Healthcare Issues

[O Really]

The Bones character and the "real" Bones, Kathy Reichs, are forensical anthropologists, and aren't limited to prehistoric remains - she (they) just don't do recent deaths. So she'd work only on remains that had decomposed down to only bones and bone fragments, thus her TV nickname "Bones." I thoroughly enjoyed the books and the TV series as well as reading about Reichs' real life. The books are heavily based on real - the tv series is mostly made up. But the tv series had Emily Deschanel and a cast of some of the most beautiful women around, so there's that.

[O Really]

So I haven't smoked for literally over 40 years and, because they're usually hidden behind some counter somewhere I rarely even see cigarettes for sale. And we live in an area with a small percentage of smokers (@6% in the county). So I was a bit shocked to see a sign today somewhat proudly announcing $12.00/pack. Seriously? that's $120.00/carton. Why is it that when we do see somebody smoking it always looks like a low-income person or occasionally a wayward yout'. A one-pack a day habit would be $360.00/month. I had no idea.

[Vrede too]

So I haven't smoked for literally over 40 years and, because they're usually hidden behind some counter somewhere I rarely even see cigarettes for sale. And we live in an area with a small percentage of smokers (@6% in the county). So I was a bit shocked to see a sign today somewhat proudly announcing $12.00/pack. Seriously? that's $120.00/carton. Why is it that when we do see somebody smoking it always looks like a low-income person or occasionally a wayward yout'. A one-pack a day habit would be $360.00/month. I had no idea.

Cartons MAY be less than $120.00. Rolling your own loose tobacco is a lot cheaper. Then, CA taxes are so high that lots of cigs are smuggled in from neighboring states and Mexico. If you were still a smoker it would probably be to your advantage to drive to Tijuana, have a nice lunch and bring back the legal amount (or more ).

[O Really]

If you were still a smoker it would probably be to your advantage to drive to Tijuana, have a nice lunch and bring back the legal amount (or more ).

At one time, that would be a nice day. Or better still, skip Tijuana and cruise down to Ensenada. But the damn Dems and their "open border" has made one-day excursions generally not worth it. Of course, wait time is less if you walk across, but that might not be the best way to sneak cigarettes in.

Price of cigarettes in Mexico is about $4.00 USD with a legal limit of one carton per month.

[Vrede too]

At one time, that would be a nice day. Or better still, skip Tijuana and cruise down to Ensenada. But the damn Dems and their "open border" has made one-day excursions generally not worth it. Of course, wait time is less if you walk across, but that might not be the best way to sneak cigarettes in.

Price of cigarettes in Mexico is about $4.00 USD with a legal limit of one carton per month.

Do you ever get searched?

[O Really]

At one time, that would be a nice day. Or better still, skip Tijuana and cruise down to Ensenada. But the damn Dems and their "open border" has made one-day excursions generally not worth it. Of course, wait time is less if you walk across, but that might not be the best way to sneak cigarettes in.

Price of cigarettes in Mexico is about $4.00 USD with a legal limit of one carton per month.

Do you ever get searched?

I dunno. I've never used the walk-over here, but I'd think the gendarmes have pretty keen eyes for sneaking stuff over. Probably particularly if you're wheeling a big suitcase.

[O Really]

Go for it.

[Vrede too]

I don't smoke.

I dunno. I've never used the walk-over here, but I'd think the gendarmes have pretty keen eyes for sneaking stuff over. Probably particularly if you're wheeling a big suitcase.

I meant driving.

[O Really]

I don't smoke.

I dunno. I've never used the walk-over here, but I'd think the gendarmes have pretty keen eyes for sneaking stuff over. Probably particularly if you're wheeling a big suitcase.

I meant driving.

Oh sorry. They can and they do, but not everyone. You just take your chances. Apparently they miss a lot of fentanyl. Maybe they don't really care about cigarettes

[Vrede too]

I don't smoke.

I dunno. I've never used the walk-over here, but I'd think the gendarmes have pretty keen eyes for sneaking stuff over. Probably particularly if you're wheeling a big suitcase.

I meant driving.

Oh sorry. They can and they do, but not everyone. You just take your chances. Apparently they miss a lot of fentanyl. Maybe they don't really care about cigarettes

I know they search some folks. I meant do they ever search you?

I wouldn't want to carry drugs because of the dogs. However, I suspect that old, White, balding me would never get searched and could carry plenty of cigs, enough to pay for an addiction and then some. Even younger, hairier me never got searched returning from Mexico.

[O Really]

I've never been searched on the Mexican or Canadian borders. Funny, though, I got searched the first year we were in California by the Agriculture border patrol. Florida plates on the coach - they wanted to make sure we didn't have any citrus and make sure the dirt in Lady O's geraniums was not just dug out of the Florida ground. Never been searched since.

[Vrede too]

I've never been searched on the Mexican or Canadian borders. Funny, though, I got searched the first year we were in California by the Agriculture border patrol. Florida plates on the coach - they wanted to make sure we didn't have any citrus and make sure the dirt in Lady O's geraniums was not just dug out of the Florida ground. Never been searched since.

I've been questioned as aggressively by the Cal Ag cops as I have at any border, but was never searched.

