America - The Official Thread

[Liquid]

dumb Trump supporters.

Is there any other kind?

 

[McLaren]

Is there any other kind?

 

[Famine]

Didn't know where suited this best, but since it deals with the USA's descent back to misogynistic Christofacism...



"Leg celebrity, who recently told women in education at their graduation that they've been sold a lie and can only be fulfilled by marriage and child-rearing, does the bare minimum of telling someone else that someone needs help and finds a qualified, trained woman (who we can't be bothered to check the name of) to actually save that person's life."

 

[Liquid]

What a relief that this qualified professional physical trainer wasn't at home in the kitchen where she belongs.

 

[TheCracker]

So he's a 'HERO' for not just standing around and doing nothing whilst his team mate potentially dies in front of him?

It would be worthy of praise had Butker been five years old. But he's just an adult doing things you'd expect of an adult in that situation.

Not all heros wear capes i guess.

 

[Keef]

Didn't know where suited this best, but since it deals with the USA's descent back to misogynistic Christofacism...



"Leg celebrity, who recently told women in education at their graduation that they've been sold a lie and can only be fulfilled by marriage and child-rearing, does the bare minimum of telling someone else that someone needs help and finds a qualified, trained woman (who we can't be bothered to check the name of) to actually save that person's life."

Not sure what MFL is but this appears to be giving airtime to some random Twitter account that doesn't matter.

The more we give voices to people who have nothing to say, the louder they speak.

 

[Famine]

Not sure what MFL is but this appears to be giving airtime to some random Twitter account that doesn't matter.

It's yellow-ticked, meaning it's an official account of some company. The listing says it's a News & Media Company, with 200k followers. A cursory glance at NFL news sites shows that this Twitter account is routinely cited as a source for their own news.

A significant number of real news (and "real" "news") outlets are also reporting it in this manner: Butker is the hero.

As @TheCracker says, the heroism is roughly equivalent to the regular story of "three-year old boy calls 999 when mum falls ill", only it's a grown-ass man who says women shouldn't have careers - just babies - who got help from a woman who got herself a career.

Julie Frymeyr is the hero, Butker is the toddler on the phone.

 

[Joey D]

Not sure what MFL is but this appears to be giving airtime to some random Twitter account that doesn't matter.

The more we give voices to people who have nothing to say, the louder they speak.

It's the off-season, and they need content, so anything that could be the tiniest bit controversial will get thrown out there. It's like Aaron Rodgers ignoring mandatory mini camp and how I got a "breaking news alert" about it. Like the dude hasn't been to mandatory camps in like 5 years, it isn't news.

 

[McLaren]

I'm guessing his PR (& the Chiefs' as well) is probably pushing the story as much as possible to put both parties back into a positive light.

The thing about idiots like Butker is they repeatedly say stupid ****, so this bigot will open his mouth again. All you have to do is look at his Wiki entry & find multiple entries of his ignorance in the last 2 years only. Guy condemned the Catholic Church for simply burying a transgender activist. Can't stand these righteous douchebags will openly use religion to justify their views, but always ignore such simple & direct passages like John 13:34.

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

 

[UKMikey]

I'm guessing his PR (& the Chiefs' as well) is probably pushing the story as much as possible to put both parties back into a positive light.

The thing about idiots like Butker is they repeatedly say stupid ****, so this bigot will open his mouth again. All you have to do is look at his Wiki entry & find multiple entries of his ignorance in the last 2 years only. Guy condemned the Catholic Church for simply burying a transgender activist. Can't stand these righteous douchebags will openly use religion to justify their views, but always ignore such simple & direct passages like John 13:34.

Or Matthew 7:1.



Meanwhile, back on Earth, here's part MDMCXXII of "America's Tax Dollars At Work":

 

[Keef]

Or Matthew 7:1.

View attachment 1364527

Meanwhile, back on Earth, here's part MDMCXXII of "America's Tax Dollars At Work":

So they literally shut it down immediately? Even Matt Gaetz thought it was a waste of time? Nice.

 

[TexRex]

I can't stop laughing--like...literally laughing...out loud--that this rat bitch will likely spend years in prison for threatening the FBI for their involvement in the case against Hunter Biden, not because it supports Hunter Biden but because it believes the FBI is helping Hunter Biden by providing cover for worse things.

‘We’ll hunt you’: Texas man arrested for allegedly threatening FBI agent on Hunter Biden case -- Politico

Trumpism, man.

