Do you need to vent about things COVID-19?

[Silent Mistwalker]

Oh. Now I'm supposed to pay for something I can't afford. That's really helpful. I'm on Medicaid because I can't afford insurance of any kind. 

[Seicher Rae]

On 11/4/2020 at 5:09 PM, Silent Mistwalker said:

Oh. Now I'm supposed to pay for something I can't afford. That's really helpful. I'm on Medicaid because I can't afford insurance of any kind. 

Yup. I hear ya.

A lot of people don't understand that Medicare ain't free. There is a monthly "premium" that must be paid. Medicare only covers 80%, individuals have to cough up the other 20%. If someone is well enough off, they can purchase Medicare gap coverage.

If someone is poor but not quite poor enough, sometimes there are programs that can cover or reduce the monthly fees.

If you are lucky enough to be dirt poor then you can get dual coverage of Medicare/Medicaid.

Like you, I'm "better off" with Medicaid. ETA If for example, I get hit with COVID and I *am* going to get tested for it as I posted below, I'm much better off with Medicaid than Medicare.

I am on SSDI and am well below the poverty line. I found out that if I take advantage of a situation that would increase my monthly income by a whopping $400, I would lose Medicaid. I don't qualify for Medicare. I would be without insurance. Oh wait! I could pay for insurance. That would reduce my $400 by at least half if not all of it. Then because I'd be so wealthy I'd have other things removed... So I would end up WORSE off.

It is too bad more people don't understand the realities.

This *does* have a tie-in to COVID things, to a point. Otherwise a detailed convo on various insurances in the USA is off topic.

Edited November 5, 2020 by Seicher Rae

[Luna Bliss]

3 hours ago, Silent Mistwalker said:

Oh. Now I'm supposed to pay for something I can't afford. That's really helpful. I'm on Medicaid because I can't afford insurance of any kind.

You'd get Medicaid too and not have to pay anything IF you don't have many assets.

There are advantages to getting the Medicare-Medicaid combo thing, especially related to property. For example, with regular Medicaid they can take your home after you die if they spent a lot of money on you (this varies from state to state) -- they do what is called a 'clawback'.  But there's Medicare-Medicaid options that can prevent this. Important to know to protect a surviving partner in a home. Best to check all this out with them to see the options should Medicare go down to age 60 in time to benefit you.

Edited November 5, 2020 by Luna Bliss

[Mollymews]

On 11/4/2020 at 2:47 PM, Arielle Popstar said:

When I was looking into the liberal health care platform I ran across an article that pointed out how a a dose of insulin that costs $8 to manufacture and costs a diabetic in Canada $35 but costs an American $300, I realized somewhat the extent of the problem faced by Americans when they are paying such exorbitant sums for what is fairly basic medicine. The real problem I see is not insurances or governments but the medical and pharmaceutical lobbies in being allowed to charge the sort of rates they do for their products and services. That is what makes healthcare unaffordable. 

pretty much yes

is pretty extraordinary the price that US people often have to pay for prescription medication

some US states, but not many yet, are into bulk buying programmes for their State-administered public health programmes but for people not eligible for these programmes and not in these states then it can be very difficult for people

more on the various States efforts to do this here: https://www.ncsl.org/research/health/bulk-purchasing-of-prescription-drugs.aspx

bulk-buying programmes are the best way to reduce prices while upholding the principles of the free market. But there is considerable opposition to free market principles from pharmaceutical companies and their fellow travelers

[Silent Mistwalker]

3 hours ago, Luna Bliss said:

You'd get Medicaid too and not have to pay anything IF you don't have many assets.

There are advantages to getting the Medicare-Medicaid combo thing, especially related to property. For example, with regular Medicaid they can take your home after you die if they spent a lot of money on you (this varies from state to state) -- they do what is called a 'clawback'.  But there's Medicare-Medicaid options that can prevent this. Important to know to protect a surviving partner in a home. Best to check all this out with them to see the options should Medicare go down to age 60 in time to benefit you.

I'm not the idiot you seem to think I am. I am perfectly capable of educating myself and have done so. I did not ask for your help nor do I want it. Let it go and leave me be.

[Seicher Rae]

.

