Spring Banter

[DavisStraight]

Their goalie is vulnerable if they can get some shots on goal.

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

Anyone here use a health savings account? (HSA).

It’s open enrollment for my work right now and I’m thinking of changing plans. I’m on a PPO right now and the costs are outrageous. 
 

The plan I’m looking at is a saver PPO. The per pay period cost is 1/3 of my current plan. The deductible is a lot higher.... but the place I work contributes money to the hsa as well as what you contribute. After the yearly deductible is met, co pays are also less. 
 

baaically, the cost of the plan per pay period... plus the $4000 deductible is cheaper than what I’m paying for the year right now.

Just wondering if their is any hidden tricks that wouldn’t make it worth it 

[PhineasC]

It's crazy how many TV commercials suddenly started up showing people "getting back to normal" and hitting bars and clubs with no masks on. Every time I watch TV now I am struck by how strong and consistent the messaging is. 

[DavisStraight]

Just now, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Anyone here use a health savings account? (HSA).

It’s open enrollment for my work right now and I’m thinking of changing plans. I’m on a PPO right now and the costs are outrageous. 
 

The plan I’m looking at is a saver PPO. The per pay period cost is 1/3 of my current plan. The deductible is a lot higher.... but the place I work contributes money to the hsa as well as what you contribute. After the yearly deductible is met, co pays are also less. 
 

baaically, the cost of the plan per pay period... plus the $4000 deductible is cheaper than what I’m paying for the year right now.

Just wondering if their is any hidden tricks that wouldn’t make it worth it 

I think my wife does, she carries insurance for me since I'm self employed, I can ask her when she has some time.

[UMB WX]

1 minute ago, PhineasC said:

It's crazy how many TV commercials suddenly started up showing people "getting back to normal" and hitting bars and clubs with no masks on. Every time I watch TV now I am struck by how strong and consistent the messaging is. Very propagandistic. Definitely feels coordinated to me.

 

[WhitinsvilleWX]

28 minutes ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Anyone here use a health savings account? (HSA).

It’s open enrollment for my work right now and I’m thinking of changing plans. I’m on a PPO right now and the costs are outrageous. 
 

The plan I’m looking at is a saver PPO. The per pay period cost is 1/3 of my current plan. The deductible is a lot higher.... but the place I work contributes money to the hsa as well as what you contribute. After the yearly deductible is met, co pays are also less. 
 

baaically, the cost of the plan per pay period... plus the $4000 deductible is cheaper than what I’m paying for the year right now.

Just wondering if their is any hidden tricks that wouldn’t make it worth it 

I have one. The premium is about a third, like you said. I’m on a family plan and the deductible is $3500. So it’s $3500 out of my pocket  until any insurance kicks in. The company gives me $2800 cash to help with the deductible deposited in the HSA. So it works out to be only $700 out of my pocket. Even at that, it’s still much cheaper than the premium for the straight PPO. 
The only catch is my company pays the HSA account every 2 weeks throughout the year. So their part gets stretched out across 12 months. If you have a big medical bill early in the year, you’ll need to have enough to pay it up front (up to the total deductible) since you probably won’t have enough in the HSA account to pay the bill until later in the year.  But once the deductible is met, it’s generally 90/10 until you hit the max total out of pocket. I think mine is $4800. Then the  insurance kicks in 100%.

I ran into that with the kidney stone last April. The ER bill was $14,000. I had to come up with around $2000 to make up the difference because my HSA didn’t have enough. But I ran the $2000 through the HSA and deducted it from my taxes.

[weatherwiz]

37 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

It's crazy how many TV commercials suddenly started up showing people "getting back to normal" and hitting bars and clubs with no masks on. Every time I watch TV now I am struck by how strong and consistent the messaging is. 

I get drunk just from watching them

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

13 minutes ago, WhitinsvilleWX said:

I have one. The premium is about a third, like you said. I’m on a family plan and the deductible is $3500. So it’s $3500 out of my pocket  until any insurance kicks in. The company gives me $2800 cash to help with the deductible deposited in the HSA. So it works out to be only $700 out of my pocket. Even at that, it’s still much cheaper than the premium for the straight PPO. 
The only catch is my company pays the HSA account every 2 weeks throughout the year. So their part gets stretched out across 12 months. If you have a big medical bill early in the year, you’ll need to have enough to pay it up front (up to the total deductible) since you probably won’t have enough in the HSA account to pay the bill until later in the year.  But once the deductible is met, it’s generally 90/10 until you hit the max total out of pocket. I think mine is $4800. Then the  insurance kicks in 100%.

