The IRS has now been adequately funded much to the dismay to the R’s. They discovered that there are approximately 125,000 people who have not paid the taxes they owed since 2017. Next week, the IRS will begin sending out letters to these individuals. Mind you, they are not after us peons. They are after the filthy rich who want to destr…
The IRS has now been adequately funded much to the dismay to the R’s. They discovered that there are approximately 125,000 people who have not paid the taxes they owed since 2017. Next week, the IRS will begin sending out letters to these individuals. Mind you, they are not after us peons. They are after the filthy rich who want to destroy our democracy and take away our Social Security and Medicare. Oh how I hope it’s some notorious members of Congress who get those letters! https://apnews.com/article/irs-tax-season-audit-back-taxes-77c891313f5233366fbe4f6fb5d896e8
Regarding the 25,000 from the article who earn more than $1 million, there are many of them who are in the hundreds of millions, and don't obviously deserve what they are getting for working of course 1 thousand hours per week. Of course that is insane, getting paid to do nothing and not contributing to society
Just tax all income for social security and medicare, problem somewhat solved.
That said, I just got a bill for $20,000 for a simple nasal septum surgery correction, mostly paid by insurance (I owe about $1000). The dollars per hour being paid into our health care system is pretty insane, in my opinion!
Delivering medical care through corporations is an abomination. Doctors and medical personnel should be paid well. CEOs and stock holders should not. Corporate medicine is ruining our health care.
The procedure took literally 2 hours (including the prep where only nurses were involved), so that is $10,000 per hour! I've already used up half of my health care Flex Spending Account on account of this procedure.
It is a very simple procedure that besides anesthetics takes maybe 30 minutes. So where does this tremendous bill come from?! I think it probably goes to the hospital administrators, perhaps.
And no one told me up front regarding the cost; they just agreed as long as I was getting my broken nose reset, and under with anesthesia, that doing this procedure as well was two for the price of one.
I totally agree. If you don't have insurance bankruptcy is often the only recourse. And try to get healthcare after a bankruptcy with no insurance.
My company quit paying our health insurance premiums to the carrier during the year. My wife was in the hospital for 3 days and we were told we were no longer covered due to premiums not being paid.
We received a bill for almost $50,000. Ultimately, the issue with the premiums was resolved and the insurance company paid about $12,000 and we paid $1500.
It's sad, but you can't afford to be without insurance.
Elizabeth Warren knows more about bankruptcy law than anyone in the US. She has pushed for not forcing people to declare bankruptcy for unpaid medical bills. Instead the Federal government would pay the debt. It's never gotten traction.
With insurance who has a contract with the hospital, with insurance not contracted with the hospital, Medicare Advantage vs Medicare Part A &B, self pay, etc…
I call it job security. The healthcare-industrial complex is a massive jobs program due to its fragmentation
More than that. They have different payments that they accept depending on your insurance company. Medicare allows significantly (and I mean seriously significantly) less than Anthem, who in turn may allow more than Aetna or Cigna, etc.
Sometimes, the price the provider charges is lower than the insurance allowance, but the member still needs to pay the insurance negotiated price for the procedure.
At least the insurance approved the procedure. It’s appalling that they can reject claims based on nothing at all! My dental insurance refused to pay for work done on my teeth after the dentist office got it approved and had the cost what we thought was covered. Some jerk came back and said we’re not going to cover this. Like practicing medicine without a license! But I am on teacher insurance. It’s the worst!
More even than that. This is Institutionalized Cheating. Daylight robbery.
And since it's the norm -- in America, nowhere else in the world, there's exceptionalism for you -- Americans are blind to it.
Blind and robbed blind.
*
Nose broken 3 times -- at 16, boxing, at 45 and 55, running into glass walls -- I had 2 ops in Belgium... First failed, still a problem with septum, second succeeded. Both times, inpatient. Cost to me: negligible.
Normal in Europe.
*
Moral of the Moral:
Dominance of the Unfittest.
A society governed by social Darwinism, "Survival of the fittest", is divisive, makes competition-for-its-own-sake the sole governing principle, totally ignoring the parallel reality of symbiosis, interdependence, every factor that connects and unites us.
Yes, probably too many overpaid administrators. But, also many highly trained medical personnel and doctors.
As long as it is an out patient procedure, just stay home and have a plumber, or Roto Router, do the work next time! Will cost you less than $1000, maybe.
And too many overpaid insurance company CEOs. Any insurer who offers Medicare Advantage is in it for the money. Profit over patients: the American way.
Not to defend the cost, but I will defend the procedure as not being simple (had one). It involves not hitting the vagus nerve, which runs through the nose through the nervous system. One passes out easily just standing up, or from the pressure changes in an airplane descent.
