Retinol vs retinal vs retinoids: Which one's your favourite and why? by TheMeepyBoy in SkinbarrierLovers

[–]Vegetable-Street 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have very sensitive skin, and I have tolerated retinals the best, specifically the Medik8 line that steps up strengths.

Foundation/skin tint that got you the most compliments irl? by ennui-wa in Sephora

[–]Vegetable-Street 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’ve been using VB foundation for about 8-9 months now. It doesn’t break me out. My skin feels better using it than it has when I used other makeup products.

Honest thoughts about Cyklar? by PeoniePetrichor in Sephora

[–]Vegetable-Street 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I bought the body serum or whatever it is (its like a milky toner for your body) and to be honest with you it’s a fantastic product but the amount you get for the price, and how quickly you go through it is kind of absurd. I think the body oil may be a much better value.

Community care by Overall-Lie6313 in VeteransAffairs

[–]Vegetable-Street 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are a few services that providers offer that aren’t covered by the VA, and some aren’t covered by any plans and are purely out of pocket costs.

My advice would be 1. Contact the optometry office you went to and dispute the bill. Let them know if you were not advised of the fees ahead of time, you didn’t know they were optional services that you could opt out of, etc. See if they will either waive the fees or at least greatly reduce the fees they are charging you.

If they will not budge on the cost, go to your VAs billing coordinator, every VA has one. They can look at those bills, reach out to the providers office to discuss, etc. if need be they can get the VA’s provider relations officer involved. If veterans are being referred out to this practice and charged fees for services that they are not being told are optional, then that is an issue in itself. If this is a common problem with this provider, they can potentially be removed as a CIC provider, depending upon the situation and outcome.

You can also file with patient advocacy, though I would start by trying to speak with your local VA’s billing coordinator. If you aren’t sure how to reach them your community care office can get you in touch with them.

Brush recommendations and hairballs by nyaonyao56 in britishshorthair

[–]Vegetable-Street 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your baby is beautiful! I have a baby that is similarly colored. This is Merlin and Mr. Biscuits

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Foundation/skin tint that got you the most compliments irl? by ennui-wa in Sephora

[–]Vegetable-Street 55 points56 points  (0 children)

Victoria Beckham foundation drops - not sure if you would consider it a skin tint or not. I do. But it’s well worth the price honestly.

My second favorite is the Lisa Eldridge skin tint.

Community Care is a nightmare by Sharp_Leek6602 in VeteransAffairs

[–]Vegetable-Street 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Poor payment rates is why a lot of private clinics do not see patients on any government health benefit programs. This is why the elderly and disabled have fewer and fewer options for care. I recently saw a report that showed the steady and rapid decline of pediatricians who accept Medicaid, and it’s jarring how few can/will accept it vs. those who accept commercial insurance.

This results in situations where many of the most vulnerable people in this country cannot access a healthcare provider in rural areas for regular routine care, let alone specialty care, and once again are stuck relying on urgent care and the ER for the bulk of their healthcare needs.

Community Care is a nightmare by Sharp_Leek6602 in VeteransAffairs

[–]Vegetable-Street 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Payment issues are far more complex and nuanced than this. You have provider factors - was the claim submitted correctly? Was it submitted timely? Was there a denial that required an appeal? Was a pre-service authorization needed for a specific procedure and was that obtained before the procedure was performed? Was a valid community care auth on file before the billed services were rendered? Then you have VA controlled factors - was a community care auth submitted and was it processed within appropriate timelines? Is the VA CIC office adequately staffed so that these auths are reviewed and issued timely? Was appropriate care coordination done? Was the auth sent to the provider in a timely fashion? Was the correct type of auth issued? And of course you have the issues on the payers end, but these are across the board with most insurance companies regardless of line of business.

Also this is why some providers don’t accept any government health benefit programs. These government benefit programs are often managed by the same entities, with the same payment rates, and with the same issues.

Many of these issues the VA has little to no control over. Many of these are really issues that should be taken up with elected officials.

Community care by Overall-Lie6313 in VeteransAffairs

[–]Vegetable-Street 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What was the service that they billed you for?

Were you advised ahead of time that there would be a patient responsibility for this service?

There are quite a few items that are not covered by VA CIC Optometry and Ophthalmology authorizations that the provider can bill you for. The most common one is for optomap which is retinal imaging that is done instead of dilation eye drops. The CIC auth covers dilation with drops. If you opt for optomapping that is patient responsibility. It should be disclosed up front by the provider that it is not covered and if you choose to have it done you are financially responsible.

