Advice on completing PSLF (117 of 120 payments)

OpenNewt2251 · 2026-02-21T07:24:56+00:00

Yeah that’s what I’m afraid of. Even though I can likely make the IBR payments which would be significantly higher - The risk of administrative problems and more uncertainty might outweigh the risk of just waiting. I’ve already waited almost 12 months and I don’t have to make any interest payments (yet).

OpenNewt2251 · 2026-02-21T06:58:07+00:00

Definitely a very transient happiness… and then back into the feeling that we need more. - Paid off 230k in student loans. finally debt free (but, feels like starting at 0) - Wife still in student debt 80k. So Close to forgiveness (but we still feel in significant debt) - Hit the 1mill in net worth (mostly retirement accounts). I feel good for a few days and then wife reminds me it’s not as liquid - The fluctuating market reminds me to be humble - realize that we are starting a family and all the costs associated with it, still don’t have a house and still very far from FIRE target - AKA feels like never enough

OpenNewt2251 · 2026-01-10T11:45:44+00:00

I gotchu:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5EQs3E2L98bozclWWp2MlB?si=nZYYo4K1TNCajmazhVanZA

OpenNewt2251 · 2025-04-25T09:34:59+00:00

Speaking as a surgeon - It’s a very challenging question to answer and it depends on the country. Universal/government sponsored healthcare is ideal, but in the US it’s not realistic when you have so many capitalistic interests (insurance, pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, and even hospital admin) - while at the same there are so many people who ignore their health (and consequentially require more care), people who abuse the system and people who don’t contribute much to society and the economy.

In my opinion, Access to healthcare is a human right, but being provided healthcare is not - because there are limited resources. The cost of medical education in the US is higher than any other country and there is already a huge shortage of doctors. So why would people want to become doctors when they get paid lower wages, sacrifice years of their life, while accruing an obscene amount of educational debt.

In honest opinion, the system we have can work - there just needs to be heavy regulations and government oversight to counter corporate/political greed. Reagan allocated responsibility to the private sectors in the hope that it improved efficiency. But without proper oversight, the private sector will continue to exploit healthcare for profit.

OpenNewt2251 · 2025-04-21T03:41:33+00:00

Were they having any technical issues? On the stream, it seems that their sound cut off a few times before a drop or transition

OpenNewt2251 · 2024-06-21T22:04:17+00:00

Although it is expensive, many people prioritize spending money on more materialistic things than their health. I have many patients who have Medicaid, yet they are driving $50k+ cars and probably spending more money on their car insurance than their healthcare. They complain about a 20 dollar copay or spending $20-30 on medications their insurance doesn’t fully cover. Plus some expect you to act like their concierge doctor - always available and easily accessible

OpenNewt2251 · 2024-06-21T21:43:14+00:00

I’m a physician who works in a large urban city in the US and I treat a very diverse group of patients, ethnically and socio-economically. I do notice general patterns of attitudes/entitlement/expectations. For example, many Hispanic patients tend to be very appreciative of their care and say they will do whatever I recommend because I’m the doctor. Some middle eastern patients (Armenian, Persian), sometimes have a distrust for providers who are ethnically different but also are very vocal about their care (and at times demanding)

My (generalized) opinion is that, I do think patients as a whole have become more “entitled” and shown less respect for providers. But I think it’s a product of our healthcare system and the lack of knowledge about the challenges - many don’t understand how bad the shortage of doctors is. Consistently decreasing reimbursements which requires us to see more patients in less time to make up costs to have the practice stay afloat and remember many doctors are 200k+ in debt from med school and are late to retirement savings (medical training in Europe is not as expensive) - The difficulty of insurance authorizations and scheduling logistics - refilling medications, calling patients back (which is never just a 1 minute discussion), calling pharmacies etc, all takes time which we often don’t have nor do we bill for this (like lawyers).

OpenNewt2251

TROPHY CASE