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CEO of UHG Shot and Killed in NYC - WTF is wrong with you New York

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4 minutes ago, Gatorubet said:

Yep.  Right or wrong....those numbers are REAL.

A healthy society would examine why 40% of young people are okay with this, and PERHAPS realize that we should fix some truly broken social systems.

Fortunately, we're not a healthy society, so what we'll do is increase security for CEOs and give them their own special, reserved 911 system to protect only them.  Because otherwise, nothing is wrong...

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10 hours ago, safe sex said:

So many dudes on this site would benefit from a good pegging. Thankfully, I am not the woman for that job, but y'all should really try to find one.

IMG_3839.jpeg.f95e6671249903e03d75fb63825c4910.jpeg..”

”You misheard. I said that I wanted a good Peggy…”

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10 hours ago, safe sex said:

So many dudes on this site would benefit from a good pegging. Thankfully, I am not the woman for that job, but y'all should really try to find one.

lulz, sometimes you don't click the name of the thread so that it takes you to the last thing you have read but instead, just click the last page. and sometimes when you click the last page, the first post of the page does not make a ton of contextual sense with the thread...particularly on here where thread hijacks are a sport.

but then sometimes you click on the last page of a thread undoubtedly weighing the impossible tolerance of murder as a means of change with the necessity of change being so dire that drastic measures are necessary to get people's attention and you get this as the first post of the page.

fucking love this place.

On 12/18/2024 at 9:17 AM, Guadaloopy said:

My point was that the relatively poor numbers for US life expectancy and health outcomes as compared to other countries have more to do with lifestyle choices than the quality and quantity of care provided by our healthcare system.

I think cost and access are far greater drivers of our poor numbers, but agree that lifestyle choices certainly impact them. 

That said, I think two of the biggest factors in poor lifestyle choices are lack of education and availability/cost of mental health care, specifically to curb addiction issues (food/drugs/alcohol). And those issues pretty much go back to cost and access.

13 minutes ago, Redneck Mutha said:

I think cost and access are far greater drivers of our poor numbers, but agree that lifestyle choices certainly impact them. 

That said, I think two of the biggest factors in poor lifestyle choices are lack of education and availability/cost of mental health care, specifically to curb addiction issues (food/drugs/alcohol). And those issues pretty much go back to cost and access.

If you attribute our healthcare outcomes exclusively or almost exclusively to "lifestyle choices," then you're talking about the nature of our character.

What you're saying is that the US has worse healthcare outcomes because Americans are of lesser character than the people of literally every other developed nation on earth.  And, I mean.....that may be true, I wish I could argue against that conclusion.  But it's a silly conclusion nonetheless.

It's a complex system, with complex factors.  And yes.....lack of education, availability/cost of mental health care, availability/cost of overall health care, poorly designed supplemental food programs/aid, massive wealth inequality and significant poverty, a system that subsidizes and floods the market with terrible food choices, etc. etc., are pretty important f'n factors.  Compare those systems with our peer nations, and we look really shitty.

The reasons that we have shitty health outcomes at a massively higher price are a lot bigger than "Americans are bad."  And that's a lazy, irresponsible answer anyway.  Because it absolves all of us of any responsibility -- American person X is unhealthy?  Well, that person makes bad choices, fuck them.  It absolves me of any role as a member of a society that has designed a system that is incredibly effective at delivering bad food options and the like, and incredibly ineffective at delivering basic physical and mental healthcare.  I can and should demand better of the system that I am a voting member of.  

Naaah, let's just shovel all the blame on poor people living in food deserts and shit, and skip down the road, blissfully obligated to do NOTHING to improve our systems.  THAT is the American way!

Edited by Brisketexan

So, getting back on topic, why did Luigi agreed to be extradited to NYC today after fighting it for a week?

1 minute ago, Brisketexan said:

If you attribute our healthcare outcomes exclusively or almost exclusively to "lifestyle choices," then you're talking about the nature of our character.

What you're saying is that the US has worse healthcare outcomes because Americans are of lesser character than the people of literally every other developed nation on earth.  And, I mean.....that may be true, I wish I could argue against that conclusion.  But it's a silly conclusion nonetheless.

It's a complex system, with complex factors.  And yes.....lack of education, availability/cost of mental health care, availability/cost of overall health care, poorly designed supplemental food programs/aid, massive wealth inequality and significant poverty, a system that subsidizes and floods the market with terrible food choices, etc. etc., are pretty important f'n factors.