My surgeon was excellent, but we both learned how disturbed my vagus nerve was by the procedure. Anyone in a hurry could change someone’s life.
Marlene, perhaps NOT "thank goodness you had insurance" because that lies at the heart of the absurd prices and inefficiencies of our corporate medical system. So much goes into the administration of that system with its preauthorizations, sometimes repeatedly throughout a course of treatment, appeals of decisions by non-MDs, advertising. They all end up feeding the profits of the corporations and not providing the healthcare for which we all pay way TOO MUCH!
I have an expensive, high-deductible plan through ACA marketplace. (eligible for Medicare soon! 🤸♀️) This year I was able to receive a subsidy that reduced my premium to level of several years ago. Thank you, President Biden and Inflation Reduction Act !
Yesterday the Biden administration gave a heads up to corporations that own jets. They are going to audit the trips for personal use and tax the individuals as the benefits are income.
Our home in Fernandina Beach was on the flight path for the airport. Every year during the car show, the Lear Jet Club would hold their annual meeting at the Ritz.
One of the years we lived there I counted the jets at the tiny airport there and there was 75.
I wonder how many of the owners wrote off the trip/meeting as a business expense.
It’s nuts here in Marathon. Sometimes 25-30, plus all the smaller craft. Key West is crazy too.
Of course, there’s also the helicopters making lunch trips from Miami. The restaurant across Route 1 has a helipad. Land, 8-10 for lunch, then off again. Us plebeians just stare lol.
Nice. I can't even imagine flying somewhere for lunch.
When we moved to Maine we are again close to the airport in Trenton, ME although it's called the Bar Harbor airport. In the summer the uber wealthy fly in and out of here umpteen times a day. Plus there are 5 commercial flights a day for the tourists. First one at 6 am. or at least that's when it flies over our house. :)
The IRS has now been adequately funded much to the dismay to the R’s. They discovered that there are approximately 125,000 people who have not paid the taxes they owed since 2017. Next week, the IRS will begin sending out letters to these individuals. Mind you, they are not after us peons. They are after the filthy rich who want to destroy our democracy and take away our Social Security and Medicare. Oh how I hope it’s some notorious members of Congress who get those letters! https://apnews.com/article/irs-tax-season-audit-back-taxes-77c891313f5233366fbe4f6fb5d896e8
Regarding the 25,000 from the article who earn more than $1 million, there are many of them who are in the hundreds of millions, and don't obviously deserve what they are getting for working of course 1 thousand hours per week. Of course that is insane, getting paid to do nothing and not contributing to society
Just tax all income for social security and medicare, problem somewhat solved.
That said, I just got a bill for $20,000 for a simple nasal septum surgery correction, mostly paid by insurance (I owe about $1000). The dollars per hour being paid into our health care system is pretty insane, in my opinion!
Delivering medical care through corporations is an abomination. Doctors and medical personnel should be paid well. CEOs and stock holders should not. Corporate medicine is ruining our health care.
Whoa!! Yes, totally insane! Thank goodness you have insurance.
It almost kept me out from playing tuba with my orchestra on the next concert! Not cool! :-)
The procedure took literally 2 hours (including the prep where only nurses were involved), so that is $10,000 per hour! I've already used up half of my health care Flex Spending Account on account of this procedure.
It is a very simple procedure that besides anesthetics takes maybe 30 minutes. So where does this tremendous bill come from?! I think it probably goes to the hospital administrators, perhaps.
And no one told me up front regarding the cost; they just agreed as long as I was getting my broken nose reset, and under with anesthesia, that doing this procedure as well was two for the price of one.
You can ask for an itemized bill.
You'll be surprised what is on there.
Got one when my husband was on a vent with no insurance.
Found out one thing they charged him for was oral medication. He was on a vent.
And that's another reason our health care is so expensive, people don't look at the charges and insurance pays and it's vicious circle.
And they have two rates. One for people with insurance and one for people without insurance. Such a scam!
I totally agree. If you don't have insurance bankruptcy is often the only recourse. And try to get healthcare after a bankruptcy with no insurance.
My company quit paying our health insurance premiums to the carrier during the year. My wife was in the hospital for 3 days and we were told we were no longer covered due to premiums not being paid.
We received a bill for almost $50,000. Ultimately, the issue with the premiums was resolved and the insurance company paid about $12,000 and we paid $1500.
It's sad, but you can't afford to be without insurance.
Elizabeth Warren knows more about bankruptcy law than anyone in the US. She has pushed for not forcing people to declare bankruptcy for unpaid medical bills. Instead the Federal government would pay the debt. It's never gotten traction.