 

[UKMikey]

I can't stop laughing--like...literally laughing...out loud--that this rat bitch will likely spend years in prison for threatening the FBI for their involvement in the case against Hunter Biden, not because it supports Hunter Biden but because it believes the FBI is helping Hunter Biden by providing cover for worse things.

‘We’ll hunt you’: Texas man arrested for allegedly threatening FBI agent on Hunter Biden case -- Politico

Trumpism, man.

My guess on a typical response by MAGAns: "C'mon, can't you see this is a psyop by the MSM? Nobody could be that stupid. Except me and people who think like me."

I hope the case establishes once and for all who and what influenced him to become a would be terrorist.

 

[Danoff]

From my latest bloodwork order:

Total charges: $1665
Adjustments: -$1641
Insurance: $19
Due: $5

Uh.... So let me get this straight, this work costs $1600, but you're willing to write it down to $20?? So what's with the completely bogus made up $1600? I already know the answer, the unaware insurance company or cash patient gets stuck with it.

I had an insurance company once pay a $10,000 bill that was misreported. We explained to everyone involved (the doctor and the insurance), that it was coded as the wrong procedure and should not have been $10k. Absolutely nobody cared, not the doctor, not the insurance. It didn't get fixed.

This system is completely broken.

 

[Blitz24]

From my latest bloodwork order:

Total charges: $1665
Adjustments: -$1641
Insurance: $19
Due: $5

Uh.... So let me get this straight, this work costs $1600, but you're willing to write it down to $20?? So what's with the completely bogus made up $1600? I already know the answer, the unaware insurance company or cash patient gets stuck with it.

I had an insurance company once pay a $10,000 bill that was misreported. We explained to everyone involved (the doctor and the insurance), that it was coded as the wrong procedure and should not have been $10k. Absolutely nobody cared, not the doctor, not the insurance. It didn't get fixed.

This system is completely broken.

They are dipping your blood in gold and then need to pay for the gold that was bought for said procedure.

 

[Liquid]

The same thing happens on a wide scale in Florida with rehab programmes and prescription medicine. Straight up, no shame fraud.

 

[Keef]

From my latest bloodwork order:

Total charges: $1665
Adjustments: -$1641
Insurance: $19
Due: $5

Uh.... So let me get this straight, this work costs $1600, but you're willing to write it down to $20?? So what's with the completely bogus made up $1600? I already know the answer, the unaware insurance company or cash patient gets stuck with it.

I had an insurance company once pay a $10,000 bill that was misreported. We explained to everyone involved (the doctor and the insurance), that it was coded as the wrong procedure and should not have been $10k. Absolutely nobody cared, not the doctor, not the insurance. It didn't get fixed.

This system is completely broken.

If we think about it literally, let's make some wild guesstimates here to see what it could cost.

Drawing blood takes about 5 minutes of labor. If an RN (it's almost never an RN or anything close) makes $100k per year, working 60 hours per week, call it $32 per hour. So they spend about $7 of their time drawing blood. Ship it off to a lab where the techs don't get paid much at all but work dozens of samples per hour (the machine does all the work), I don't know, call it another $7 of effort for good measure. Now the expensive part, the doctor has to sit down for another five minutes and gets paid maybe $15 to tell you you're fine but should eat more fiber. Now we're up to $29.

Your actual cost was $26 so not far off my wild ass guess based on labor cost and the fact that the unit cost for all the tools is pennies per job, maybe a couple bucks at most. I don't see how a bloodwork panel could possibly cost more than $50 by the time everybody gets their margins.

 

[Blitz24]

If we think about it literally, let's make some wild guesstimates here to see what it could cost.

Drawing blood takes about 5 minutes of labor. If an RN (it's almost never an RN or anything close) makes $100k per year, working 60 hours per week, call it $32 per hour. So they spend about $7 of their time drawing blood. Ship it off to a lab where the techs don't get paid much at all but work dozens of samples per hour (the machine does all the work), I don't know, call it another $7 of effort for good measure. Now the expensive part, the doctor has to sit down for another five minutes and gets paid maybe $15 to tell you you're fine but should eat more fiber. Now we're up to $29.

Your actual cost was $26 so not far off my wild ass guess based on labor cost and the fact that the unit cost for all the tools is pennies per job, maybe a couple bucks at most. I don't see how a bloodwork panel could possibly cost more than $50 by the time everybody gets their margins.

