only applies to some states. In Wisconsin, you don’t need to register nor is there any waiting period.

    As for the “justified” argument, of course you are justified in those cases—but you can still be charged. Hell, my grandmother had to go to court for driving me (without a license) to the hospital in the 90s.

  • Saganaki@lemmy.onetoWorld News@lemmy.world•Ukraine says it has uncovered major arms corruptionEnglish
    445·
    10 months ago

    All of those opposition parties banned have explicitly been in favor of Russia annexing Ukraine. Literally every one.

    Not only that, you make it sound like he did this by himself. There has been a ton of parliamentary agreement and has also been upheld in numerous appeals (incl by judges not having any associations with Zelensky).

    I’m by no means a “Zelensky-stan” and have my own criticisms, but either you are seriously being misled or are being malicious/spreading misinformation.

    Not only that, Ukraine runs a parliamentary government. There is no “opposition party”. Americans for some reason always view foreign government political parties through the lens of American politics. This is not like the government banning Republicans. This is like banning the “Socialists for the release of Alaska to Russia” party.