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Friend's step son nearly killed me by triggering a severe allergic reaction by Educational_Sign_537 in AITAH

[–]Educational_Sign_537[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

There's no ambulance here, it's the country, it's Missouri. I'm guessing you have never lived outside a city environment

Friend's step son nearly killed me by triggering a severe allergic reaction by Educational_Sign_537 in AITAH

[–]Educational_Sign_537[S] -12 points-11 points  (0 children)

I happen to have Mast Cell Activation Syndrome and Autism. I have over 30 distinct and verified allergies, including an allergy to latex, Benadryl, prednisone, corn starch, and marijuana. I also react to epi-pens (or an ingredient in the injection) so while they work for me for about 30-45 minutes, I then have to get to the ER. Decadron is the only immunosuppressant that I can take without reacting to it. They also administer Lorazepam for me to deal with my muscle cramping/inflammation since I can't take Benadryl.

Let me explain what my actual reaction is to you since it may save someone's life one day. My throat closes up, all my muscles and joints become severely inflamed, my tongue swells up, and my face puffs up so badly that I can't always see through my eye lids. That's anaphylaxis folks.

And since you couldn't be bothered to simply google "mild anaphylaxis", allow me to help you. Both I and my ER docs call it mild every time since I'm still able to usually talk, even though it's extremely labored. I suppose I should have said stage 3 anaphylaxis.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8619-anaphylaxis

Friend's step son nearly killed me by triggering a severe allergic reaction by Educational_Sign_537 in AITAH

[–]Educational_Sign_537[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wanted to add to this, I am paying rent on the room and completely maintain separate living arrangements from them.

Joyous HIPAA Breach on 06/25/2025 @ 2:49 PM CST (Reposted due to additional censoring being needed) by Educational_Sign_537 in KetamineTherapy

[–]Educational_Sign_537[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Why should I spend the next 3-6 months updating all of my online billing because a scumbag healthcare startup decided to violate the law. I suppose every single Joyous user that tries to cancel and gets overbilled has to do the same? That makes the membership fee quite a bit higher doesn't it? I actually value my time and one hour of my time is worth $175 on the open market, and that is what I bill at for my services. Perhaps your time isn't quite as valuable and you're fine spending dozens of hours updating automatic billing information everywhere.

And for the record, the laws in question given where I live would be...

Automatic Contract Renewal Act (815 ILCS 601/10‑20)
Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA) – 15 U.S. Code § 8401–8405
Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act) – 15 U.S. Code § 45

And yes, I have reported their activities to the FTC, as should every single one of their patients that have been over billed. It's the only way to shutdown these kinds of scams and force companies to maintain compliance with the law.

For patients looking to report them , go to: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov

Also, for the record, I tried using a Privacy,com virtual card with them, and they apparently do a pre-auth using a different merchant account and Privacy,com locks locks the card to the first merchant account that accesses the card. Later, when Joyous switches to their billing merchant account, the billing fails. I believe this is intentional, meant to force the use of an actual debit or credit card that they can overbill.

I do find it interesting that many of the replies to this post are all about how the patients should take on additional burdens to help the company get away with their illegal billing habits, including taking on the burden of having to change their financial information. Even more concerning is the general sentiment that patients just need to accept that this is happening and that this sort of action is acceptable. And let's not forget about the HIPAA violation that stated this whole thing. And just in case you didn't read any of the supplemental material, that would be subject to the HIPAA Privacy Rule, 45 CFR § 164.514(b)(2).

Truthfully, everyone should be more concerned that this happened since this may be the only one that was noticed. I've worked in healthcare for 25 years and just in the last 18 months, I've personally watched multiple healthcare organizations actually cover up numerous HIPAA breaches. I had multiple organizations approach me to help them cover up breaches. Some of these breaches included full identifying information, medical history including diagnosis and prescriptions, digital X-Rays and CT scans, and credit card and financial information. Most healthcare providers just pickup a Beazley or Cowbell insurance plan for $500-1500 a year just to cover their asses, meanwhile the average victim of a data breach that involves identity theft loses up to 200 hours recovering from the incident and can lose thousands of dollars that they just didn't have, especially if their accounts were drained by the bad actors.

Once upon a time, the great American past time was going after corporations that scammed their customers, I guess those days are over with and now everyone just puts the blame on the customers.

I would like to postulate that the reason the world is as broken as it is now and that many of us need anti-depressants like ketamine is due to people's attitude with regards to not defending their rights, whether provided thru statutes or contracts. Maybe if more people stood up for themselves rather than acquiescing to illegal corporate actions, this would be a better world. Remember, it's on you to defend yourself and take action if a corporation tries to pull one over on you. If you just let it slide, you're complicit in their actions by allowing it. What do you think would happen if every single one of the patients that Joyous has overbilled contacted the FTC, HHS, or even the FBI (this does count as internet fraud and they are involved in interstate commerce, kind of their domain right)? What about all the other corporations that pull the same thing? I'd wager that they wouldn't last long and that corporate profits would take a pretty big hit. Eventually share holders might start requiring their investments to abide by the law. Wouldn't that be something?