I ran into that with the kidney stone last April. The ER bill was $14,000. I had to come up with around $2000 to make up the difference because my HSA didn’t have enough. But I ran the $2000 through the HSA and deducted it from my taxes.

Thanks. Yeah for my wife and I the deductible will be $4k and the company contributes 1k through the same way you described... every pay period through the year.

Looks like it’s just copays once the deductible is met. I don’t think I’d come close to reaching the out of pocket maximum, which is like 13 grand.  It would take a lot of co pays to make up another 9 thousand lol.

I guess even if you get whacked early on in the year, you’re still paying less in the long run.

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

When I look at my claims, it’s broken down as follows:

Amount charged by healthcare provider: $270

Amount allowed by blue cross: $114

 

What would my cost be if I switched to the saver PPO with the HSA. Would I be paying the 270 or 114 towards meeting my 4K deductible?

[Typhoon Tip]

Only 25K new cases in the whole country today. Curve is cratering. 

Monday’s typically a light day though. Hangover passive counts from the weekend ... Thursday’s are bad. We’ll see.

I wonder if all these monitoring websites ‘ill stay active when this thing settles into the background of always 800someodd a day. I mean it’s never going to be 0. No way. It may even devolve into a cold-like illness. Spanish Flu did that ... became InfA and B ... etc which aren’t as deadly as the progenitor from way back in the day

 

 

[HIPPYVALLEY]

Is the world economy really running low on everything or do we need to curb our consumerism and "throw away" mentality?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/world-economy-suddenly-running-low-040118644.html

[BrianW]

11 hours ago, HoarfrostHubb said:

Cannibis infused seltzers?  That’s a thing?

I just picked up some of these packets of liquid thc last weekend in Massachusetts. You just pour them into any drink like a seltzer. Edibles can take an hour or 2 to hit you but these take 5 mins. Its a great zero calorie beer alternative.

 

[SJonesWX]

11 hours ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Thanks. Yeah for my wife and I the deductible will be $4k and the company contributes 1k through the same way you described... every pay period through the year.

Looks like it’s just copays once the deductible is met. I don’t think I’d come close to reaching the out of pocket maximum, which is like 13 grand.  It would take a lot of co pays to make up another 9 thousand lol.

I guess even if you get whacked early on in the year, you’re still paying less in the long run.

there are a couple nice things about HSA's: you can carrry over funds from year to year (FSAs are use it or lose it). your contribution is pre-tax, and it can live forever if you want it to, even if you leave your current employer. I know you are young and healthy, but if you consistently put money towards it (like a 401k), you will have a nice little health care nest egg set up for when you really need it.

[DavisStraight]

1 hour ago, BrianW said:

I just picked up some of these packets of liquid thc last weekend in Massachusetts. You just pour them into any drink like a seltzer. Edibles can take an hour or 2 to hit you but these take 5 mins. Its a great zero calorie beer alternative.

 

A few companies are coming out with cannabis infused seltzers, like this company

 

Cannabis-infused seltzers from LEVIA launching in Massachusetts with indica, sativa and hybrid blends - masslive.com

[tamarack]

16 hours ago, Whineminster said:

Sounds like we need a good, reliable, and trustworthy state-run news media channel to get the facts straight without the hype. 

And call it "Truth" like the Russians do?

[tamarack]

13 hours ago, WhitinsvilleWX said:

Honestly never thought about it before and I’m not likely to in the future. 
 But then again I was raised on a farm. I used to cut bull calves with a pocket knife bare handed, washed my hands in a cow water trough and then made a baloney sandwich on the tail gate of the truck using my finger to spread the mustard on the Wonder. Farm kids are immune to most shit. I’ve eaten enough dirt on a dusty tractor to fill a deuce and a half dump truck.

That all sounds great except for the (I) Wonder (if it's) Bread.  Though I grew up mostly on similar puffy white bread before my taste buds matured.  No farmer here, but scrapes and cuts by the dozen, drinking lake water, finding (and being found by) yellowjackets, catching snapping turtles plus indifferent washing prior to reaching my 20s - probably exposed often to most of the available germs and allergens. 

[UMB WX]

41 minutes ago, tamarack said:

And call it "Truth" like the Russians do?

Fox news has the Market covered.

