Fuck You Tim Kring

That is all.

Don’t Worry Republicans: ObamaCare is Really Sticking it to the people who (have to) use it.

Maybe you’re like me and support the idea of health care reform.  In my case I’m overweight (6 ft. 285 lbs. so I could be a linebacker or a taller version of Homer Simpson and don’t waste time guessing because you are right) and was denied regular health insurance coverage because of my weight.so when at least some health care reform was passed it directly affected me.  Now there was a pre-existing condition plan.

Whoopee!

I HOPE YOU LIKE BUREACRACIES!

To the Obama administration’s credit the initial interface to the pre-existing condition is pretty nice.  www.healthcare.gov for example is a very well done site and can lead you without much fuss to your state’s pre-existing condition application, or if you are like me and live in a state that doesn’t have a program you will be led to the federal program.  The application itself isn’t bad although some of the requirements are tough for some.  For example in order to apply you have to be without health insurance for six months.  If you have health insurance that excludes your condition and need treatment for your condition you have to cancel your policy, wait six months and then get coverage.  Kind of a bad deal if you have cancer.

So my story, though frustrating for me, is not nearly as frustrating as this program will be for some people.  And sadly, some people will die trying to use this program.  Literally. 

Why is this the case?  Well it’s all to prevent people from getting insurance just for the times they are sick—that’s always a loss to the insurer.  The solution?  Oh you know… NATIONAL HEALTH CARE, SINGLE PAYER.  In that system where health care for every citizen is covered by tax payers there isn’t a concern about pre-existing conditions.  Everyone is covered.  You might not believe me, but it is the only humane and civilized solution and it can actually save a huge amount of money over existing health care costs in the United States.

MY PRE-EXISTING CONDITION EXPERIENCE

I applied for insurance through the pre-existing condition plan the first time in September, 2011.  You can apply online but they require that you send proof that you’ve been rejected coverage before they will approve your application.  In my case my proof was in a rejection letter for my weight which it turns out I had misplaced, so I requested a new letter from the company and sent it in and…  My pre-existing application was cancelled.  There is a 30 day window (why?  why ask why) between when you apply and they receive your proof.

Application, Take 2: So in November I applied again online and sent in my letter of rejection (which still has to happen separately and through postal mail) as well as a voided check to allow ACH withdrawals.   In late November I got an approval letter and then in mid to late December I sent them my first check to activate my insurance.

On January 3rd, 2012 they deposited my first check (as expected) but then on January 12th, 2012 they took out an additional payment from my checking account via ACH.  This wasn’t expected and caused my account to go overdraft to the tune of a $34 fee (thank you Chase) so I called them and after several attempts (dialing the support number at least five times to even get the phone to ring and then spending 30 minutes on hold when it did answer) I found out that they had set the effective date of my insurance to December 1st, so I owed them a month for December, a month for January and in a couple weeks they were going to bill again on the 1st for February.  In effect I will have been billed three times before I have any ability to actually use the health insurance.

If a payment fails or a check bounces they cancel your insurance and you cannot reapply for six months.

TIPS FOR PEOPLE ENROLLING IN THE PRE-EXSITING INSURANCE PLAN

The main thing is to get your ducks in a row before you even start your application:

1. Make sure you have met the requirements and that you have all supporting documentation. 
2. Send your proof on insurance denial immediately after you apply and
3. When you are approved send your first premium check the same day you receive your approval. 

Remember you are already paying for insurance as of either the 1st or the 15th of the month they approve your application BEFORE you even send them the first check, and they take their time processing even after they receive and then deposit your check. 

Count on losing a month of time no matter what you do, but if you are slow like I was you will end up paying for two months of insurance which you cannot use.

RELEVANT ADDRESSES AND PHONE NUMBERS

National Finance Center
Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan
P.O. Box 60017
New Orleans, LA 70160-0017

General Support Line: 866-717-5826

Insurance Line (once you have an Enrollee Number): 800-220-7898

Windows 8 Turns Your Desktop Into a Mobile Phone

By using tiles you can imagine a much smaller and less flexible platform.

