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Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

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Re: Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

#121

Post by WalterBright »

Twounwhe wrote: post #120
WalterBright wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Frontline did an episode a while back were dentists were performing unnecessary major dental work on poor people when the government had a program to pay the dentists for such work. Frontline was outraged at the dentists, but did not seem to recognize that this is the inevitable result of incentives the government set up.

> Frontline did an episode a while back were dentists were performing unnecessary major dental work on poor people when the government had a program to pay the dentists for such work I haven't seen this episode and so don't know what qualifies as "major dental work." However, as someone who has had government dental insurance, I wanted to chime in with a possibly irrelevant anecdote. This dental insurance covered few…

Google:

Frontline Dollars and Dentists season 2012 episode 13

and see for yourself.

Re: Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

#122

Post by George83728 »

anonymouskimmer wrote: post #119
George83728 wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No, it just requires constantly feeling hunger pains. No it doesn't, just eat more filling foods with lots of fiber. Veggies are cheaper than dirt, far cheaper than junk food, and far more sating. Junk food is engineered to leave you feeling hungry, to encourage you to buy more. Stop buying junk food completely; no more chips, colas or frozen pizzas. Buy vegetables, particularly the leafy ones, and eat as much as i…

I eat "double fiber" bread and take 4 tablespoons of whole psyllium husk per day . The chips are a good idea, but my diet is already so limited to PB&J, hummus and cheese and mixed green sandwiches, and the occasional whole grain rotini + prego chunky garden (and mixed greens), oatmeal, apples, frozen blueberries, bananas, and the occasional frozen quinoa dish that chips and occasional ice cream or Italian ice are a…

> I eat "double fiber" bread and take 4 tablespoons of whole psyllium husk per day.

You should really try vegetables. I know bread is a processed plant product, but we generally don't count bread as a vegetable.

Re: Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

#123

Post by EatingWithForks »

George83728 wrote: post #122
anonymouskimmer wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I eat "double fiber" bread and take 4 tablespoons of whole psyllium husk per day . The chips are a good idea, but my diet is already so limited to PB&J, hummus and cheese and mixed green sandwiches, and the occasional whole grain rotini + prego chunky garden (and mixed greens), oatmeal, apples, frozen blueberries, bananas, and the occasional frozen quinoa dish that chips and occasional ice cream or Italian ice are a…

> I eat "double fiber" bread and take 4 tablespoons of whole psyllium husk per day. You should really try vegetables . I know bread is a processed plant product, but we generally don't count bread as a vegetable.

I'mma tell you as an avid veggie eater: veggies are not cheap. The amount of leafy greens that will make someone full (and properly nourishing leafy veg: spinach, kale, dandelion and beet greens, etc.) isn't cheaper.

Poor people aren't living high on spinach and kale. They're eating butter sandwiches for lunch because they're too poor for nut spreads and jam. They're eating 5 boxes for 2$ mac dinners. They're checking which of the soup cans they bought on a 10 dollar for 10 cans sale years ago are still good (aka not puffy) even though they're long expired. The cheap vegetables are starchy roots, but even the 50c/lb carrots don't hold up to processed food prices.

You can spread out 1 cup of rice with 9 cups of water as a soup. I was stirfrying cabbage with almost no seasoning. And it would still be cheaper and more filling to indulge in mac dinners and hamburger helper.

Re: Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

#124

Post by ecommerceguy »

nradov wrote: post #64
standardUser wrote: post #2

"Seventy-nine out of the 100 counties with the highest levels of medical debt are in states that have not expanded Medicaid under the ACA" Who benefits in these 10 states that have still failed to expand Medicaid? What is the upside, to either the populations of these states or the politicians who run these states and make those decisions? Because the downsides are obvious and seem to directly harm a lot of people.

Medicaid expansion under the ACA isn't "free" for state budgets. The Federal government only puts in part of the funding. So by forgoing expansion the state politicians can keep taxes low or continue funding other priorities. Some politicians also have ideological objections to expanding government control over the healthcare system. (I am not endorsing these policies, just explaining some of the reasoning behind the…

I pointed this out earlier but its important to understand given what's going on in the US currently.

>>Federal government only puts in part of the funding

Via the issuance of debt.

Re: Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

#125

Post by dang »

hello_computer wrote: post #112

[flagged]

Hey, I understand how frustrating it is when people casually insult a group that you belong to or care about (or when it feels like they are doing that). But please don't lash back like this on HN, for two reasons. First, it's against the site guidelines and we have to ban accounts that post like this (see https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html).

Second, it's not in your interest. Fulminating may bring temporary relief but at the cost of discrediting your own position. That's not a good trade. It will only harden the other side in its views, giving people a fresh reason to be convinced they're right and righteous. Worse, by doing this you give the larger, neutral audience a reason to side against you, putting you in even more of minority than you already were (or feel you were).

Re: Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

#126

Post by hello_computer »

dang wrote: post #125
hello_computer wrote: post #112

[flagged]

Hey, I understand how frustrating it is when people casually insult a group that you belong to or care about (or when it feels like they are doing that). But please don't lash back like this on HN, for two reasons. First, it's against the site guidelines and we have to ban accounts that post like this (see https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html ). Second, it's not in your interest. Fulminating may bring tem…

Not frustration. Astonishment, at such low levels of self-awareness. People who will neg an entire region one minute, then get so hurt and offended by the advice of "don't wreck your pancreas" that they flag and report it.

This was not me venting, or being angry. This was me being entirely serious. For the sake of the country and their own well being, they should go down there, and compare what they see at WalMart with what they see in the mirror.

tat tvam asi

Re: Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

#127

Post by dang »

hello_computer wrote: post #126
dang wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey, I understand how frustrating it is when people casually insult a group that you belong to or care about (or when it feels like they are doing that). But please don't lash back like this on HN, for two reasons. First, it's against the site guidelines and we have to ban accounts that post like this (see https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html ). Second, it's not in your interest. Fulminating may bring tem…

Not frustration. Astonishment, at such low levels of self-awareness. People who will neg an entire region one minute, then get so hurt and offended by the advice of " don't wreck your pancreas " that they flag and report it. This was not me venting, or being angry. This was me being entirely serious. For the sake of the country and their own well being, they should go down there, and compare what they see at WalMart…

Ok, I believe you about your subjective state (obviously!). Just please don't post more comments like the GP to HN. It's not what this site is for, and destroys what it is for.
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