Manufacturers and feds work to stabilize supply of IV fluids for hospitals

Hurricane season continues to strain the national supply of intravenous fluids to hospitals and dialysis centers around the country.

Flooding from Hurricane Helene in late September shut down one of the largest suppliers of IV fluids in the U.S, a factory in Marion, N.C., about 35 miles outside of Asheville. Owned by Baxter International, the plant made products like saline, sterile water for injection and other fluids that are crucial to the health care system....

Meanwhile, a second facility making the crucial medical products had to close its doors this week because of Hurricane Milton. The B. Braun factory making IV fluids in Daytona Beach, Florida was not seriously impacted in the storm, company spokesperson Allison Longenhagen told NPR in an email. It will reopen Friday....

It's the baby food shortage all over again. A different article says that the Marion, N.C. plant makes 60% of the nation's IV fluid. Idk about the Daytona Beach, FL plant's share. It's like it's 1900 the way we've let industry concentrate. Will there be a Teddy Roosevelt in our future to break up the monopolies and near monopolies?

[Vrede too]

Assuming that KINO doesn't have a chance in hell of being confirmed, our healthcare infrastructure MAY be in acceptable hands.

Biden COVID response coordinator: Trump picks for FDA, NIH ‘pretty reasonable’

Ashish Jha, the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health and former White House coronavirus coordinator under President Biden, said President-elect Trump’s picks to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are “pretty reasonable.”

Trump in recent days has built out his health team, tapping Johns Hopkins’s surgeon Marty Makary to lead the FDA, television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead the CMS, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Stanford University-trained physician and economist Jay Bhattacharya is rumored to be the top pick for the NIH.

“While RFK Jr is an absolutely terrible choice for HHS Secretary, I think Marty Makary at FDA, Dr. Oz at CMS and Jay Bhattacharya at NIH are all pretty reasonable,” Jha posted Sunday morning on social platform X. “I have plenty of policy disagreements with them. They are smart and experienced. We will need them to do well.”...

Fingers crossed, the topic is very important to me.

[O Really]

They found bird flu in KINO-endorsed raw milk today.

I don't know how anyone could call Dr Oz at CMS to be "reasonable." Other than having been a real doctor before becoming a pretend one, he has zero experience in running a big organization. Now, a person who just wants to sit at the desk, throw around the title and collect some money can do that and the organization will mostly run itself. But if a totally unqualified person goes in with the idea that they're really going to make waves and changes, they're gonna be overwhelmed because everybody will be wanting direction/approval/instructions and things won't get done.

[Vrede too]

They found bird flu in KINO-endorsed raw milk today.

I don't know how anyone could call Dr Oz at CMS to be "reasonable." Other than having been a real doctor before becoming a pretend one, he has zero experience in running a big organization. Now, a person who just wants to sit at the desk, throw around the title and collect some money can do that and the organization will mostly run itself. But if a totally unqualified person goes in with the idea that they're really going to make waves and changes, they're gonna be overwhelmed because everybody will be wanting direction/approval/instructions and things won't get done.

Dolt .45 has set a new bar for "reasonable" - not insane. If we're lucky Oz will strike a middle ground - let the organization mostly run itself and pursue a couple of policy initiatives, good or bad. I, too, disagree with Oz at times, but he is smart, articulate and charismatic. I don't expect a bomb thrower, but I could be wrong.

[GoCubsGo]

Unhappy customer?

[Whack9]

Unhappy customer?

It's interesting that the general consensus on social media seems to be in support of the murderer.

[Vrede too]

It's interesting that the general consensus on social media seems to be in support of the murderer.

Rolling Stone
Social Media Has Little Sympathy for Murdered Health Insurance Exec

Saw mainstream news coverage about the killing of the CEO of United Healthcare on TikTok and I think political and industry leaders might want to read the comments and think hard about them

Did he have a pre-existing condition?

Why are they investigating this?

University of Virginia historian:



A professor at Northwestern University’s Medill School:

Northwestern - GOGoCubsGoGO!

... For once, too, it seemed that no extremist factions were quick to blame the murder on ideological opponents, as they typically have in the wake of high-profile shootings throughout the U.S. in recent years (save one Fox News commentator who suggested the NYPD hadn’t yet located the shooter because they were too busy dealing with immigrant crime). Online influencers known to shape a narrative before the facts emerge instead proved willing to wait and see where the case would lead. Within the feverish climate of social media, this made for an unfamiliar sort of restraint — almost as unusual as the street homicide of an American businessman.

That's my position. I don't even know whether to root for a lefty or righty assassin. Maybe he'll be an apolitical customer.

Instant fallout?

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield reverses decision to put a time limit on anesthesia

... The insurance giant’s policy change came one day after the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, another major insurance company, was shot and killed in New York City.

[GoCubsGo]

The only surprise is it hasn't happened before or more often.

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield 'will not proceed' with policy change that wouldn't cover anesthesia after certain time limits

[O Really]

Lady O and I are lucky, I suppose - we've got the UHC Medicare supplement and have had no problems at all with claims or anything else. I'm guessing that's largely because it's Medicare, not UHC, that's making the decisions and once they do, UHC has to go along with it.