There’s nothing like the frustration of going to the doctor and thinking they are being paid for what they are worth … but then getting a follow up “Explanation of Benefits” (EOB) from your insurance company letting you know how much they were billed and how much YOU now owe. ☹️
Last month I finally went to see “the specialist” (higher copay than PCP) who had me walk into the room next to his examination room for an X-Ray (more on this at the bottom). No problem and as expected. I thought to myself that “I like it when a doctor has the equipment right in his office” and my Medicare Advantage insurer has a better negotiated rate for in-office and out-patient X-Rays. Of course … none of this is really known by the patient or is even something we sleuth ahead of time — I merely check to be sure the doctor is in-network.
Anyway I was efficiently seen by a competent foot specialist who glanced at the image said as if he was reading from a script, “stay off the foot and wear a boot.” I asked if I could just wear a “hiking boot or something” … since I knew the specialty boot wouldn’t be cheap … but the answer was no. So I was sent home with a medical boot (bill by another company) and was told to wear for a month and see him again (follow up appointment and another co-pay and I’m sure bill).
A few weeks later the bills begin to show up from the insurance company (EOB) … FOUR separate charges to be precise … and each had the “full price charge” and then the “negotiated price” for in-network negotiated rate (all unknown unlike traditional Medicare according to AI). The full price is eyeopening and perhaps seeing the lower negotiated rate is supposed to make you feel better … it did not especially after seeing the Medicare rates (see below).
It is not as if I haven’t been watching … and whining about … inflation and what the US dollar buys these days, but until seeing comparisons that pit the US dollar against the average American’s family budget … it is harder to comprehend. Still we all know what we buy and how much everything costs … be it food, housing, autos, etc.
But one chart that was shared online last week didn’t have to do with what we all buy each week, but reflect just how the value of a “dollar” has fallen in recent years compared to gold(a long time store of value — and likely a mistake in parting with miscellaneous junk back in 2010). A LOT has to do with the US Federal debt and deficit considering we are now $37+ TRILLION dollars in debt to those who hold our debt and eventually expect to be paid back with interest. If we can’t find buyers of our debt … print more money and offer buyers of our debt more interest. Yikes … I suspect we can see where this is heading.
But… let’s say we get a handle on our Federal budget … and start using tariff income or increased tax revenue to pay down the TRILLIONs we’re in debt (highly unlikely) … that means less money for government and all the pork Congress hands out. More likely, we’ll end up taking on even more debt and further devalue the US dollar. Congress and our Fed will “try”to maintain the status quo and if we are lucky, tighten the nation’s belt. No doubt they will pinch citizens harder and cut back on those expecting support from government. I’m just not sure how much the retiring generation or how more the next generation will take before revolting?
I’m all eyes and ears looking for a brighter scenario … but don’t see it at the moment?
This is not really new, but my ongoing battle with bots and blog bloat … especially the logs. Some of it is due to my aging WordPress theme … but most of it is due to the constant hammering of the server by bots from around the world. One option that I’ve been experimenting with is using Cloudflare to prevent them from even getting to the server and “bothering” PHP and WordPress plugins such as “Blackhole for Bad Bots” and “Wordfence.”
BUT for the time being, I’m just complaining and clearing logs … scripting to clear logs … and dealing with the slowdowns as they occur. When it comes to me playing around with computers (and forgetting more than I learn), I prefer to do my risky tinkering with the Raspberry Pis that I’ve recently put back online — one running an image server at Brenich.com and the other experimenting a little more with Static serving with Hugo. Small hurdles for me. 😉
Edit Add: Bid on and won an unboxed Raspberry Pi 4 – 8GB to replace one of my old Pi3s. Maybe I’ll tinker with it when the weather turns cold?
For today’s Throwback Thursday#TBT post, I’m adding a couple saved photos for a filler since I used a couple of these on social media thread (credits unknown). ☹️
The two “beautiful” photos appeal to me and work well this shortened holiday week AND keeps the Volkswagen category alive. I do miss the original VW Beetle and my TDI days.
It has become an enjoyable habit – posting family photos from the previous weekend.
This past Labor Day, Megan, Taylor and their dog Gigi were over for the afternoon … and perhaps the last of the pool days (it has been cool for August and early September). We did the quintessential American hot dogs and hamburgers … and the not quite as typical, “grilled shrimp” – Megan is mostly a pescetarian(yes, I had to look that up).
But… after looking at the 2024 post “May you have peace in your heart. Read Proverbs.”(above) popped up on the “Year(s) ago on this day” right hand column, I wondered if AI could create an oil painting that emulated my grandmother’s art?
In keeping with the current summer of 1970’s music, I’ll add another one for this week’s Music Monday … as the summer semi-officially ends (Labor Day, right)???
This one definitely returns me to the ONU dorms and listening to music while studying in college (cough). I suspect most from my generation experience the same flashback when they hearKansas and “Dust In The Wind.” It was one of those iconic songs coming out of what was debatably one of the best decades of music.
The song peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of April 22, 1978, making it Kansas’s only single to reach the top ten in the US. The 45-rpm single was certified Gold for sales of one million units by the RIAA shortly after the height of its popularity as a hit single. The song was certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA on November 26, 2019, which makes it the second song by the band to reach platinum after “Carry on Wayward Son” — a song that will soon make it’s way to Music Monday!
I’m feeling a little rusty but will attempt to revitalized this zippy static server now that I was able to use Cloudflare to handle the DNS and tunnel to my RPi3. So far, so good.
the image said as if he was reading from a script, “stay off the foot and wear a boot.” I asked if I could just wear a “hiking boot or something” … since I knew the specialty boot wouldn’t be cheap … but the answer was no. So I was sent home with a medical boot (bill by another company) and was told to wear for a month and see him again (follow up appointment and another co-pay and I’m sure bill). 