With insurance who has a contract with the hospital, with insurance not contracted with the hospital, Medicare Advantage vs Medicare Part A &B, self pay, etc…
I call it job security. The healthcare-industrial complex is a massive jobs program due to its fragmentation
More than that. They have different payments that they accept depending on your insurance company. Medicare allows significantly (and I mean seriously significantly) less than Anthem, who in turn may allow more than Aetna or Cigna, etc.
Sometimes, the price the provider charges is lower than the insurance allowance, but the member still needs to pay the insurance negotiated price for the procedure.
At least the insurance approved the procedure. It’s appalling that they can reject claims based on nothing at all! My dental insurance refused to pay for work done on my teeth after the dentist office got it approved and had the cost what we thought was covered. Some jerk came back and said we’re not going to cover this. Like practicing medicine without a license! But I am on teacher insurance. It’s the worst!
Dang. Good insurance USED to be a benefit of taking on the thankless yet critical task of teaching our children.
I had to wait for more damage to my knee before it was approved for replacement. I was using a walker by then
Were you an inpatient or outpatient?
I didn't even cry after waking up like I did when getting my wisdom teeth out, LOL. So definitely an outpatient :-).
If they offered you a lollipop 🍭 & you accepted it. it would have been at least another thousand!!
I was an outpatient for sure. Just in and out.
Good grief!! Simple procedure = paying through the nose! Sorry, couldn’t help myself!😆👃🏼
Moral of the story:
A society in which cheating has become the norm.
More even than that. This is Institutionalized Cheating. Daylight robbery.
And since it's the norm -- in America, nowhere else in the world, there's exceptionalism for you -- Americans are blind to it.
Blind and robbed blind.
*
Nose broken 3 times -- at 16, boxing, at 45 and 55, running into glass walls -- I had 2 ops in Belgium... First failed, still a problem with septum, second succeeded. Both times, inpatient. Cost to me: negligible.
Normal in Europe.
*
Moral of the Moral:
Dominance of the Unfittest.
A society governed by social Darwinism, "Survival of the fittest", is divisive, makes competition-for-its-own-sake the sole governing principle, totally ignoring the parallel reality of symbiosis, interdependence, every factor that connects and unites us.
UNITED, WE STAND. DIVIDED, WE FALL.
Yes, probably too many overpaid administrators. But, also many highly trained medical personnel and doctors.
As long as it is an out patient procedure, just stay home and have a plumber, or Roto Router, do the work next time! Will cost you less than $1000, maybe.
And too many overpaid insurance company CEOs. Any insurer who offers Medicare Advantage is in it for the money. Profit over patients: the American way.
Not to defend the cost, but I will defend the procedure as not being simple (had one). It involves not hitting the vagus nerve, which runs through the nose through the nervous system. One passes out easily just standing up, or from the pressure changes in an airplane descent.
My surgeon was excellent, but we both learned how disturbed my vagus nerve was by the procedure. Anyone in a hurry could change someone’s life.
Marlene, perhaps NOT "thank goodness you had insurance" because that lies at the heart of the absurd prices and inefficiencies of our corporate medical system. So much goes into the administration of that system with its preauthorizations, sometimes repeatedly throughout a course of treatment, appeals of decisions by non-MDs, advertising. They all end up feeding the profits of the corporations and not providing the healthcare for which we all pay way TOO MUCH!
I have an expensive, high-deductible plan through ACA marketplace. (eligible for Medicare soon! 🤸♀️) This year I was able to receive a subsidy that reduced my premium to level of several years ago. Thank you, President Biden and Inflation Reduction Act !
💙
Yesterday the Biden administration gave a heads up to corporations that own jets. They are going to audit the trips for personal use and tax the individuals as the benefits are income.
Clarence Thomas are you listening.
How about getting rid of the full first year depreciation of said jets cost? Down here in snowbird land the little airport is full of them.
Our home in Fernandina Beach was on the flight path for the airport. Every year during the car show, the Lear Jet Club would hold their annual meeting at the Ritz.
One of the years we lived there I counted the jets at the tiny airport there and there was 75.
I wonder how many of the owners wrote off the trip/meeting as a business expense.
It’s nuts here in Marathon. Sometimes 25-30, plus all the smaller craft. Key West is crazy too.
Of course, there’s also the helicopters making lunch trips from Miami. The restaurant across Route 1 has a helipad. Land, 8-10 for lunch, then off again. Us plebeians just stare lol.
Nice. I can't even imagine flying somewhere for lunch.
When we moved to Maine we are again close to the airport in Trenton, ME although it's called the Bar Harbor airport. In the summer the uber wealthy fly in and out of here umpteen times a day. Plus there are 5 commercial flights a day for the tourists. First one at 6 am. or at least that's when it flies over our house. :)
Please may this happen and soon.