 

[BrianW]

1 hour ago, DavisStraight said:

A few companies are coming out with cannabis infused seltzers, like this company

 

Cannabis-infused seltzers from LEVIA launching in Massachusetts with indica, sativa and hybrid blends - masslive.com

The thc liquid used in these products has rapid bioavailabilty.  It hits you within minutes as opposed to hours with edibles. Over 75% or the THC is absorbed within minutes. Regular edibles take an hour or two and the bioavailability is low. 

I made a few drinks this weekend and it was amazing. Hits you just as quick as and IPA with way less harm to the body and zero hangover. 

[OSUmetstud]

20 hours ago, WhitinsvilleWX said:

That's the issue in my mind.

And..it was "follow the science" when it suited a particular agenda.

Most MDs and PhD's that I know new exactly what the CDC is saying now. But the corporate media get their news from blue check twitter doctors.

Whether people realize it or nor, we've had a huge experiment with nice controls. Florida and Texas were the control and the null hypothesis turned out to be true. p>0.05.

To me, the number one, overriding thing that cause the mass hysteria, masking, closures, lockdowns and the overall mayhem was the idea of total asymptomatic spread. Was BS then, is BS now. The idea that 40-50% of all cases were being spread by people running around the population totally healthy that didn't know they had it was ludicrous. And any scientist/medical doctor who went along with that notion was/is a dishonest fool. 

My biggest regret in all this, beyond keeping business shuttered, beyond the kids on Zoom for a year, was the nursing home carnage. That was a travesty of the highest order. That didn't need to happen on the scale that it did.

half the spread is in presymptomatic individuals you fool. Study after study show the serial interval be the same as the incubation period. There wouldn't be a pandemic if there was only spread in symptomatic individuals. It would be like SARS or ebola. This is the latest guidance on it from the CDC. 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/planning-scenarios.html

 

** The lower bound of this parameter is approximated from the lower 95% confidence interval bound from: He X, Lau EH, Wu P, et al. Temporal dynamics in viral shedding and transmissibility of COVID-19. Nature Med. 2020;26(5):672–675. The upper bound of this parameter is approximated from the higher estimates of individual studies included in: Casey M, Griffin J, McAloon CG, et al. (2020). Estimating presymptomatic transmission of COVID-19: A secondary analysis using published data. medRxiv. The best estimate is the geometric mean of the point estimates from these two studies and aligns with estimates from:

• Moghadas SM, Fitzpatrick MC, Sah P, et al. The implications of silent transmission for the control of COVID-19 outbreaks. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2020;117(30):17513–17515.
• Johansson MA, Quandelacy TM, Kada S, et al. 2021. SARS-CoV-2 transmission from people without COVID-19 symptoms. JAMA Network Open 2021;4(1):e2035057-e2035057.

[WhitinsvilleWX]

11 hours ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

 

When I look at my claims, it’s broken down as follows:

Amount charged by healthcare provider: $270

Amount allowed by blue cross: $114

 

What would my cost be if I switched to the saver PPO with the HSA. Would I be paying the 270 or 114 towards meeting my 4K deductible?

You'd pay the 114, which is the negotiated price.

[WhitinsvilleWX]

12 minutes ago, OSUmetstud said:

half the spread is in presymptomatic individuals you fool. Study after study show the serial interval be the same as the incubation period. There wouldn't be a pandemic if there was only spread in symptomatic individuals. It would be like SARS or ebola. This is the latest guidance on it from the CDC. 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/planning-scenarios.html

 

** The lower bound of this parameter is approximated from the lower 95% confidence interval bound from: He X, Lau EH, Wu P, et al. Temporal dynamics in viral shedding and transmissibility of COVID-19. Nature Med. 2020;26(5):672–675. The upper bound of this parameter is approximated from the higher estimates of individual studies included in: Casey M, Griffin J, McAloon CG, et al. (2020). Estimating presymptomatic transmission of COVID-19: A secondary analysis using published data. medRxiv. The best estimate is the geometric mean of the point estimates from these two studies and aligns with estimates from:

• Moghadas SM, Fitzpatrick MC, Sah P, et al. The implications of silent transmission for the control of COVID-19 outbreaks. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2020;117(30):17513–17515.
• Johansson MA, Quandelacy TM, Kada S, et al. 2021. SARS-CoV-2 transmission from people without COVID-19 symptoms. JAMA Network Open 2021;4(1):e2035057-e2035057.