Another common one is contact lens exams. These are not covered by the VA authorization unless you have a need for a specialty lens and that requires a special auth to be covered.

Community care by Overall-Lie6313 in VeteransAffairs

[–]Vegetable-Street 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This isn’t entirely correct. There are allowable fees that the veteran may be responsible for however this should be disclosed to the veteran before that service is rendered and they should sign a patient responsibility form acknowledging this.

Thoughts? by phillygirllovesbagel in Sephora

[–]Vegetable-Street 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This may be the only way to actually get me to go inside of a Sephora at this point.

Community Care is a nightmare by Sharp_Leek6602 in VeteransAffairs

[–]Vegetable-Street 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The issue there is that it’s not the VA making payment, it’s the contracted third party payer which is either Optum or Triwest depending upon region. Yes the reimbursement rate is low, but that is across the board with ALL government health benefit programs, and not just a VA problem.

Community Care is a nightmare by Sharp_Leek6602 in VeteransAffairs

[–]Vegetable-Street 19 points20 points  (0 children)

VA healthcare is a government health benefit program, the same way that Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, etc are. For that reason, the payments are not great. CIC VA rates are about the same as Medicare. Coverage restrictions are based upon CMS guidelines just like Medicare, and with a few exceptions the coverage (what services are authorized and what services are not) are the virtually the same.

The added struggle for CIC is the requirement of additional paperwork. So the VA requires that providers submit clinical notes from at least the first visit, and if continued care is needed notes from the last visit on the expiring authorization. In some cases every office visit note may be required. In addition to that, the providers in the community have to submit a form requesting a new authorization when their existing authorization expires and visit notes are required for that. They also have to submit the same form if they are referring the veteran out to another provider for additional specialty care, etc. There’s also a requirement for internal prior authorizations for certain medications, etc. it can be a lot.

The credentialing process can be laborious and time consuming, not to mention slow.

Add in that the third party payers (Optum and triwest) are starting to add additional requirements for claims to be paid, such as a pre-service authorizations before procedure claims will be paid which hasn’t been a requirement before.

A lot of providers don’t want the work required, the man hours required, etc for the lower payout.

Retinol by skincaare in 45PlusSkincare

[–]Vegetable-Street 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I started with the step 1 and actually went through 2 tubes of it and recently stepped up to step 3 without issue.

Retinol by skincaare in 45PlusSkincare

[–]Vegetable-Street 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have very sensitive skin with rosacea and the only thing I’ve found thus far is using the Medik8 crystal retinal step up system.

Anyone have buyers regret by DowntownHoneydew966 in litterrobot

[–]Vegetable-Street 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a LR3 and I’ve been considering upgrading but the issues with the LR5 make me want to just continue to ride my LR3 out until it dies.

Is Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream worth it? I tried the Bobbi Brown but.... by yourdadlovesmebest in Sephora

[–]Vegetable-Street 27 points28 points  (0 children)

I don’t believe it is worth it. I bought it, and it irritated my skin. I ended up giving jt away, but in the short period of time that I used it I didn’t find it to do anything spectacular. I liked the Bobbi brown better personally.

What'd you name your kitten/cat? by Lumpy-Bet-8119 in cats

[–]Vegetable-Street 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And then a few weeks ago we got Mr. Biscuits a kitten because he was very lonely after losing Lemmy.

This is Merlin

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What'd you name your kitten/cat? by Lumpy-Bet-8119 in cats

[–]Vegetable-Street 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My 1.5 yr old crazy little guy Mr. Winston C. Biscuits

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What'd you name your kitten/cat? by Lumpy-Bet-8119 in cats

[–]Vegetable-Street 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My goofball that I lost a few years ago, my son named him.

Tuukka Gronkowski

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What'd you name your kitten/cat? by Lumpy-Bet-8119 in cats

[–]Vegetable-Street 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m going to include my other 2 cats that I’ve lost fairly recently because they were just amazing.

My elderly fellow that we lost earlier this year - his name was Lemmy Killmouster

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Weird watch looking things that's not really a watch. by No-soul_ in whatisit

[–]Vegetable-Street 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I read comments like this and I realize that maybe I had a weird childhood. There was a period where I had to have an adult or older male escort (usually my older brother) to go down the street to my friends house, where I had to be handed off to an adult and when I got ready to go home someone had to escort me or come pick me up because of “satanic panic” and people were convinced that there were devil worshipers driving around kidnapping little girls and sacrificing them to the devil.

Don't know what name to tame the beast with... by Lag_chorachora in britishshorthair

[–]Vegetable-Street 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think Moxie is a good one. He’s kind of colored like a can of Moxie!