 

Edited November 5, 2020 by Seicher Rae
self-editing to stay on topic for the sake of the thread

[Gage Wirefly]

11 hours ago, Mollymews said:

pretty much yes

is pretty extraordinary the price that US people often have to pay for prescription medication

some US states, but not many yet, are into bulk buying programmes for their State-administered public health programmes but for people not eligible for these programmes and not in these states then it can be very difficult for people

more on the various States efforts to do this here: https://www.ncsl.org/research/health/bulk-purchasing-of-prescription-drugs.aspx

bulk-buying programmes are the best way to reduce prices while upholding the principles of the free market. But there is considerable opposition to free market principles from pharmaceutical companies and their fellow travelers

As an aside, people love to give Wal Mart a hard time, but were it not for their demands for lower generic drug prices in a wide range of medications ,many probably could not get them.  They use their leverage as one of the world's largest retailers for lower drug prices and that is helpful regardless of what one thinks of the company as a whole, in my humble opinion.

Edited November 5, 2020 by Gage Wirefly

[Dhyaanee]

58 minutes ago, Gage Wirefly said:

As an aside, people love to give Wal Mart a hard time, but were it not for their demands for generic drug prices in a wide range of medications ,many probably could not get them. 

I get mine there, and it's a lot cheaper.

[Dhyaanee]

On 11/3/2020 at 11:46 AM, Luna Bliss said:

Medicaid is not ACA insurance

What's the difference, and what will happen if Joe Biden's plan is enacted?

[Silent Mistwalker]

8 hours ago, Seicher Rae said:

I dunno, do you ever get treated like if you're poor then you are stupid? I get that.

"Let's just talk down to this poor, poor fool because obviously if they are on Medicaid (and poor), there has to be something fundamentally wrong with them."

The virtual "there there"s and pats on the hand so that the condescending ones can feel morally superior and blessedly beneficent of decanting their knowledge? Not to mention standing atop the soap box, titled something like "more politically enlightened than you" to appear kindly magnanimous?

Or is that just me and my experiences?

 

All the time. Worse, even. I get treated as if I am stupid because I'm not white and I am female, on a daily basis. And people wonder why I get mad after having my buttons pushed hard every. damn. day. of. my. life.

So no, not just you.

[Seicher Rae]

8 hours ago, Dhyaanee said:

What's the difference, and what will happen if Joe Biden's plan is enacted?

FFS, do you know there is something called the INTERNET where you can do your research and NOT rely upon some crank on a Forum (SL or otherwise)?

And I'm guessing you could have voted...

ETA: Your question is off topic.

Edited November 5, 2020 by Seicher Rae

[Seicher Rae]

1 hour ago, Silent Mistwalker said:

 

All the time. Worse, even. I get treated as if I am stupid because I'm not white and I am female, on a daily basis. And people wonder why I get mad after having my buttons pushed hard every. damn. day. of. my. life.

So no, not just you.

Well, if it makes you feel any better, I am white and get treated like that. (I know, that doesn't make things better... just sayin.)

Eh, I just typed and then erased more of a post. It was too much of a sidetrack.

[Seicher Rae]

^^^ That's why I originally wandered in here just now. I was diverted.

That's a headline in the Fake News "Washington Post".

In the article it states (paraphrased):

That the numbers are reaching the point where NOTHING will stop it except another shut down. With the colder weather and major holidays approaching, the next few months are going to be "very good" for COVID.

People in the medical profession are saying things like, regardless of who wins the presidential election, Trump is still in charge for months, and “And he’s made clear there will be no top-down, coordinated action coming from the federal government.”

Meanwhile, it cannot be denied that the economy is in dire straights. 

Exit polls showed: 

About 35 percent of voters said the economy was the most important issue for them, while about 17 percent cited the pandemic and about 2 in 10 were motivated most by racial inequality.

At the same time, however, just over half the voters said it is more important to contain the virus, even if that hurts the economy, while slightly more than 4 in 10 said rebuilding the economy is most critical, even if that impairs work to quell the virus.

Those more concerned with the virus broke heavily for Biden. But they were matched by the proportion of Trump voters who supported his persistent call for a return to normalcy and a revived economy.

