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I wrote a negative Yelp review and it made my life a nightmare

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Re: I wrote a negative Yelp review and it made my life a nightmare

#121

Post by ssijak »

phonon wrote: post #114
ssijak wrote: post #45

One thing that sticks to me when I read such articles (I am not from US) is how ridiculously pricey medical services are. Common, 1k$ for a regular exam that costs like 20euros in my country in private clinics?! And I read about this ridiculous prices US so often that I am dumbstruck that people are cool with it. Another thing that struck me is that if you don`t have money, evil people can just silence you by suing y…

The price they billed her (after her insurance negotiated its standard discount) was $427.

For 400$, in my country, I paid (well not me, my job but that is not the point) for private health insurance for a WHOLE YEAR. It covers all the basic stuff, pregnancy costs, some surgery costs, etc..

Aside from that we are all covered by the state and are not billed for anything apart from some medications. Yeah, hospitals are not that great of a place and there is a lot to be improved, but at least you know that even if you are very poor, you will not be left to die (or with some ridiculous bills) if you are very ill.

And before someone asks, why to pay for private if you have state coverage.. It is a job perk, and in any case, you pay for your time. Service is much faster and more convenient for the basic stuff/illnesses.

Re: I wrote a negative Yelp review and it made my life a nightmare

#122

Post by dmitrygr »

coding123 wrote: post #109
dmitrygr wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Serious, and depressing, answer. They don't. This is why plea bargaining is rampant in America. It isn't necessarily very fair, because for many people this ends up ruining their lives. But facing the choice of POTENTIALLY going to prison for a number of years, and to jail for weeks awaiting trial, or pleading guilty to something that does not put them jail at all, they choose the latter (since a few weeks of absence…

This is a civil case obviously, so all that jail stuff won't apply to this, but just curious... If cheap litigation is 20K, and "battling out with a judge" is 100K how come the first time I'm hearing about this is in a HN comment? Seems like no one is going up to bat against this stuff until it affects them. Reminds me of that famous poem "First they came for the ..."

Good point. In civil cases the equivalent is a "settlement offer". Made famous my the RIAA. Pay us $5000/song you downloaded or we'll sue you for $5 million, and you cannot afford that. We might not win, but if we do, you're boned!

Re: I wrote a negative Yelp review and it made my life a nightmare

#123

Post by kevindqc »

OscarCunningham wrote: post #66
ssijak wrote: post #45

One thing that sticks to me when I read such articles (I am not from US) is how ridiculously pricey medical services are. Common, 1k$ for a regular exam that costs like 20euros in my country in private clinics?! And I read about this ridiculous prices US so often that I am dumbstruck that people are cool with it. Another thing that struck me is that if you don`t have money, evil people can just silence you by suing y…

The "prices" are moves in a game played between hospitals and insurance providers, and don't correspond to anything real or to the amount that gets paid. If a hospital discovers that the patient doesn't have insurance they'll be charged the real (more reasonable) prices instead.

Well she said the insurance covered everything but 500. That's still a lot.

Re: I wrote a negative Yelp review and it made my life a nightmare

#124

Post by CodeWriter23 »

Nadya wrote: post #112
coding123 wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

haha, that's really interesting to hear. I'm almost certain a Judge is also not allowed access to medical records. He most likely is not a covered entity. Beyond that while it might make sense to request medical records in a criminal trial, there's no place for that in a civil suit.

HIPAA allows health care providers to disclose medical records in response to a court order as long as the order specifies the scope of the records required to be disclosed and is signed by a judge.

Court order != Filing Suit

Re: I wrote a negative Yelp review and it made my life a nightmare

#125

Post by Clubber »

OscarCunningham wrote: post #66
ssijak wrote: post #45

One thing that sticks to me when I read such articles (I am not from US) is how ridiculously pricey medical services are. Common, 1k$ for a regular exam that costs like 20euros in my country in private clinics?! And I read about this ridiculous prices US so often that I am dumbstruck that people are cool with it. Another thing that struck me is that if you don`t have money, evil people can just silence you by suing y…

The "prices" are moves in a game played between hospitals and insurance providers, and don't correspond to anything real or to the amount that gets paid. If a hospital discovers that the patient doesn't have insurance they'll be charged the real (more reasonable) prices instead.

That used to be the case, but what I've experienced lately is the doctors will submit overpriced bill to insurance, insurance says, "oh you haven't hit your annual deductible yet," and passes the massively overpriced bill directly to me, no negotiation, no nothing.

I've gotten so I just ask what the out of pocket cost is to pay cheaper (usually 1/2 price), and they still manage to hose me with extra services.

It's a racket.

Re: I wrote a negative Yelp review and it made my life a nightmare

#126

Post by win_ini »

shanecleveland wrote: post #99

I had a terrible experience with a vacation rental, so I left a brutally honest review. Was aggressively met with verbal lawsuit threats. I ended up talking with the owner quite a bit about how disappointing of an experience it was for us. I agreed to remove the original review in replace of a less "colorful" one. He at least said he understood some points and agreed to make some changes. But I got the feeling it was…

Slightly related - but gives me a chance to tell this story. Recently, I stayed at an AirbNb with many great reviews. The guy asked me to NOT leave a review ("We already have lots of good ones"). His issue - the reviews are used by the county to see how often their place is being rented out.

Re: I wrote a negative Yelp review and it made my life a nightmare

#127

Post by amelius »

simonbarker87 wrote: post #87
leesalminen wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$20,000 is nothing for litigation these days. Most advise planning for a minimum of $50,000 or $100,000 to fight something out with a judge.

Serious question that I feel I already know the answer to but, how do people afford to defend themselves if the costs are that high?!

And another question: why is the market failing here?

Re: I wrote a negative Yelp review and it made my life a nightmare

#128

Post by Clubber »

pwaai wrote: post #116

I submitted a complaint to BBB once and the business owner sent me a letter threatening to sue. That was the day I realized we as consumers are truly vulnerable.

I've heard rumors that the BBB is pay to play, but I don't have any direct experience with them.

Gotta watch what I say lest I get sued!

Re: I wrote a negative Yelp review and it made my life a nightmare

#129

Post by Clubber »

dfsegoat wrote: post #61
mynameisvlad wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why can't the costs be disclosed upfront? Whenever I go to the dentist and I need to have some work done, I get an estimate telling me how much it costs and how much they expect the insurance company to cover. This isn't rocket science, it can easily be calculated, and should be, as you said, for the benefit of everyone.

I too wonder why the MD side of healthcare doesn't work more like this in the US. I was actually very taken aback recently when I needed to get dental work and was presented with costing info about 10 mins after my visit started. It did feel a bit greasy, I must admit - but I get that the point is for everyone to be on the same page before the procedure. edit: I now recall that I did use Urgent Care for awhile for he…

I had a dentist present something for me to sign while I was under the laughing gas.
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