Of course, this also depends if they charge it under the right insurance (as my doctor's office twice failed to do in the past 2 years). At this point, I would call this an insurance code for the same reason we have a tax code.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

From my latest bloodwork order:

Total charges: $1665
Adjustments: -$1641
Insurance: $19
Due: $5

Uh.... So let me get this straight, this work costs $1600, but you're willing to write it down to $20?? So what's with the completely bogus made up $1600? I already know the answer, the unaware insurance company or cash patient gets stuck with it.

I had an insurance company once pay a $10,000 bill that was misreported. We explained to everyone involved (the doctor and the insurance), that it was coded as the wrong procedure and should not have been $10k. Absolutely nobody cared, not the doctor, not the insurance. It didn't get fixed.

This system is completely broken.

But you got think about all those people doing paperwork at the insurance companies and hospitals. Spare some thoughts for the selfless adjusters, please.

 

[Pupik]

But you got think about all those people doing paperwork at the insurance companies and hospitals. Spare some thoughts for the selfless adjusters, please.

Don't forget the medical billing software contract, paper, toner, and postage (repeat the last three again, because your insurance doesn't cover the bandage).

 

[Danoff]

If we think about it literally, let's make some wild guesstimates here to see what it could cost.

Drawing blood takes about 5 minutes of labor. If an RN (it's almost never an RN or anything close) makes $100k per year, working 60 hours per week, call it $32 per hour. So they spend about $7 of their time drawing blood. Ship it off to a lab where the techs don't get paid much at all but work dozens of samples per hour (the machine does all the work), I don't know, call it another $7 of effort for good measure. Now the expensive part, the doctor has to sit down for another five minutes and gets paid maybe $15 to tell you you're fine but should eat more fiber. Now we're up to $29.

Your actual cost was $26 so not far off my wild ass guess based on labor cost and the fact that the unit cost for all the tools is pennies per job, maybe a couple bucks at most. I don't see how a bloodwork panel could possibly cost more than $50 by the time everybody gets their margins.

The doctor was paid separately. The bloodwork was an order that came from a doctor's visit that had its own bill, own insurance adjustment, and own copay. Doctor analysis and reporting of the bloodwork was part of that fee.

This was just for the nurse, who was highly skilled and had me out of there in approx 5 min, and whatever is involved with analyzing blood, including whatever consumables are used in that process.

 

[MatskiMonk]

If we think about it literally, let's make some wild guesstimates here to see what it could cost.

I recently had blood tests for Diabetes, Anaemia, Thyroid function, cholesterol and vitamin D levels. The cost to me was £65, this was raised by a not-for profit organisation intending to generate revenue for our health service. I'd assume therefore that the cost is representative of the time, consumables etc. that go into it, and an element that's a contribution to the overheads of the lab. Interpretation of the results by a doctor was not included, but it's not something we pay for in the UK anyway.

 

[TB]

If we think about it literally, let's make some wild guesstimates here to see what it could cost.

Drawing blood takes about 5 minutes of labor. If an RN (it's almost never an RN or anything close) makes $100k per year, working 60 hours per week, call it $32 per hour. So they spend about $7 of their time drawing blood. Ship it off to a lab where the techs don't get paid much at all but work dozens of samples per hour (the machine does all the work), I don't know, call it another $7 of effort for good measure. Now the expensive part, the doctor has to sit down for another five minutes and gets paid maybe $15 to tell you you're fine but should eat more fiber. Now we're up to $29.

Your actual cost was $26 so not far off my wild ass guess based on labor cost and the fact that the unit cost for all the tools is pennies per job, maybe a couple bucks at most. I don't see how a bloodwork panel could possibly cost more than $50 by the time everybody gets their margins.

Your comments brought to mind this joke about contractors. I'll spoiler it to not take up too much room for the uninterested.

Spoiler: How much will it cost to do this job?

CUSTOMER: "How much will it cost to do this job?"

CONTRACTOR: "$2,800 Dollars."

CUSTOMER: "That's WAY too expensive for this job!!"

CONTRACTOR: "How much do YOU think it would cost?"

CUSTOMER: "No more than $800 Dollars - MAX!! It's a simple job!"

CONTRACTOR: "I can't prioritize my time for so little."

CUSTOMER: "People in your line of work are so greedy."

CONTRACTOR: "Sorry you feel that way. Why not do it yourself?"