The reasons that we have shitty health outcomes at a massively higher price are a lot bigger than "Americans are bad."  And that's a lazy, irresponsible answer anyway.  Because it absolves all of us of any responsibility -- American person X is unhealthy?  Well, that person makes bad choices, fuck them.  It absolves me of any role as a member of a society that has designed a system that is incredibly effective at delivering bad food options and the like, and incredibly ineffective at delivering basic physical and mental healthcare.  I can and should demand better of the system that I am a voting member of.  

Naaah, let's just shovel all the blame on poor people living in food deserts and shit, and skip down the road, blissfully obligated to do NOTHING to improve our systems.  THAT is the American way!

Lifestyle choices are not limited to food choices or drug and alcohol use.  They are not necessarily a judgment on "character."  The fact that we are an automobile society with limited public transportation means that traffic deaths contribute significantly to our lower life expectancy.  The fact that we are a gun culture with the attendant homicides, suicides, and accidental deaths brings our life expectancy down - could be argued that this speaks to character.  

10 minutes ago, Guadaloopy said:

Lifestyle choices are not limited to food choices or drug and alcohol use.  They are not necessarily a judgment on "character."  The fact that we are an automobile society with limited public transportation means that traffic deaths contribute significantly to our lower life expectancy.  The fact that we are a gun culture with the attendant homicides, suicides, and accidental deaths brings our life expectancy down - could be argued that this speaks to character.  

You are speaking to a collective character, not an individual one.

In other words....you're speaking to society as a whole.  An individual in Texas, practically speaking, does not have a meaningful personal choice of whether or not to participate in "automobile society."  If they want to have meaningful options for earning a decent wage, they pretty much need to drive.   An individual in Texas doesn't have a meaningful personal choice of whether or not to be surrounded by people with guns -- he just is.

Which gets us back to the choices we've made about healthcare, as a society.  We should change our mind/path.  But we can't.  Because anything BUT a system that maximizes profit-taking and executive compensation at the expense of providing care is ZOMG SOCIALISM.  So not only do we not improve, we double-down.

1 hour ago, Vegas64 said:

So, getting back on topic, why did Luigi agreed to be extradited to NYC today after fighting it for a week?

Because New York has outlawed pegging as a form of punishment.

1 hour ago, Guadaloopy said:

The fact that we are an automobile society with limited public transportation means that traffic deaths contribute significantly to our lower life expectancy. 

How much of an impact on the lower life expectancy can something that causes 1% of total deaths really have? Even when accounting for those dying in auto accidents are much younger than those that typically die. 

21 minutes ago, HenryJames said:

Because New York has outlawed pegging as a form of punishment.

Image of One day we're gonna get enough people on the Supreme Court to change that law.

Edited by SimonBolivar

4 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

How much of an impact on the lower life expectancy can something that causes 1% of total deaths really have? Even when accounting for those dying in auto accidents are much younger than those that typically die. 

Image of One day we're gonna get enough people on the Supreme Court to change that law.

Haha, I forgot about that scene. Seinfeld pulled a Simpsons predicting the future.

The pundits are mad that the "Average American" hates Brian Thompson the way the pundits wish the "Average American" would hate immigrants.

I would even go so far as to say that if Trump's anti-immigration platform was switched to an anti-CEO platform he would have won 500 electoral votes.

The pundits are mad that the "Average American" hates Brian Thompson the way the pundits wish the "Average American" would hate immigrants.
I would even go so far as to say that if Trump's anti-immigration platform was switched to an anti-CEO platform he would have won 500 electoral votes.

Hmm maybe there’s something to that…
31 minutes ago, chainsaw said:

The pundits are mad that the "Average American" hates Brian Thompson the way the pundits wish the "Average American" would hate immigrants.

I would even go so far as to say that if Trump's anti-immigration platform was switched to an anti-CEO platform he would have won 500 electoral votes.

Man, "The Purge" series of films has a ringer of a movie premise just dangling in front of them...

2 hours ago, HenryJames said:

Because New York has outlawed pegging as a form of punishment.

Still allowed as a form of police interrogation though I’m sure. 

2 hours ago, Ted Lange said:

 

They worried that a gaggle of horny young women, MILFs and gay dudes are going to try to set him free. 

That is fucking pathetic lmao

Eat the rich

NYPD's been watching too much The Joker. They're not transporting Arthur Fleck. 

3 hours ago, Ted Lange said:

 

cosplay

21 hours ago, safe sex said:

So many dudes on this site would benefit from a good pegging. Thankfully, I am not the woman for that job, but y'all should really try to find one.

I have the weirdest boner right now. 