My point was TOTAL asymptomatic spread, not presymtomatic. The idea that people were completely asymptomatic throughout the entire course of the disease is what predicated all this mess. We were told that again and again. When you get a med degree, a PhD, and have 30 years experience as a scientist, and know how to read literature, come talk to me. I'm not in the habit of getting my scientific information and analysis from a  meteorologist.  I'm not going to argue with you. Your're not worth my time and energy. You're good at name calling too. Not the first time you've done it. I told you once to stop engaging me.  Now, GFY.

 

[OSUmetstud]

Just now, WhitinsvilleWX said:

My point was TOTAL asymptomatic spread, not presymtomatic. The idea that people were completely asymptomatic throughout the entire course of the disease is what predicated all this mess. We were told that again and again. When you get a med degree, a PhD, and have 30 years experience as a scientist, and know how to read literature, come talk to me. I'm not in the habit of getting my scientific information and analysis from a  meteorologist.  I'm not going to argue with you. Your're not worth my time and energy. You're good at name calling too. Not the first time you've done it. Now, GFY.

 

Dude, it has no bearing. No one knows whether their presymptomatic or asymptomatic at any given moment. Hence, asymptomatic people are spreading the freaking disease. 

[WhitinsvilleWX]

11 hours ago, Typhoon Tip said:

 

I wonder if all these monitoring websites ‘ill stay active when this thing settles into the background of always 800someodd a day. I mean it’s never going to be 0. No way. It may even devolve into a cold-like illness. Spanish Flu did that ... became InfA and B ... etc which aren’t as deadly as the progenitor from way back in the day

 

 

The routine testing of healthy people needs to end. 

[WhitinsvilleWX]

3 minutes ago, OSUmetstud said:

Dude, it has no bearing. No one knows whether their presymptomatic or asymptomatic at any given moment. Hence, asymptomatic people are spreading the freaking disease. 

I thought I had you blocked. For some reason it let you through. you're blocked again. Have a good day.

[Jonger]

1 minute ago, WhitinsvilleWX said:

The routine testing of healthy people needs to end. 

 I wonder what percentage of people make up the largest percentage of those being tested. Like hypochondriacs.

[UMB WX]

Just now, WhitinsvilleWX said:

I thought I had you blocked. For some reason it let you through. you're blocked again. Have a good day.

I still laugh at  the night you blocked, phin.   

[Brian5671]

4 minutes ago, WhitinsvilleWX said:

The routine testing of healthy people needs to end. 

I wonder how long many of these testing sites will last.   CT is down to a couple hundred cases per day and falling....I'd guess you can always get a test at your dr's office....

[FPizz]

Just now, Brian5671 said:

I wonder how long many of these testing sites will last.   CT is down to a couple hundred cases per day and falling....I'd guess you can always get a test at your dr's office....

You can get them at pharmacies too.  There is a site down the road from me and now only see 5 or 6 cars there, and those are all most likely the workers.  

[OSUmetstud]

1 minute ago, Brian5671 said:

I wonder how long many of these testing sites will last.   CT is down to a couple hundred cases per day and falling....I'd guess you can always get a test at your dr's office....

I think we want most of them to shut down at some point, right? lol. 

[PhineasC]

24 minutes ago, OSUmetstud said:

half the spread is in presymptomatic individuals you fool. Study after study show the serial interval be the same as the incubation period. There wouldn't be a pandemic if there was only spread in symptomatic individuals. It would be like SARS or ebola. This is the latest guidance on it from the CDC. 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/planning-scenarios.html

 

** The lower bound of this parameter is approximated from the lower 95% confidence interval bound from: He X, Lau EH, Wu P, et al. Temporal dynamics in viral shedding and transmissibility of COVID-19. Nature Med. 2020;26(5):672–675. The upper bound of this parameter is approximated from the higher estimates of individual studies included in: Casey M, Griffin J, McAloon CG, et al. (2020). Estimating presymptomatic transmission of COVID-19: A secondary analysis using published data. medRxiv. The best estimate is the geometric mean of the point estimates from these two studies and aligns with estimates from:

• Moghadas SM, Fitzpatrick MC, Sah P, et al. The implications of silent transmission for the control of COVID-19 outbreaks. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2020;117(30):17513–17515.
• Johansson MA, Quandelacy TM, Kada S, et al. 2021. SARS-CoV-2 transmission from people without COVID-19 symptoms. JAMA Network Open 2021;4(1):e2035057-e2035057.

Is it weird being right over the border and still locked down tight whereas America is opened back up and partying?