CUSTOMER: "But... but... I don't know how to do any of this."

CONTRACTOR: "For $900 Dollars, I'll teach you EXACTLY how to get this job done. Then you can spend $800 to do the job and you'll still be saving $1,100 Dollars - PLUS... you'll get the knowledge and experience for the next time you want to do a job yourself."

CUSTOMER: "Deal!! Let's do it."

CONTRACTOR: To get started you'll need tools. So you'll have to buy a welder, a grinder, a chop saw, a drill press, a welding hood, gloves and a few other things."

CUSTOMER: "But I don't have all this equipment and I can't buy all of these for one job."

CONTRACTOR: "Well then for another $300 more I'll let you rent my tools... and you'll still be saving $800 Dollars."

CUSTOMER: "That's cutting into my savings. But I'll rent your tools."

CONTRACTOR: "Okay! I'll be back on Saturday and we can start."

CUSTOMER: "Wait. I can't on Saturday. I only have time today."

CONTRACTOR: "Sorry, I only give lessons on Saturday, because I have to prioritize my time and my tools have to be at other jobs with other customers all week long.

CUSTOMER: "Okay!! I'll sacrifice my family plans on Saturday."

CONTRACTOR: "Yeah... me too. Oh... and I forgot... to do your job yourself, you also have to pay for the materials. Everything is in high demand right now, so your best bet is to get your truck and load up at 6AM before everyone else gets there."

CUSTOMER: "SIX AM??? On a Saturday??? That's way to early for me. And also... I don't have a truck."

"CONTRACTOR: "I guess you'll have to rent one. Do you have a couple of strong men to help you load and unload everything?"

CUSTOMER: "Ummm... ya know... I've been thinking. It's probably best if YOU get this job done. I'd rather pay someone to get it done correctly than go through all the hassle.

CONTRACTOR: "Smart move, sign this and please get out of the way so I can work."

Maybe I'm taking this too personally because my wife is an NP and was an ER RN before that and I have a niece that is working in the lab in the hospital and a kid that just applied for a part time job in the lab while he's still in college.

You're not paying for the 5 minutes that you're in the room with someone to draw your blood. Or the 5 minutes with the doctor.

And the machines don't do all the work.

You're paying for the decades of knowledge and the equipment to accurately diagnose your condition and give you options for treatment in 5 minutes.

You're paying for the time it takes them to write up their visit summary into your chart.

You're paying for the losers that don't have insurance and are too lazy to fill out the paperwork to get on Medicaid so they give false information when they check in so they can't be found to be billed later. Since the hospitals are mandated to treat everyone regardless of insurance, that gets passed down to those that do.

Let's flip this for a second - why don't we let any old untrained idiot in the cockpit?

 

[Shaun]

You're paying for

You're paying for

You're paying for

And all the staff that are overheads, you know the supervisors, the managers, all the way up to the CEO. In many jobs unless you are at the coal face so to speak there are many employees who are overheads for the company. They are required for the business to run but don't generate income for the business.
Hell, if it's a publicly listed company the shareholders will want their cut also.

And the rent on the buildings.

And the upkeep of the buildings.

And the gas and power.

And y'know some profit.

The list goes on.

 

[TheCracker]

Looking online at the many private UK health providers offering blood tests for those without any private health insurance, there are blood tests and there are blood tests.

After a £50 surcharge for drawing the blood (to cover disposable equipment costs and the nurse's time i imagine) the literally hundreds of different specific tests available to book, the costs range from £29 to £1305 and everything in between depending on what your blood is to be tested for.

So picking a price for a random unspecified test and saying it's extortionate isn't giving the whole story.

 

[CTznOfTime]

Honestly America is now a country of thieves at every levels....


No wonder this leaves the little players with no other choice:


I am not defending their actions, what they did is despicable regardless where they are on the earth. I do not condone this activity, I am saying that this is a symptom of a country that is in deep trouble, needing a deep reset at every level...

The world needs to be less capitalist... And more humane

Focus on the people, not money
Money should not be the goal, but rather then mean to an end..

 

[Danoff]

Your comments brought to mind this joke about contractors. I'll spoiler it to not take up too much room for the uninterested.

Spoiler: How much will it cost to do this job?

CUSTOMER: "How much will it cost to do this job?"

CONTRACTOR: "$2,800 Dollars."

CUSTOMER: "That's WAY too expensive for this job!!"