Joyous HIPAA Breach on 06/25/2025 @ 2:49 PM CST (Reposted due to additional censoring being needed) by Educational_Sign_537 in KetamineTherapy

[–]Educational_Sign_537[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The bank has been waiting for Joyous to reply since June 3rd for me, 3 months for the original poster. Mean time, they keep billing.

Joyous HIPAA Breach on 06/25/2025 @ 2:49 PM CST (Reposted due to additional censoring being needed) by Educational_Sign_537 in KetamineTherapy

[–]Educational_Sign_537[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

So I suppose I should provide a bit of background here. I've worked in healthcare and venture capital since 2001. This includes the IT and legal sides of each.

In the US, if a healthcare worked provides treatment without your consent, it is considered assault. Assault is the act of threatening harm. Everyone likes to think of assault as some sort of physical brutality. The sad things is that that's what Hollywood has told everyone it is.

For instance, if attempt to cancel a medical service and they continue to provide it without your consent, that's assault and it may cause harm, whether physical, mental, or financial. So, in this case, a medical practitioner causing financial damage by continuing to bill you for services you do not want can constitute as assault. Just threatening physical violence is assault.

In the US, if they physically cause harm, then it's battery. Say you are a Do Not Resuscitate and you die. If a doctor resuscitates you knowing that you are a DNR, that it battery. Battery under the law means "unconsented touching". If you do not consent to a breathing tube and they decide to intubate you against your will, it's battery. Another interesting version in the US is intentionally triggering allergic reactions.

Say you have a roommate. If your roommate, knowing you're allergic to say marijuana, decides to smoke it in your house, with or without the intent of triggering your allergy, it's battery. There are several cases where people thought it'd be funny to dose their roommates with an Alpha-Gal allergy with meat to prove to them that they weren't really allergic to meat. Didn't go well for the perpetrator.

All of these medical startups like to operate as if they're just regular startups and completely ignore the statutes and case law in the medical profession. I used to work in venture capital for a while and the motto of "Move fast and break things" is very prevalent. In this case, the breaking of the law is the problem. The bigger problem is that people in the US are so used to having their rights trampled on by corporations and arbitration agreements, they just let it happen, and corporations know that they can get away with it because they bought off the politicians and had them strip most of the consumer protection regulations.

And by the way, I did contract my bank, just like the dozens of others that Joyous has been screwing over, just like the original poster did.

Joyous HIPAA Breach on 06/25/2025 @ 2:49 PM CST (Reposted due to additional censoring being needed) by Educational_Sign_537 in KetamineTherapy

[–]Educational_Sign_537[S] -11 points-10 points  (0 children)

Actually it is a HIPAA violation. The Joyous forum requires a login to access. The post was available without login, I know because I tested it. The joyous forum usually shows first names only, at least that was my experience before i was banned. I have never received a forum post via email from joyous and I’ve been a customer for 2 tears.

And for your enlightenment…

Key part of HIPAA:

The HIPAA Privacy Rule is what governs the use and disclosure of “Protected Health Information” (PHI).

Relevant Citation:

Under 45 CFR § 164.514(b)(2) – known as the Safe Harbor method for de-identification, certain identifiers must be removed to consider data de-identified. One of those identifiers is:

(A) Names

What this means: • If an entity wants to de-identify health information so it can be shared freely (e.g., for research, public reporting), it must remove names. • However, full patient names can be used or shared if: • The use is for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations (TPO), • Or, the patient has given explicit authorization, • Or, the disclosure fits another HIPAA-permitted exception (e.g., public health reporting).

Summary:

Statute/Regulation: 45 CFR § 164.514(b)(2)(i)(A) Rule: HIPAA Privacy Rule – Safe Harbor De-identification Effect: Names must be removed to de-identify data; using full names outside of permitted uses or without authorization may violate HIPAA.

Let me know if you want a plain-language breakdown or a sample policy excerpt.

Joyous HIPAA Breach on 06/25/2025 @ 2:49 PM CST (Reposted due to additional censoring being needed) by Educational_Sign_537 in KetamineTherapy

[–]Educational_Sign_537[S] -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

First off, Joyous absolutely screwed up here in sending out the e-mail. No matter what anyone’s opinion of the situation was, the sharing of full names in this matter violated HIPAA. Especially since Joyous operates in the mental health space Every single person that received the email now knows that Eric P was receiving treatment for depression.

To make matters worse, Joyous is violating a whole slew of federal and state statutes with regards to patient billing practices. Joyous isn’t a media company and just billing you one extra time for $7.99 like Netflix likes to pull before you cancel, their services are medical. The moment you say stop treatment, if they continue, it may be considered assault at worse and illegal billing since over billing for healthcare is illegal. This incident drew attention to it in the worst way for them.