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Simone Giertz – Back from brain surgery [video]

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Re: Simone Giertz – Back from brain surgery [video]

#41

Post by redmaverick »

PuffinBlue wrote: post #27

We live in a world of marvels. Often we talk of the future and it's wonders waiting to be discovered, but the here and now has become equally astonishing. The breadth, depth and scale of human ingenuity and endeavour is jaw-dropping and here Simone and her story is another example. Maybe I'm being trite by looking for the good in the bad but pause for a moment and think of all that has been learned, how we have built…

I recently switched from iPhone to Andriod.. I am utterly blown away by the voice to text feature. With 0 mistakes it is able to recognize and transcribe audio. I can write 500 words in a matter of a few minutes. I can just say switch on the flashlight and it comes on. Turn off the bluetooth and it gets turned off.

I can even just say "call (insert name of restaurant)" and it directly calls them up. I am beyond blown away. The future is now.

Re: Simone Giertz – Back from brain surgery [video]

#42

Post by spamizbad »

cobookman wrote: post #40
bloopernova wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> added stress of the huge bills I really wish people would talk about these sorts of soft costs more often. I grew up in the UK, moved to the USA in my mid 20s. While growing up, my parents divorced and my mother had to take care of me and a sibling. All 3 of us had medical conditions that needed regular care/checkups. Not once did my mum ever spend hours on the phone chasing down bills or insurance rejections. We n…

On the flip side people living in socialized healthcare Countries have other stresses. In the usa my insurance lets me go to 10 doctors for differing opinions. I can go straight to a specialist. When I need non urgent surgery it's scheduled with a few weeks instead of months.

> In the usa my insurance lets me go to 10 doctors for differing opinions. I can go straight to a specialist. When I need non urgent surgery it's scheduled with a few weeks instead of months.

Only if you have good insurance. Insurance companies have been cracking down on this behavior. For example, there are certain specialists which are straight-up not covered unless you have an explicit referral. Likewise, networks of providers will vary. For example, sometimes your area's top hospital won't be "in network", so you're now paying significantly more out-of-pocket for going out of network.

If you currently are enjoying this benefit, please anticipate that privilege to be gone within a decade, regardless of what direction the US healthcare market goes.

Re: Simone Giertz – Back from brain surgery [video]

#43

Post by na85 »

cobookman wrote: post #40
bloopernova wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> added stress of the huge bills I really wish people would talk about these sorts of soft costs more often. I grew up in the UK, moved to the USA in my mid 20s. While growing up, my parents divorced and my mother had to take care of me and a sibling. All 3 of us had medical conditions that needed regular care/checkups. Not once did my mum ever spend hours on the phone chasing down bills or insurance rejections. We n…

On the flip side people living in socialized healthcare Countries have other stresses. In the usa my insurance lets me go to 10 doctors for differing opinions. I can go straight to a specialist. When I need non urgent surgery it's scheduled with a few weeks instead of months.

I think I'd rather wait longer for elective surgery than gamble on ruining my children's chances at going to university because I might have to spend their tuition on medical bills.

Re: Simone Giertz – Back from brain surgery [video]

#44

Post by XorNot »

goodells wrote: post #35
PuffinBlue wrote: post #27

We live in a world of marvels. Often we talk of the future and it's wonders waiting to be discovered, but the here and now has become equally astonishing. The breadth, depth and scale of human ingenuity and endeavour is jaw-dropping and here Simone and her story is another example. Maybe I'm being trite by looking for the good in the bad but pause for a moment and think of all that has been learned, how we have built…

The whole system is awe-inspiring. Have a medical emergency? We'll send a several-ton box on wheels speeding your way within minutes. If you're in a city, the traffic lights will turn red as the emergency vehicle approaches to make passing safer. Paramedics trained in evidence-based pre-hospital medicine will perform the interventions most likely to save you based on their field impression. And when you arrive at the…

I have weirdly conflicted feelings when I see ambulances go by these days. Because part of me feels this sense of overwhelming pride watching that system work to save someone, people getting out of the way etc.

