Hooray for socialism!

"If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee) 06/06/2019 at 10:28 • Filed to: None

3

18

My state just passed a paid FMLA law that takes effect in 2021. It’s paid by the state and funded by payroll deductions from our employers. It’s a negligible amount , the internal company document I got says 0.063%. might as well be nothing. 

facw > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 06/06/2019 at 10:42

0

Yep, I got that notice from HR a few weeks ago. Sounds like good stuff to me!

Though thinking about HR, I have some mandatory online training for something else I think I’m required to finish by tomorrow. I should set aside some time to be bored/frustrated.

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 06/06/2019 at 10:44

0

seems like a great idea

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 06/06/2019 at 11:16

0

That sounds like a fantastic idea, and I wish something like that would go into effect where I live (but I’m in a seriously red state so it’s probably my own fault for getting sick ). I’m currently battling cancer and frequently have to take days off. My landlord is understanding and I pay him as often as I can, but the utilities aren’t so gracious. Sometimes it’s a matter of being uncomfortable by not running the a/c when it’s 95+ degrees outside when I’m already feeling like garbage just to keep the bill in check. Or getting out for fresh food. These are compromises one shouldn’t have to make just because we had the misfortune to become seriously ill.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 06/06/2019 at 11:58

2

Oooh don’t even get me started on healthcare. So many attempts to fix it fail because they set out to subsidize healthcare for individuals. The only realistic way to do that is to raise taxes and nobody is ever gonna vote for that.

Instead we should be trying to keep pharma companies from charging, say, $300/pill, and $2k MRIs are ridiculous. The machine doesn’t require $2k worth of electricity and maintenance for each use. You can charge substantially less then that and the machine will still pay itself off eventually.

My sister has Cystic Fibrosis. She needs $40k worth of medication per month. She’s on masshealth, thank god, because a private health plan would be $1,500 a month. Without those medications we’re talking a life expectancy  in the early 20's instead of the 40+ that CF patients are living to now.

One could argue that for CF specific medicines the costs are justified, as the companies need to recoup R&D costs from a pool of just a few thousand patients, but it’s still ridiculous.

And, something as common as cancer shouldn’t still cost this much to treat. The drugs have had plenty of time to go generic, and the standard treatment procedures have been well-established for an incredibly long time. It’s not an exotic illness anymore, and should not be priced as such.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 06/06/2019 at 12:04

0

Have you looked at getting ssi disability benefits ? I think cancer qualifies.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 06/06/2019 at 12:09

1

Oh, the drugs. There should be no reason to break down the cost of a drug based on the number of users it benefits, regardless of how small that number may be. That expense should be spread across the cost of all of the drugs that a company makes as it benefits society as a whole to have fewer sick people . It’s like insurance - everybody pays a little bit so a larger number can benefit, if they need it, since you’re never sure when it’ll be you that needs a little help. A simple recipe for decent society that very few seem to grasp (it’s all about me me me me me me me me these days ....)

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 06/06/2019 at 12:12

0

I probably could  have gotten short term disability when I was out for a month after surgery. I’ll have to look into SSI but I suspect it won’t really be available if I need it just on an occasional basis. I usually take a day off per week when chemo knocks me for a loop, but most other days I’m functional.

For Sweden > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 06/06/2019 at 12:35

0

What does this have to do with the proletariat ownership of the means of production?

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > For Sweden 06/06/2019 at 12:42

2

It’s a program that’s paid for by my taxes that greatly and directly improves the lives of everybody

For Sweden > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 06/06/2019 at 12:48

0

That's not socialist

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 06/06/2019 at 13:29

0

You are likely better informed than I, but with a stiff deductible, under ACA, bronze-level medical insurance for subscriber, spouse and one dependent is about $15,000 per year. Staggering. On the plus side, we each get three office visits at a $75 copay each calendar year.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 06/06/2019 at 13:52

0

We shouldn’t have deductibles at all. What’s the point of paying for insurance if it doesn’t do anything for the first few months of the y ear? That's precisely when everyone gets sick.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 06/06/2019 at 13:59

0

I’ve been writing a check for my health insurance premium for over fifteen years and back in the day, well before ACA, I could pay for a PPO coverage that guaranteed a reasonable copay and had a high deductible. But the premium was relatively low. So when we needed care, we could go to the provider and negotiate a price for the service because we’d be paying cash. There were times when I’d pay literally one-third of what they’d have paid the insurer. And they’d get the Visa card on the barrel head then and there, rather than spending four months billing the insurer.

I don’t have any answers, nor even any suggestions. I just know that healthcare is crushingly, ruinously expensive.

VajazzleMcDildertits - read carefully, respond politely > For Sweden 06/07/2019 at 11:03

0

Socially Democratic? It doesn’t roll off the tongue as easy

For Sweden > VajazzleMcDildertits - read carefully, respond politely 06/07/2019 at 11:23

0

Democrats are libs

VajazzleMcDildertits - read carefully, respond politely > For Sweden 06/07/2019 at 11:25

0

Mad libs are also libs

For Sweden > VajazzleMcDildertits - read carefully, respond politely 06/07/2019 at 11:27

0

But libs aren’t mad at capitalism

VajazzleMcDildertits - read carefully, respond politely > For Sweden 06/07/2019 at 11:32

0

We all mad about something tho