MY TWO CENTS: While I understand the desire for a return to normalcy, wishing ain't gonna make it so!!!! What is wrong with people who don't GET that? "Ok we're tired of this thing, let's just go back to "normal" and pretend it doesn't exist!" If we could keep THOSE people away from the rest of us, so that THOSE people wouldn't infect us or brave frontline workers, then I would be all in favor of them doing just that. Go for it! Can I haz your stuff? But that isn't how things work, now is it? But yet, that's how some people think and vote.

Why were masks and standing away from people so damned hard to understand? But now we're facing shutdowns again, like other parts of the world.

[Lyssa Greymoon]

But the covid was supposed to go away yesterday!

 

[Rat Luv]

I found this interesting...bought a lot of Vitamin D for winter. 

 

[Ceka Cianci]

20 minutes ago, Seicher Rae said:

^^^ That's why I originally wandered in here just now. I was diverted.

That's a headline in the Fake News "Washington Post".

In the article it states (paraphrased):

That the numbers are reaching the point where NOTHING will stop it except another shut down. With the colder weather and major holidays approaching, the next few months are going to be "very good" for COVID.

People in the medical profession are saying things like, regardless of who wins the presidential election, Trump is still in charge for months, and “And he’s made clear there will be no top-down, coordinated action coming from the federal government.”

Meanwhile, it cannot be denied that the economy is in dire straights. 

Exit polls showed: 

About 35 percent of voters said the economy was the most important issue for them, while about 17 percent cited the pandemic and about 2 in 10 were motivated most by racial inequality.

At the same time, however, just over half the voters said it is more important to contain the virus, even if that hurts the economy, while slightly more than 4 in 10 said rebuilding the economy is most critical, even if that impairs work to quell the virus.

Those more concerned with the virus broke heavily for Biden. But they were matched by the proportion of Trump voters who supported his persistent call for a return to normalcy and a revived economy.

MY TWO CENTS: While I understand the desire for a return to normalcy, wishing ain't gonna make it so!!!! What is wrong with people who don't GET that? "Ok we're tired of this thing, let's just go back to "normal" and pretend it doesn't exist!" If we could keep THOSE people away from the rest of us, so that THOSE people wouldn't infect us or brave frontline workers, then I would be all in favor of them doing just that. Go for it! Can I haz your stuff? But that isn't how things work, now is it? But yet, that's how some people think and vote.

Why were masks and standing away from people so damned hard to understand? But now we're facing shutdowns again, like other parts of the world.

I think I had maybe 8 weeks off, then went back to work.. The only reason  I was off was because the borders were closed to everything.. then they opened back up for industry only.

That is the strangest feeling.. There is only one other time that things ever felt that empty outside.. That was back when 9/11 happened..

We were visiting up north.. luckily we drove or we would have been stuck there..

When they shut the airports down and no planes were coming out of O'hare, that was really creepy.. you seen one fighter pilot doing laps around cook county.

up there the sky is always so full of planes.

Down here when things were shut down and I was going back and forth to work.. It felt like I was in that movie, I am Legend.. just not another soul around..

The roads are still pretty quiet at night compared to before the shut down.. But when i first went back to work, it felt really creepy..

[Rowan Amore]

19 minutes ago, Lyssa Greymoon said:

But the covid was supposed to go away yesterday!

 

That's what I heard too.

[Ceka Cianci]

21 minutes ago, Lyssa Greymoon said:

But the covid was supposed to go away yesterday!

 

It's like that dog we call a Sooner..

You can drive 40 miles away and  lose that dog..Sooner or later they'll show back up on the porch..

[Luna Bliss]

3 hours ago, Dhyaanee said:

On 11/3/2020 at 11:46 AM, Luna Bliss said:

Medicaid is not ACA insurance

What's the difference, and what will happen if Joe Biden's plan is enacted?

Well I'm kind of spacey today but will try to explain...

Medicaid provides health care for those without income or extremely low income who have few assets (home & vehicle excluded as assets).
The Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare) provides health insurance in the form of subsidies based on income. For example, if you earned $20,000 you would pay much less for health insurance than if you earned $45,000 -- you would receive a subsidy from the government to pay the cost difference to an insurance company of your choosing.