Meredith Attwell Baker Approves Controversial Comcast–NBC Merger Then Takes a Job With Comcast/NBC

 

Are you f**ing kidding me?

Edward Wyatt writes in the NY Times Media Decoder:

Four months after the Federal Communications Commission approved a hotly contested merger of Comcast and NBC Universal, one of the commissioners who voted for the deal said on Wednesday that she would soon join Comcast’s Washington lobbying office.

Meredith Attwell Baker, a former Commerce Department official who worked on telecommunications issues in George W. Bush’s administration, announced that she would leave the F.C.C. when her term expires at the end of June. At Comcast, she will serve as senior vice president for government affairs for NBC Universal, which Comcast acquired in January.

The announcement drew immediate criticism from some groups that had opposed the Comcast-NBC merger. They said the move was indicative of an ethically questionable revolving door between regulatory agencies and the companies they oversee.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

In the third installment of Transformers we can see how a producer’s child like imagination trumps all science and suspension of disbelief…

Notice the lighting on the “dark side of the moon” in this trailer as well as several other things like communication to the far side of the moon that we STILL can’t achieve in 2010.

Sometimes the real fix is to have a science advisor in your budget, Mr. Bay, and then listen to them.

Google Adwords Thanks Us For Being An Advertiser

Believe us we couldn’t make this up if we tried.

Maybe next year they’ll figure out how to scale a font.

The Mysterious Disappearance of Pepcid Complete

(Or they’d tell you what’s going on but then they’d have to kill you)

I’m not sure exactly when Pepcid Complete disappeared from the stores, but it was sometime between August and September of 2010.

At first I didn’t think much of it and bought whatever generic replacement was available.  Unfortunately in the case of Pepcid Complete knockoffs the chewable pills are considerably more difficult to chew than the original brand so in what will probably end up being an ironic twist, the quality of real Pepcid Complete caused me to find out that Johnson and Johnson was somehow causing every bottle of the stuff to disappear from store shelves.

The Recall You Know

The first thing you’ll find if you start searching about the disappearance of Pepcid Complete is that there is an actual valid recall for that product active right now.  If you dig a little bit, though, you’ll find that the recall only applies to the tropical fruit flavor of the product and not the other two, more popular, flavors and also that the recall only applies to one lot of Pepcid Complete (and also another lot of Pepcid AC which I could care less about).

Here’s the actual text of the recall:

Johnson & Johnson • Merck Consumer Pharmaceuticals, Co. (JJMCP) is initiating a voluntary recall of one lot of PEPCID^® COMPLETE^®, lot number BEF062, and one lot of ORIGINAL STRENGTH PEPCID^® AC^®, lot number BFF010, from the wholesaler and retailer level. This is not a consumer level recall and the risk of a serious adverse health consequence is remote. The recall is being initiated because the potential exists for a small number of bottles within these two lots to have been punctured during the packaging process. The puncture was discovered as part of the company’s quality control processes.

As you can see from the recall text there’s NO way that the very minor recall they performed would result in the disappearance of all Pepcid Complete bottles for multiple drug store chains. So far I’ve visited 3 Wal Marts, 2 Rite-Aids and 1 Walgreens.  As you can see there’s no Pepcid complete to be found anywhere.:

		Pepcid Complete is Missing! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Johnson & Johnson (the makers of Pepcid Complete) have, in the past, taken part in “Phantom Recalls” where they hire people to go in to drug stores and buy a brand up.  I don’t think this explains what is going on with Pepcid Complete right now because the stores would naturally replenish their stocks and that hasn’t happened.  In addition when I ask the people in the pharmacy they say they aren’t aware of anything special going on with the Pepcid products.

Someone is fibbing.  If anyone is reading this I hope you’ll help me figure out who…