Tag: HIPAA

Jan 11 2008

Medical Elephants

While the campaign pundits frame health care exclusively around the single issue of who pays there are several other unmentionable elephants in the room.

http://www.newstarget.com/0224…

Oh, it had nothing to do with a known neurotoxin.

With the new advances in genetic testing proving “you will get” disease X,Y or Z will insurance comanies deny coverage.  Do you see a marked increase in the promotion of medical screenings?

Marketing study. Pick up any woman’s magazine. Count the ads dedicated to drugs, along with the legal disclaimers in number two font. Can you throw a rock toward the next CVS?

On this next one I’m just going to give you the Google keywords

Bill Frist+immunity for big pharma

And thus begat it’s ugly cousin

http://www.hhs.gov/aspr/barda/…

HIPPA and medical records “privacy”

Does that include those guys over in India who process your denied claims?

http://noteworthyehr.com/pdfs/…

http://www.patientprivacyright…

Now the obvious answer is to require people to buy health insurance just like mAssachusetts did.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news…

I do, I have a 5000 per year policy and they routinely deny claims using a systematic basis. Zero information is available about what is and what is not “covered” beforehand, you don’t get that until the benefit denial statement.

Now are you really scared yet?

http://www.worldprivacyforum.o…

http://www.tetrahedron.org/abo…

Dec 20 2007

Comparison and Contrast: Privacy and Violation of Human Rights

Full piece posted on ePluribus Media 2.0.

As is often the case in hotly contested discussion, claims of invalid comparisons are often made alongside calls to compare “apples to apples” instead of “apples to ice buckets” or some other such mis-matched scale.

In order to help further along the discussion of why rendition, torture and individual rights to privacy, decency and proper representation in a court of law matters no matter the reason, I present two current stories after the fold that both concern the abuse of a man and a tortured penis.

Make the jump…

Oct 23 2007

“Health” Fairs Past and Present

In those good old days open enrollment at work meant signing up for next years annual health care choices and optional benefits packages.  One year I think we had a choice between five different medical plan providers.  Tufts, Bay State, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Blue Cross, those wonderful names where presented to us in colorful books listing all the benefits and in the plan doctors and hospitals.

Today’s “health” fair consisted of a single copied page listing the “benefits” of our new health care provider, United Health Care. There was also a table where they would take your blood pressure.  I thought no, this subject pisses me off to make this particular reading totally bogus.

This studiously crafted document could only be the result of hours upon hours of debate by the highest paid attorneys money can buy.  What is “covered” is not you but them, and the killer keyphrase?
100% of Eligible Expenses
100% of Eligible Expenses
100% of Eligible Expenses
Ok, that doesn’t sound too bad does it?
Nah, think like a lawyer, notice the world, eligible.
But it says 100% covered right?
OK, now think like a lawyer, and his business agent who is employed by Satan himself.  Eligible, do you have a clear picture what eligible means?  Do you have in legalese type writing proof of your definition of “eligible”?

Eligible means you don’t get to decide, they do after you get the bill followed by a minimum half hour phone call to people who won’t resolve your dispute anyway.

http://www.nowpublic…

http://hcrenewal.blo…

But at least HIPPA makes my records private right?

http://www.privacyri…
http://www.healthpri…
http://www.patrickke…

In short whenever a politician opens his mouth on the subject of health care he is one of two things.
Retarded.
An employee of Satan.

This is a true testament from a resident of mAssachusetts, a state where this shit is not only unregulated, people are forced to buy it.  Let this NOT become a MODEL for a national plan.  If it does you might not want to call them on your cell phone either.

http://www.prolibert…

Oct 08 2007

Guido’s Health Care

Massachusetts now requires health insurance.  If this is not unconstitutional it should be.  People without insurance of course don’t do their patriotic fair share in supporting the big pharma industry.  All this is going to mean though is a rapid downslide of an ever increasing list of not covered “procedures”.

It’s “open enrollment” time at work.  In the past representatives of the prospective health insurers would come to the workplace to explain their benefits.  This year it’s down to a read the intranet page and then click on the black hole of computing benefit selctions page.  We are down to Guido’s health care.
http://www.zwire.com…

This year I found the company benefit selection page most profane and offensive.  They tout your “opportunity” to set up an account, which you have no control over, in order to pay for medical expenses.
The second part goes on to extoll the virtues of preventive medicine and actually states “only 1/3 went to the doctors for annual checkups”.
Yes, I did save the pdf file.  Let me illustrate the point here clearly.  The company said only 1/3 of you went to the doctor for an annual checkup.
In general with every word in this health brochure I can envision the focus group of evil HR minions agonizing over each and every word trying to make a turd look like a silver spoon.

Oh, I see, that must mean this is total bullshit right?
http://www.hhs.gov/o…
Privacy of medical records?  I didn’t authorized the company to ask my doctor if I went last year.  The marriage of the most Satanic memes in business are now going to be coupled to and reinforced through government.
You will buy our crappy insurance, take our unproven drugs and if you go blind as a side effect tough shit.
http://www.commondre…

Now when I get fired for being a Deek, I’ll post the entire pdf and more here.
http://www.surfingth…

How’s your health “insurance”, watch as in time it’s going to wither away into corporate nothingness, kind of like dealing with the IRS or your cell phone “plan”.