While I know quite a bit about these programs as that's what I studied in Social Work (plus friends working in Social Work positions with marginalized people relay more current info, plus personally I was able to take advantage of Obamacare), I'm afraid the Biden public option is so new I don't know a lot here. In addition, it's all a bit up in the air as we don't know what the Democrats will be able to push through with new laws. I feel encouraged with what I do see though, as it aims to leave no person without insurance as is the case presently (when they earn too much to qualify for Medicaid yet don't earn enough to qualify for the ACA and Republicans disallowed Medicaid expansion).

Biden's plan is basically an expansion of the ACA. So, the plan is that if you earn very little you would automatically qualify for the Biden public option and pay nothing (nobody would be left out), and similarly to the ACA as it operates presently one would pay for health insurance according to income, qualifying for greater subsidies the lower their income.
Another nice feature is that nobody would have to pay more than 8.5% of their income for health care -- even those whose income is not low enough to qualify for a subsidy.
And, finally, health insurance won't be tied to employment -- a bad system to begin with, and even worse now with so many gig/freelance workers, and it discourages entrepreneurship as many are tied to a job they might otherwise leave due to fears of losing health insurance.

Personally, I'd like us to have the health care other developed nations enjoy, similar to the Medicare For All Sanders advocated where the bureaucracy and cost of insurance companies are removed and the money spent on people who actually need care. But I see Biden's plan as an improvement and so advocate for it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/05/opinion/joe-biden-health-care.html

I'm really hoping these 'clawback' provisions which allow the govt to take a Medicaid recipients house after they die will be removed!  This egregious practice keeps poor families poor, as wealth is often passed on from generation to generation via descendants acquisition of the family home. There are other nasty things tacked on to Medicaid I hope will be removed, as it was a program developed for the so-called 'undeserving poor' and unfairly stigmatized, as opposed to those who had/have enough income to qualify for other programs such as the ACA, Medicare, or those receiving health care through employment.

Some good reading on these issues here:
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/8/20/21372511/joe-biden-obamacare-health-care-plan
https://stateofreform.com/federal/2020/07/key-health-care-recommendations-included-in-biden-sanders-task-force-proposals/

Edited November 5, 2020 by Luna Bliss

[Luna Bliss]

28 minutes ago, Rat Luv said:

I found this interesting...bought a lot of Vitamin D for winter. 

 

Thanks for reminding me to take that!  I just got a new bottle last week.

Be sure and check out Ceka's smoothies too...wow the nutrition and energy!

[Ceka Cianci]

11 minutes ago, Luna Bliss said:

Thanks for reminding me to take that!  I just got a new bottle last week.

Be sure and check out Ceka's smoothies too...wow the nutrition and energy!

I was gonna mention something about that again awhile back but got side tracked getting pissed off at the internet provider..

I was losing connection every 5 minutes for like two weeks.. Finally went back to our old provider..

Aaaaanyways, yea.. If anything do smoothies.. oranges grapefruits lemon lime pinapple apples pears kiwis.. Load up!! \o/

The berries I have those every night at work..

I'll make a little over a half gallon which will get me through two nights..

about 12 strawberries

1 cup of blue berries

1 cup of black berries

1 cup of raspberries

2  or more apples

1 or more pear

1 fresh pineapple, which I will juice for the liquid part of the smoothie..

It's packed with fiber and so many vitamins..  Berries alone can have reversing affects on many things, like inflammation ,blood sugar levels, great for improving your immunity which is what we need more than anything right now..

Let alone, It's sooo good you'll be smacking your lips and rubbin your tummy, like you were 4 years old again and going ,Aaaahhhhh after each gulp..

I have never had a more tasty drink than this one, Let alone that was good for me.. Anything that even came close to tasting this good, was usually full of crap that breaks a body down..

 

 

[Rat Luv]

4 minutes ago, Ceka Cianci said:

It's packed with fiber and so many vitamins..  Berries alone can have reversing affects on many things, like inflammation ,blood sugar levels, great for improving your immunity which is what we need more than anything right now..

Luv blueberries and strawberries 

Do you just put it all straight into a blender?

[FairreLilette]

48 minutes ago, Luna Bliss said:

Well I'm kind of spacey today but will try to explain...

Medicaid provides health care for those without income or extremely low income who have few assets (home & vehicle excluded as assets).
The Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare) provides health insurance in the form of subsidies based on income. For example, if you earned $20,000 you would pay much less for health insurance than if you earned $45,000 -- you would receive a subsidy from the government to pay the cost difference to an insurance company of your choosing.

