@John it’s supposed to be covered, and so free to the end-patient, under any plan, by law. they are hinting at “hospital fees” as an uncovered portion, i think. i’ll go through the “conversation”, argue with them. maybe i’ll even win. going through it feels like a fate worse than death.
One thing I find difficult about US politics is I am expected to say things like “ACA is not perfect, but it’s better than what came before!” when I hate ACA so much. 1/
I’m almost 54 years old. I’ve never had a colonoscopy. Preventative care is supposed to be covered by my ACA marketplace insurance. I go to an in-network gastroenterologist. He proposes a colonoscopy and an EGD. All diagnostic, preventative. I am not sick. 2/
Two days later I get “good faith estimate” letters saying my responsibility beyond what insurance would cover would be $10,044. Of which the very standard colonoscopy, which my insurer frequently chirpily reminds me I should have, is $2600. 3/
I’ve started the inevitable “dialogue” with the insurer. But I think I’d rather just die. /fin
if Helene was caused by a Chinese hoax, how should we respond?
I’m unhappily surprised there is no provision for declaring an outcome invalid and reversing trades if a candidate fails to become President by virtue of untimely death or debilitation.
ForecastEx is the prediction market whose contracts will trade on Interactive Brokers.
https://data.forecastex.com/regulatory/PRESTermsandConditions.pdf
you can’t be too clever about what you think you learn from people who are trying to lie to you.
are there institutional differences between US and e.g. European unions that render automation resistance (and featherbedding generally) much more prominent in the US than in other, more unionized, economies?
does sectoral bargaining somehow diminish these aspects?
Is the ubiquitously paywalled media ecosystem of today more or less healthy than the media ecosystem of the early 2000s “information wants to be free” era? are the larger worlds they subsist in just too different to render a comparison meaningful?
Usually people who begin a claim with “I’m sorry, but…” aren’t actually sorry.
A key tactic of right-wing politics is identifying and then sabotaging the parts of government whose smooth functioning would prevent the crisis you want to demagogue.
"Congress needs to repeal the Federal Arbitration Act." @40Years https://40yrs.blogspot.com/2024/10/yeah-still-evil.html
// If you've ever clicked anything on the internet (or someone else clicked stuff on your phone) + you get injured in an Uber, you'll be going to arbitration rather than have your day in court
a thing i would not have predicted, presidential prediction markets on Interactive Brokers.
Screenshot: Interactive Brokers Election Forecast Trading Starting Thursday at 5:15 pm ET
It’s a bit weird to hold up Florida as an example of good YIMBY policy. Florida policy does help get a lot of multifamily housing built! But overwhelmingly in ways contrary to YIMBY urbanist/environmental ideals. Maybe some restriction should attach to the liberties YIMBYs recommend? https://www.slowboring.com/p/housing-policy-isnt-that-complicated
Under its new (desktop) interface, @Inoreader embeds a decent podcast player. Just subscribe to podcast RSS feeds, and listen to episodes right in the reader.
sure it can be a bit wriggly, maybe even a little bit gross, but that’s just what a healthy macrobiome looks like.
am i the only person for whom the names “vance” and “walz” code as oddly similar? i sometimes hear a claim about one and misinterpret it as referring to the other until i double-check myself.
freedom includes the right to be left alone, but that doesn’t mean being left alone should be the default.
“And so every American who had a home became the enemy of every American who didn't – including one another's children. Every home built threatened your own property values.” @pluralistic https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/01/housing-is-a-human-right/#rentier-tech
“humans make AI slop; it does not spontaneously generate itself. Its production is driven by ordinary economic incentives and not some manifest destiny of machines by which they will inevitably grasp the totality and index all possible realities within their vast numeric matrices. If the internet is dead, it’s because capital is a vampire, not because machines have taken over.” @robhorning https://robhorning.substack.com/p/the-envisioners
The heart of the American Constitutional system is an active, assertive Congress. Unfortunately, Congress is now a fearful, incapable, pathetic. I think we'll need electoral reform to change it's character, but @ddayen offers important ideas to chew on. https://prospect.org/politics/2024-09-30-how-congress-gets-its-groove-back/
going to start a social media site called “ruth.social”.
posts will be referred to as “random acts of kindness”.