10 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

If you attribute our healthcare outcomes exclusively or almost exclusively to "lifestyle choices," then you're talking about the nature of our character.

What you're saying is that the US has worse healthcare outcomes because Americans are of lesser character than the people of literally every other developed nation on earth.  And, I mean.....that may be true, I wish I could argue against that conclusion.  But it's a silly conclusion nonetheless.

It's a complex system, with complex factors.  And yes.....lack of education, availability/cost of mental health care, availability/cost of overall health care, poorly designed supplemental food programs/aid, massive wealth inequality and significant poverty, a system that subsidizes and floods the market with terrible food choices, etc. etc., are pretty important f'n factors.  Compare those systems with our peer nations, and we look really shitty.

The reasons that we have shitty health outcomes at a massively higher price are a lot bigger than "Americans are bad."  And that's a lazy, irresponsible answer anyway.  Because it absolves all of us of any responsibility -- American person X is unhealthy?  Well, that person makes bad choices, fuck them.  It absolves me of any role as a member of a society that has designed a system that is incredibly effective at delivering bad food options and the like, and incredibly ineffective at delivering basic physical and mental healthcare.  I can and should demand better of the system that I am a voting member of.  

Naaah, let's just shovel all the blame on poor people living in food deserts and shit, and skip down the road, blissfully obligated to do NOTHING to improve our systems.  THAT is the American way!

I would like to see a study that excludes beginning of life and end of life care and see how we rate. Those are areas where we are, rightly or wrongly, likely spending orders of magnitude more than comparable societies

Most of my life I've been told that the Second Amendment exists so that private citizens can resist oppression.  When a private citizen exercises his Second Amendment right to resist oppression by a millionaire who made his millions by refusing treatment for thousands of people, the folks who originally told me that lose their fucking minds.  I guess that they didn't mean that kind of oppression.

On 12/19/2024 at 2:43 PM, Ted Lange said:

 

Hopefully they brought enough guys

16 minutes ago, Scheiss Meister said:

Most of my life I've been told that the Second Amendment exists so that private citizens can resist oppression.  When a private citizen exercises his Second Amendment right to resist oppression by a millionaire who made his millions by refusing treatment for thousands of people, the folks who originally told me that lose their fucking minds.  I guess that they didn't mean that kind of oppression.

Same as it ever was 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulford_Act

On 12/20/2024 at 6:25 PM, Bullneck said:

actually-you-can-just-call-me-jim-gordon-v0-9vp1alses28e1.thumb.webp.3d7d449acaa16e93afdbaad117efd58c.webp

Adams is practicing for his future parade. 

Austin still has it from time to time

 

We’ve never had as good of healthcare options as we have today. There is zero argument against this. John D. Rockefeller may have been the wealthiest people ever, relatively speaking, but a simple skin cut could have led to his death from tetanus in 1910.

Our trained individuals, technology and pharmaceuticals are perhaps the greatest achievable in history especially in the last 75 years. The US capitalist system has led to this, and the people behind healthcare want to be compensated for their work.

we definitely can give healthcare away for low $ amounts but that will greatly slow the continuing progression of healthcare. You also are not going to have a Level 1 Trauma center fully staffed by offering the medical professionals $70k per year. Personally if I’m in an auto accident I want the neurosurgeon with 20 years of training and he now earns $750k per year. I don’t want the 1870s barber/surgeon who accepts payments in chickens.

finally ever healthcare system in the world rations healthcare in some form. It’s a lie to say otherwise. 

 

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46 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Our trained individuals, technology and pharmaceuticals are perhaps the greatest achievable in history especially in the last 75 years. The US capitalist system has led to this, and the people behind healthcare want to be compensated for their work.

The money isn't going to doctors and medical care. It goes first to the insurance companies and then they decide how much the doctor should get. 

Maybe, just maybe, we don't need to financialize every single aspect of our lives? 

Our current system is capitalism run amok. An insurance executive is deciding what care Americans receive, not their doctor. The only way around that is to be in the wealthy ownership/executive class

Edited by Captainant

  • Author

Luigi is a murdering putz. Pick better heroes.

1 hour ago, Captainant said:

The money isn't going to doctors and medical care. It goes first to the insurance companies and then they decide how much the doctor should get. 

Maybe, just maybe, we don't need to financialize every single aspect of our lives? 

Our current system is capitalism run amok. An insurance executive is deciding what care Americans receive, not their doctor. The only way around that is to be in the wealthy ownership/executive class

I’m unsure how a risk product is not financialized. Besides a fair amount of the money is kept by employers not insurance companies.

im not arguing that there aren’t inefficiencies but the vast majority of the money involved ends up with the healthcare industry not insurance providers.