But then I remember it's only happening because someone's in severe trouble in the first place so it's like "humanity is awesome...oh something not good is happening"

Re: Simone Giertz – Back from brain surgery [video]

#45

Post by XorNot »

cobookman wrote: post #40
bloopernova wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> added stress of the huge bills I really wish people would talk about these sorts of soft costs more often. I grew up in the UK, moved to the USA in my mid 20s. While growing up, my parents divorced and my mother had to take care of me and a sibling. All 3 of us had medical conditions that needed regular care/checkups. Not once did my mum ever spend hours on the phone chasing down bills or insurance rejections. We n…

On the flip side people living in socialized healthcare Countries have other stresses. In the usa my insurance lets me go to 10 doctors for differing opinions. I can go straight to a specialist. When I need non urgent surgery it's scheduled with a few weeks instead of months.

I live in a country with socialized medicine and have paid for private treatment on a number of occasions because I wanted to have an elective issue taken care of on my timetable.

The difference is if I couldn't afford to pay, I would've been seen based on the urgency of the condition at no charge anyway.

Re: Simone Giertz – Back from brain surgery [video]

#46

Post by throwaway5752 »

goshx wrote: post #22

I’ve never worried so much about someone I never actually met. The time after her surgery without updates on her twitter account was hard and it’s funny to see that a lot of people felt that way (if you read the tweets from that time you’ll see what I am talking about). It is great to see her doing so well. Medicine has come a long way... the bills not so much.

It's really sobering to think about how often this happens per day, to less charismatic/attractive people without social media presences or worse/no insurance. Very happy for Simone (and felt the same way as you following the story) but also trying to take the opportune to empathize with a wider group of people.

Re: Simone Giertz – Back from brain surgery [video]

#47

Post by ygra »

na85 wrote: post #43
cobookman wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the flip side people living in socialized healthcare Countries have other stresses. In the usa my insurance lets me go to 10 doctors for differing opinions. I can go straight to a specialist. When I need non urgent surgery it's scheduled with a few weeks instead of months.

I think I'd rather wait longer for elective surgery than gamble on ruining my children's chances at going to university because I might have to spend their tuition on medical bills.

Don't most countries with socialized healthcare also have free (or affordable) education?

Re: Simone Giertz – Back from brain surgery [video]

#48

Post by Kiro »

tonysdg wrote: post #2

So glad to see Simone back on her feet. The sh y robot nation needs its queen! As for that bill -- I'm curious: is there any resource I can look up to see how much of that the average Medicare/Medicaid/private insurance plan pays? I ask because I just had two teeth repaired after a bike accident and it'll cost me ~$100 after insurance covers the other ~$500. By that ratio, she'd be looking at ~$38,000 bill.

Did she do it in the US? I was under the impression she did it in Sweden, which would cost her $0.

EDIT: Ok, she lives in San Fransisco now. Didn't know.

Re: Simone Giertz – Back from brain surgery [video]

#49

Post by maljx »

cobookman wrote: post #40
bloopernova wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> added stress of the huge bills I really wish people would talk about these sorts of soft costs more often. I grew up in the UK, moved to the USA in my mid 20s. While growing up, my parents divorced and my mother had to take care of me and a sibling. All 3 of us had medical conditions that needed regular care/checkups. Not once did my mum ever spend hours on the phone chasing down bills or insurance rejections. We n…

On the flip side people living in socialized healthcare Countries have other stresses. In the usa my insurance lets me go to 10 doctors for differing opinions. I can go straight to a specialist. When I need non urgent surgery it's scheduled with a few weeks instead of months.

I can do the same in Germany with public insurance.

Re: Simone Giertz – Back from brain surgery [video]

#50

Post by mikestew »

VBprogrammer wrote: post #18
mrrsm wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With most insurance I feel like you will hit your max out of pocket before you would hit that amount. Depending on your insurance plan you could be talking $3,000-$10,000 max you would have to spend.

I mean this in the nicest possible way; the casual way Americans talk about these things makes me wonder if they aren't suffering some form of Stockholm syndrome. The percentage of the population who don't have anything like that kind of money in savings is huge. And that is after you already pay huge amounts for insurance.

Ever been around someone with, say, cancer and experienced the casual way they might talk about procedures that would horrify you (or at least make you a bit squeamish)? No one sympathizes with their cancer, but one would do well to make peace with reality.

I have no sympathy whatsoever for my hostage-takers, but I'm unlikely to fight my way out of this one, so might as well go back to talking about out-of-pocket maximums until I can make a shiv out of this toothpick.

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