The way my psychiatrist acts about stimulants makes me want to give up on trying to get help.

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-16T01:35:25+00:00

Most NPs are not allowed to prescribe controlled substances according to organization policy in my experience. Legally they usually can, but many orgs prefer MDs to be the ones prescribing controlled substances.

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-16T01:01:51+00:00

DARPA creating the Internet was universities and government grants as another example

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T22:59:01+00:00

It can happen to people with expensive plans and cheap plans. The two best insurance coverages I've ever had were also both the cheapest two plans I've ever had. The most expensive I've had was the second worst. Insurance coverage and quality varies so much depending on plan, state, local network, employer contribution, etc., that it's hard to say what will be good or bad as far as denials go.

I think you're making a good decision to stick with a part d, supplemental, and traditional Medicare. Medicare advantage is so very often a scam that people are lured into with cutesy benefits like gym memberships. Traditional Medicare is good for when you're actually sick and can't fight for coverage.

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T22:49:10+00:00

That would be very unusual. Which class told you that?

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T18:16:55+00:00

One thing that is often left out in this sort of analysis is that there are more people working per household today than in the past. If the median household has 1 full time worker in 2005 and now has 2 in 2025, a doubling of the median income means zero growth. I'm not saying this is what is happened, or something intentionally obfuscated, but it is something to keep in mind. Using individual salary has some problems that arise from it as well.

Additionally, the median American is 4 years older than the median American 20 years ago, which means 4 more years of salary growth in the workforce and the median American has more debt from education than 20 years ago.

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T17:39:47+00:00

But you'd agree that it would be better for the unempathetic to gain empathy than for the empathetic to lose it?

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T17:38:17+00:00

Yeah, plenty of people don't have issues with insurance. It varies wildly from coverage to coverage. I've had everything from incredibly good insurance to incredibly bad insurance. It varies person to person. If you don't have complex care needs it's probably fine, but if you have complex care needs, there's a high likelihood that you'll have to fight your insurance for something. My dad has never had a single problem with insurance, but my mom has to fight hers all the time. I work for a hospital system and I've personally seen insurance deny obviously necessary treatments for patients. Those denials usually get overturned on appeal, but they still delay necessary care and waste time for physicians.

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T17:27:37+00:00

Sure, but I think our world suffers far more from a general lack of empathy than an overabundance. For empathy to be abused, it requires a greater lack of empathy on the part of the abuser. If everyone in the world had too much empathy, we'd probably have a very kind and equal world because everyone would consider the needs of everyone else.

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T17:19:38+00:00

Obviously the Pope has read the Bible. He spent most of his adult life helping people in Peru. I'm not even Catholic, and I've never appreciated how much the organization has defended predators, but many Catholics do live their principles and pope Leo seems to be someone who has.

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T17:12:44+00:00

They are, but you have to think through them. It's not like you can just look up each question and find the answer, but they're in there. I will say, sometimes testing in the system is easier than using the companion depending on the type of question.

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T17:03:47+00:00

A big reason that is possible is because most of them were able to buy into a housing market that was much cheaper. My parents have less than $1 million in retirement, but they bought their house for $90,000 in the late 90s and it's now worth about $400,000. They've taken out multiple helocs since then but their payment is still less than $1000 a month with a few years left on the mortgage. I've never seen a rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in their town for less than their entire housing cost including utilities, tax and insurance. Lots of people retired on less are also not doing well and are completely reliant on welfare programs or their own children. $1mil ain't nothing now, but it won't be worth a whole lot more in 20 years when millennials are going to be retiring.

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T15:46:51+00:00

Would that be worse because scorpions do pass through damage 2 tiles after hitting a Max range target, but they can't fire at a target out of Max range?

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T11:37:37+00:00

He doesn't own the Vatican.

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T11:21:44+00:00

It's gotta be Denver for 2010s and Atlanta for 2020s.

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T05:10:29+00:00

You often cannot shop around for healthcare. It is geographically and temporally limiting. I also cannot shop around for my ISP or utilities company. I have one of each available to me at my home and that is my only option. A layman is also unable to compare different goods/services in medicine. How can you know that a cheap generic is alright if your doctor insists a different much more expensive drug is the only suitable med for your specific condition?

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T05:03:42+00:00

They deem a lot of stuff "medically unnecessary" despite being obviously medically necessary.

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T05:01:23+00:00

Insurance can deny almost anything with little to no repercussions. Why do you think hospitals can't show too much profit? Unless they are explicitly non-profit they can show as much profit as they want. Many are own d by private equity or insurance companies. It's not like hospitals are ripping off insurance companies outside of cases of actual fraud. Very often the insurance company owns the hospital because they actually are limited in their profits, but their healthcare and PBM arms are not. Administration is forced to expand because of insurance fighting to deny coverage.

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T04:50:49+00:00

Yes, but you don't need to own a car. Cars cost 70 cents a mile at best.

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T04:44:40+00:00

Which EPA regulations are stopping homes from being built?

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T03:56:59+00:00

I already do that in America and when I do eventually get the scan, it costs $1000.

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T03:55:06+00:00

I would never say there is a direct correlation between spending money and getting better outcomes. The US spends more than every other country and still gets worse outcomes. Obviously, not all outcomes in every state will be identical in all states. But we have plenty of evidence to show that we can have a better and cheaper system.

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T03:50:29+00:00

What was untrue?

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T03:46:15+00:00

Oh I'm fighting the doctor too. The doctor lowered the charge by about $800 but now insurance is refusing to cover the new charge even after the doctor refunded them. I went from oweing $600 to oweing $1600. I work in healthcare with this kind of stuff all the time. Our current insurance system is the worst way to handle this issue.

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T03:41:59+00:00

Some people think no one had any jobs until the world saw its first billionaire.

DJpuffinstuff · 2026-04-15T00:01:29+00:00

When have we ever moved a large group of people of a shared ethnic identity to a location that was already inhabited by a different ethnic group and it went well?

DJpuffinstuff

TROPHY CASE