8 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

im not arguing that there aren’t inefficiencies but the vast majority of the money involved ends up with the healthcare industry not insurance providers.

I notice that you're calling out the "healthcare industry", not "healthcare provders". Yeah big pharma in the healthcare industry is certainly making sure nobody can afford anything and making a bundle off it. And nursing homes are robbing our grandparents blind while paying for minimum wage nurses that little to no, or negligent care.

It's not "inefficiency" - it's by design.

17 minutes ago, Captainant said:

I notice that you're calling out the "healthcare industry", not "healthcare provders". Yeah big pharma in the healthcare industry is certainly making sure nobody can afford anything and making a bundle off it. And nursing homes are robbing our grandparents blind while paying for minimum wage nurses that little to no, or negligent care.

It's not "inefficiency" - it's by design.

You’re reading why too much into either my inclusion or exclusion of a single word. 100% there is greed. And that can be used for good or bad. Pharmaceutical companies create great products because of that greed. And that greed creates overpriced drugs as well.

its a bit like tragedy of the commons that everyone in the healthcare industry is working to extract as much money as possible from the system. Like any non-charity company or industry. 

Just now, Nice Guy Eddie said:

its a bit like tragedy of the commons that everyone in the healthcare industry is working to extract as much money as possible from the system. Like any non-charity company or industry. 

And my central point is that financializing healthcare embeds incentives like this that push patients and care below shareholder returns. Health insurance shouldn't exist. Everyone gets sick and needs healthcare. 

Because of insurance companies, you can't just walk into a doctor's office. Their rates are absurd, and driven by insurance medical coding. A doctor's goal should not be to extract money from sick people who came to them for help.

And yet, that's our system. Capital matters more than people.

2 hours ago, Bevo said:

Luigi is a murdering putz. Pick better heroes.

LAW AND ORDER!!! 

27 minutes ago, Captainant said:

And my central point is that financializing healthcare embeds incentives like this that push patients and care below shareholder returns. Health insurance shouldn't exist. Everyone gets sick and needs healthcare. 

Because of insurance companies, you can't just walk into a doctor's office. Their rates are absurd, and driven by insurance medical coding. A doctor's goal should not be to extract money from sick people who came to them for help.

And yet, that's our system. Capital matters more than people.

What do you mean that you just can’t walk into a doctors office? Are you complaining that doctors require you to schedule an appointment in advance so they can learn how much you will owe. I scheduled a same day appointment with a new specialist recently. I paid a $50 copay and then another $200 a week later because I have a high deductible, no one stopped me from seeing the doctor.

i realize that im fortunate that i can drop $250 for 30 minutes of time from a doctor and her medical assistant, but that felt fair to me.

23 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

What do you mean that you just can’t walk into a doctors office? Are you complaining that doctors require you to schedule an appointment in advance so they can learn how much you will owe. I scheduled a same day appointment with a new specialist recently. I paid a $50 copay and then another $200 a week later because I have a high deductible, no one stopped me from seeing the doctor.

i realize that im fortunate that i can drop $250 for 30 minutes of time from a doctor and her medical assistant, but that felt fair to me.

You misunderstand me - you can't get an affordable doctor's appointment without insurance, and paying out of pocket is exorbitantly expensive thanks to insurance inflating the prices too.

Sure, I'll make an appointment for my 7mo daughter, go get a 15 minute look over by the doctor and a flu shot. Somehow the EOB says that cost nearly $4000 (our responsibility was $20). How the fuck is a regular Joe supposed to afford that?

Edited by Captainant

5 minutes ago, Captainant said:

You misunderstand me - you can't get an affordable doctor's appointment without insurance, and paying out of pocket is exorbitantly expensive thanks to insurance inflating the prices to.

Sure, I'll make an appointment for my 7mo daughter, go get a 15 minute look over by the doctor and a flu shot. Somehow the EOB says that cost nearly $4000 (our responsibility was $20). How the fuck is a regular Joe supposed to afford that?

You paid $20. I’ve read or watched so many stories the last few weeks where people are upset about the top line of the bill but the story frequently ends with them paying nothing or a low amount. A doctor is not receiving $4,000 for a 15 minute wellness check.

consuming healthcare can be expensive. There can be decades of training, millions in r&d going into technology, fully staffed doctors office, admin costs, computer systems are big bucks.  Healthcare isn’t a country doctor who was taught by his pa in the 1870s, and accepts an apple pie in exchange for appendectomy. But then again a good apple pie is $12. Half of your appointment cost.