While I know quite a bit about these programs as that's what I studied in Social Work (plus friends working in Social Work positions with marginalized people relay more current info, plus personally I was able to take advantage of Obamacare), I'm afraid the Biden public option is so new I don't know a lot here. In addition, it's all a bit up in the air as we don't know what the Democrats will be able to push through with new laws. I feel encouraged with what I do see though, as it aims to leave no person without insurance as is the case presently (when they earn too much to qualify for Medicaid yet don't earn enough to qualify for the ACA and Republicans disallowed Medicaid expansion).

Biden's plan is basically an expansion of the ACA. So, the plan is that if you earn very little you would automatically qualify for the Biden public option and pay nothing (nobody would be left out), and similarly to the ACA as it operates presently one would pay for health insurance according to income, qualifying for greater subsidies the lower their income.
Another nice feature is that nobody would have to pay more than 8.5% of their income for health care -- even those whose income is not low enough to qualify for a subsidy.
And, finally, health insurance won't be tied to employment -- a bad system to begin with, and even worse now with so many gig/freelance workers, and it discourages entrepreneurship as many are tied to a job they might otherwise leave due to fears of losing health insurance.

Personally, I'd like us to have the health care other developed nations enjoy, similar to the Medicare For All Sanders advocated where the bureaucracy and cost of insurance companies are removed and the money spent on people who actually need care. But I see Biden's plan as an improvement and so advocate for it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/05/opinion/joe-biden-health-care.html

I'm really hoping these 'clawback' provisions which allow the govt to take a Medicaid recipients house after they die will be removed!  This egregious practice keeps poor families poor, as wealth is often passed on from generation to generation via descendants acquisition of the family home. There are other nasty things tacked on to Medicaid I hope will be removed, as it was a program developed for the so-called 'undeserving poor' and unfairly stigmatized, as opposed to those who had/have enough income to qualify for other programs such as the ACA, Medicare, or those receiving health care through employment.

Some good reading on these issues here:
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/8/20/21372511/joe-biden-obamacare-health-care-plan
https://stateofreform.com/federal/2020/07/key-health-care-recommendations-included-in-biden-sanders-task-force-proposals/

I like Biden's plan to revive the middle class as well as offer incentives for businesses to bring their business and jobs back to America.  My thought to reviving the middle class and bringing jobs back to America from Biden:  brilliant!   I think this is a hope to reviving the America that once was.

Also, I wanted to say that California has Medicare and Medi-Cal.  Why don't other states have a Medi-Cal program?  I've heard people come in droves to live in California because of it's benefits but remember California is in a big hole now financially and has requested financial aide from the federal government because of the coronavirus and the lockdowns.   So, the California that existed only a short time ago is no more in today's coronavirus world. 

Edited November 5, 2020 by FairreLilette

[Amina Sopwith]

My son loves making smoothies. We sometimes add yoghurt and honey.

[Ceka Cianci]

16 minutes ago, Rat Luv said:

Luv blueberries and strawberries 

Do you just put it all straight into a blender?

Yes, but you need to have some sort of liquid in there before you blend, otherwise you'll burn your blender out..Plus it'll be thicker than apple sauce if you don't have some sort of liquid in there..

I always use a Pineapple, not canned or anything like that.. a fresh bought pineapple, because it's the best for mixing with the berries and other fruits..it one of them things that just brings out the flavor more in all the fruits it's mixed with.. Let alone it's benefits as well..

 

When I just juice stuff with my juicer.. If I'm juicing say,watermelon.. I'll juice the whole thing rind and all..because of all the benefits that are in the rind..just like if I'm juicing a pineapple that I'm not going to use the pulp from.. I won't even bother to skin it I'll just juice the whole thing..

 

But for the most part, everything goes in the blender for the recipe I put up top.. the only thing I do is juice the pineapple..

I used to use almond milk, but found that almond milk dulls the flavor a lot..

I use almond milk or cashew milk more in my green smoothies than anything..

 

I want to add that, all my smoothies go into a shaker.. I'll take the shaker with me and before I drink,even if it's been sitting for only a minute I'll shake it up, because juice and smoothie separate quick..

The neat thing is, it tastes a little different each time you hit it..I love that! hehehe

 

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2020 by Ceka Cianci