Comic Strips

luigi did nothing wrong

The ambulance ride is $2,500 USD. It's out of network, so you owe 100% on that, we don't pay for it. No, you don't get to choose which ambulance service comes to pick you up, you get what you get and you have to pay if it's not in network. Oh, great news! Your emergency room is fully covered! But you haven't met your maximum out of pocket, and you still have your co-insurance and deductible, so another $2,500 USD, please. So, uh, the doctor in the emergency room that you never even saw, he's also out of network, so that's an additional $900. And the ibuprofen they gave you, that's $45 because we only cover 90 day prescriptions and those have to be pre-authorized. On the bright side, your share of the imaging is only only $1,800 USD. Pinky swear, we actually paid out $7,200 USD on that one.

This has been a fun ride for us, husband was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer end of last year. Met the max oop for our plan very quickly and have everything on the minimum payment plan. Things reset in July and we returned from vacation (needed our son to have some normalcy) to a $1300 bill for his first chemo treatment in the new cycle. We asked if the oncology office will work with us so we'll see what comes of that. It's exhausting and I don't know how people without insurance survive (although the current system is an absolute joke).

Every time, I think of The Incredibles. So depressingly real.

"Are you saying we shouldn't be helping our customers?

"The law requires that I answer 'no'."

Luigi is a hero

This is why I am a fan of the work of the Four Thieves Vinegar collective. they are making instructions on how to make at home versions of some of the most critical chemicals and medicines.

https://fourthievesvinegar.org/

This is why I never understood the need for charities.

There is more then enough to feed and house and clothe everyone in the world, yet kids are starving while supermarkets dump good food to the garbage, every day, but not until after making sure it's destroyed. Wouldn't want a hungry child get some food without paying, now would we?

I am okay with limited capitalism, it can help generate growth for everyone like nothing else.

However, mind the word "limited". Laws MUST be in place to ensure no one can become extremely rich, let alone ultra rich. Net worth should, no, MUST be capped at 10 million dollars. Once you reach that, that's it, 100% tax on anything you earn until you dip below. Even those over 5 million networth should be taxed at 90% or something. Those with a net worth of less than 100K should have almost no taxes at all. Those that can't work pay no taxes at all or get government paid support.

Make it easy to escape poverty, make it hard to become rich

Of course these are somewhat random numbers pulled out of my behind, an exceptions apply for certain circumstances, but the idea stands.

Why do we even allow the ultra wealthy to exist in the first place? Take way their money, all of it until they have maybe a few millions left, and give it to the governments that can then use it for public projects, housing, healthcare, education, etc.

Prohibit private healthcare or private education. Everyone deserves the exact same level and quality of education or healthcare. Being rich, famous or "important" doesn't matter at all.

Fuck mega yachts, these should be prohibited world wide. Want a boat? Fine, get a boat. Want a mega yacht? Go sit in a cruise ship you dingus.

Fuck private planes with an umbrella. Immediately take away all private planes and use them only for flights like hospital transportation and the sorts. Nobody is important enough to need a private plane. President? Go get fucking zoom or better yet, an open platform.

It's not that hard to fix any of this, it's just that there is zero will to do this.

It's a mystery how the US belongs to a select group of contries with homongous GDP but lower life expectancy.

I really wonder exactly how many office towers are there full of people whose sole job is to deny healthcare claims. Think about if we paid those people to do something actually productive instead. This is the waste of for profit healthcare.

Health Insurance in America.

And also the pill costs nothing to make

Please do not associate my beloved charcuterie with this behavior 😔🙏

Thanks for the responses. Even before his situation, the insurance industry was always a point of contention with us and I never hesitate to get on my soapbox to argue my disdain for everything. The lack of empathy from this country is sickening and unfortunately as my husband says we're now stuck.

I'm reminded of the heinz dilemma (nothing to do with ketchup)