Why don’t we flinch on spending thousands on trips to Disney world, Vegas or Europe but we’re pissed when asked to pay for care for our loved ones. I’ve seen someone rant about healthcare costs and then drive home in their $75k truck.

3 hours ago, Bevo said:

Luigi is a murdering putz. Pick better heroes.

IMG_6811.jpeg.b144aa0632362c4ad88a426afd817969.jpeg

28 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

You paid $20. I’ve read or watched so many stories the last few weeks where people are upset about the top line of the bill but the story frequently ends with them paying nothing or a low amount. A doctor is not receiving $4,000 for a 15 minute wellness check.

A doctor isn't getting paid $4,000 but Kelsey Seybold is. That is my entire point. The doctors and nurses and patients - the raison d'etre for this whole thing - are at the end of the whip and subject to whatever comes from on high, and the healthcare industry is holding the other end.

Edited by Captainant

13 minutes ago, Captainant said:

A doctor isn't getting paid $4,000 but Kelsey Seybold is. That is my entire point. The doctors and nurses and patients - the raison d'etre for this whole thing - are at the end of the whip and subject to whatever comes from on high, and the healthcare industry is holding the other end.

I dont know your EOB but i thought the top  was the amount before contractual amounts and discounts. That is what the doctors office charged the insurance administrator. And I'm using the doctor and doctor’s employer interchangeably. Sometimes the doctor is on their own, sometimes they’re part of a small practice, other times they’re 1 of 1,000 employed doctors.

Kelsey seybold receiving $4k for a 15 minute family medicine doc visit is improbable.

i agree that it’s a silly game that the doctor charges thousands, the insurance administrator lowers the amount to hundreds, you pay $20 and your employer pays like maybe $300. I’m working on the scenario where your health insurance is through your employer and they’re self insured like many. If you buy it directly, or receive it thru govt benefits, it’s slightly different.

  • Author
1 hour ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Why don’t we flinch on spending thousands on trips to Disney world, Vegas or Europe but we’re pissed when asked to pay for care for our loved ones. I’ve seen someone rant about healthcare costs and then drive home in their $75k truck.

 

Every day occurrence. And often the amount we receive is much, much less than the cost of staff. People generally don't care about the cost to keep the doors open, to pay for a doctor's time, to pay for schooling and to pay for equipment. A lot of societal changes have led to this although declining US wealth IMO is the largest contributor.

I do love the “American exceptionalism” that dominated the discussion. Like no other country or system has introduced or innovated a kajillion elements of life-saving medical care and the like.
Yes, the world would still have amazing, innovative care and treatment WITHOUT massive profit-taking in the US.
And…employers are skimming money off the top too? WTF are you talking about? I’m an employer, we provide healthcare (we have a broker, we pick a plan, we pay for it). It’s a cost center for us, and only a cost center. I don’t get what the hell you are telling about, but I assure you that I don’t get an extra check at the end of the year if we fuck over enough of our employees by denying them care. Sure, our loss ratio affects our collective premiums, but…we then pay them, pretty much whatever they are.

3 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

ts a bit like tragedy of the commons that everyone in the healthcare industry is working to extract as much money as possible from the system.

That is simply not true.

  • Author
30 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Yes, the world would still have amazing, innovative care and treatment WITHOUT massive profit-taking in the US.

This is false. Pharmaceuticals and advanced medical devices exist because of the US patent system, US investors in biotech, the money the US government and companies throw into basic research and the profits that companies can achieve in the US by developing medical improvements and breakthroughs.

4 minutes ago, Bevo said:

This is false. Pharmaceuticals and advanced medical devices exist because of the US patent system, US investors in biotech, the money the US government and companies throw into basic research and the profits that companies can achieve in the US by developing medical improvements and breakthroughs.

You'd think an industry that sits on top of the Hippocratic Oath would care more about patient wellbeing than profits. Everything starts and ends with investors. That guarantees that patients will never be the highest priority of that system. Patients have no means to influence the incentive structure that drives all of this ugliness and denial of care.

2 hours ago, Captainant said:

A doctor isn't getting paid $4,000 but Kelsey Seybold is. That is my entire point. The doctors and nurses and patients - the raison d'etre for this whole thing - are at the end of the whip and subject to whatever comes from on high, and the healthcare industry is holding the other end.

FWIW, Kelsey-Seybold is owned by United Healthcare.

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