CONTRACTOR: "How much do YOU think it would cost?"

CUSTOMER: "No more than $800 Dollars - MAX!! It's a simple job!"

CONTRACTOR: "I can't prioritize my time for so little."

CUSTOMER: "People in your line of work are so greedy."

CONTRACTOR: "Sorry you feel that way. Why not do it yourself?"

CUSTOMER: "But... but... I don't know how to do any of this."

CONTRACTOR: "For $900 Dollars, I'll teach you EXACTLY how to get this job done. Then you can spend $800 to do the job and you'll still be saving $1,100 Dollars - PLUS... you'll get the knowledge and experience for the next time you want to do a job yourself."

CUSTOMER: "Deal!! Let's do it."

CONTRACTOR: To get started you'll need tools. So you'll have to buy a welder, a grinder, a chop saw, a drill press, a welding hood, gloves and a few other things."

CUSTOMER: "But I don't have all this equipment and I can't buy all of these for one job."

CONTRACTOR: "Well then for another $300 more I'll let you rent my tools... and you'll still be saving $800 Dollars."

CUSTOMER: "That's cutting into my savings. But I'll rent your tools."

CONTRACTOR: "Okay! I'll be back on Saturday and we can start."

CUSTOMER: "Wait. I can't on Saturday. I only have time today."

CONTRACTOR: "Sorry, I only give lessons on Saturday, because I have to prioritize my time and my tools have to be at other jobs with other customers all week long.

CUSTOMER: "Okay!! I'll sacrifice my family plans on Saturday."

CONTRACTOR: "Yeah... me too. Oh... and I forgot... to do your job yourself, you also have to pay for the materials. Everything is in high demand right now, so your best bet is to get your truck and load up at 6AM before everyone else gets there."

CUSTOMER: "SIX AM??? On a Saturday??? That's way to early for me. And also... I don't have a truck."

"CONTRACTOR: "I guess you'll have to rent one. Do you have a couple of strong men to help you load and unload everything?"

CUSTOMER: "Ummm... ya know... I've been thinking. It's probably best if YOU get this job done. I'd rather pay someone to get it done correctly than go through all the hassle.

CONTRACTOR: "Smart move, sign this and please get out of the way so I can work."

Maybe I'm taking this too personally because my wife is an NP and was an ER RN before that and I have a niece that is working in the lab in the hospital and a kid that just applied for a part time job in the lab while he's still in college.

You're not paying for the 5 minutes that you're in the room with someone to draw your blood. Or the 5 minutes with the doctor.

And the machines don't do all the work.

You're paying for the decades of knowledge and the equipment to accurately diagnose your condition and give you options for treatment in 5 minutes.

You're paying for the time it takes them to write up their visit summary into your chart.

You're paying for the losers that don't have insurance and are too lazy to fill out the paperwork to get on Medicaid so they give false information when they check in so they can't be found to be billed later. Since the hospitals are mandated to treat everyone regardless of insurance, that gets passed down to those that do.

Let's flip this for a second - why don't we let any old untrained idiot in the cockpit?

The actual paid cost for this service was $24. Nobody is complaining about the actual cost.

 

[TB]

The actual paid cost for this service was $24. Nobody is complaining about the actual cost.

This certainly made me think that people are:

Uh.... So let me get this straight, this work costs $1600, but you're willing to write it down to $20?? So what's with the completely bogus made up $1600?

And the entirety of Keef's post reads like a complaint, punctuated with his last sentence.

I don't see how a bloodwork panel could possibly cost more than $50 by the time everybody gets their margins.

 

[Exorcet]

I think the original complaint was about how so much can be adjusted away and if that is contributing to inflated prices, which some people may get stuck paying.

 

[Danoff]

This certainly made me think that people are:

I'm saying that $1600 is obviously not the cost. It's totally fabricated, as evidenced by the fact that they'll take $24 for it. Keef's post was trying to figure out whether $24 was reasonable, and I understand you poking at that.

The idea is to create a price which is obviously wrong, $1600, which nobody should be paying. They then mark it down to something more realistic, but for some they might mark it down to $100, or $200. For others, $20. The $1600 creates a cover for the actual cost, and an opportunity at an unearned windfall for an unsuspecting customer. I don't like either of those things, and I think this kind of poor business practice is ruining US healthcare.

I have no qualms with the nurse or making sure she gets paid - just to be clear.