mcjeff215

Yeah, I asked my wife to see if she has copies of any agreements she's signed. I'm sure you're probably right. Under most circumstances, I'd be ok with that . It's just in this instance, they "went over" what was covered and what wasn't and told me exactly how it would work out. It was only after understanding the charges that we agreed to try it out. The whole thing seems intentionally misleading and shady. Regardless, that's probably the course of action. I'll find out what this would normally be and attempt to settle it for a reduced percentage under the pretext of that misleading advice they've given. Who knows, maybe they'll actually get money out of my insurance provider and none of this will matter.

Yeah, you laugh at that... The first time we were there it was very much a respectable place. Kind of a holistic approach, which makes sense for things like migraines as it addresses issues like diet sensitivities and whatnot. The second time? It reminded me of Dr Kellogg. I even joked with my wife on the way out... "an enema and some fresh evergreens, that's all you need!" They proceeded to tell us how awful modern medicine is and it's all about the money. Doctors are trained prescription dispensers. They know better. It's all about natural medicine. We decided it wasn't for us at that point, though we got stuck with a 5k freaking bill!

The insurance shop has been fine, it's this provider that's been a pain. I'm always one to just man up and pay when I need to, but in this scenario, I really feel like I've been screwed. I talked to them again today and they told me they always have trouble like this with my insurance company and they're dealing with the appeal process and all that. I told them I was going to wait and see how it unfolds before I do anything and they were okay with that. Depending on that outcome, I told them we would address the balance. I didn't say I'd pay it, though. Like I said, I feel screwed. I called the insurance company and they told me that it was mostly under review still with the exception of a couple claims that have been denied. I explained the situation to them, but most of it lies with the physician's office and not the insurance company. Her suggestion was that I file an appeal. They didn't tell me anything more than what it says on the insurance company's website, though. She was reading from a screen, it was obvious. So, now it's wait and see. If it's still not covered, then I'll see if I can't get some real (non TBD!) legal advice. Damn it. This isn't the kind of stojan I want to deal with!

Anyone know anything about this? My wife gets really bad migraines, two or three a week. A friend of ours recommended one of those supplement/natural places. Both being fairly sceptical folks, we decided to check out, but take it all with a grain of salt. This crap is fairly fruity in my opinion. At the first visit, they had this patient advocate give us the run down on insurance coverage and total out of pocket costs. They told me that my plan was actually very good about stuff like this and would cover at the standard out-of-network rate. They would cut the remaining balance and that's how it would work. At that, we decided to let them take some blood and do some initial tests. We're only out a couple hundred bucks if it turns out to be total quackery. We wound up going to two appointments. Fast forward to now. My healthcare insurance has denied the first claims while the others are in "review" after requesting more info from the provider. The provider lists us as owing 5k (Yes, after two visits and some damn blood tests). I did a bit more research, it turns out the guy that runs this outfit also owns the lab that they send a good chunk of their samples off to. That sounds totally shady to me. They kept referring to her case as "easy", yet never *did* anything. Just ordered more and more tests. If they had been honest up front, we never would have gone through with any of the initial stuff to get a feel for it. We would have just walked out. I'm inclined to believe they knew that. They knew enough about my deductible, one would think they would know more about the plan. I'm sure they deal with this every day. Do I have any recourse? Is it time to contact a lawyer who deals with this crap? Or, am I just out 5k?

On the Pitchmen show, they go through quite a bit of due diligence with each product before offering them up for sale. Now of course that could always be B.S. for the TV, but they appear to only select somewhat decent products. The woman and I started watching that show. We wind up making comments like "Hi, Billy Mays here, and boy have I got an offer for you! Not one Douchebag, but two! Me and my buddy Sully here!" If nothing else, it's entertaining. These inventor types put years behind creating these goofy little products. I don't think I'd ever buy anything he sells, though!.

Yeah, need to remember that for news outlets, it's a ratings game. Higher ratings equates to more advertising dollars. If the stories convey more urgency, they're more likely to hold the audience longer. It's the same reason CNN.com runs stories about Brittany Spears and Angelina Jolie. If those are two of the top ten search terms, they're simply losing out on advertising revenue by not including that crap. That's especially true considering mainstream news outlets are going to rank much higher within Internet search results. It's not the flu itself that worries me, it's all of the somewhat unrelated measures that have taken place. Banning US pork products? Overreaction like that just snowballs.

I had that thought a couple years back too. Salaries for tech. folks in WNY are lower and real estate isn't as much (a big old abandoned warehouse would work). Rig up a bunch of VOIP gear and bring in some big name technical support contracts. A little more than offshore, but (theoretically) one can provide better service.

Yeah, he's the embodiment of the "show up at the Baptist Church to be seen by the neighbors" southerner. That pray for rain stuff was just embarrassing. In the time I've been here, we've had that, stickers on text books reminding students that evolution is a theory, and a ten commandments issue. I just missed the no-gays-in-Cobb-county bit. The alcohol thing isn't even about convenience. It is a largely a Protestant routine. I can just picture the whole "a good Christian man wouldn't drink on the Lord's day" conversation happening with each Governor we've had. Look at it this way, most of the illegals moving into the area are probably of Catholic upbringing, so in about 3 years, Perdue's crowd is likely to be the minority! .

Yeah, sign me up too. As long as someone brings a fishing boat along full of food and water, it sounds like fun.

I had always thought it started earlier than that.. not to the point of "stranded on a desert island" atrophy though. Regardless, yeah, metabolism will tank.

Make sure you don't undercut your calorie requirement too much. If you're burning 2300 a day and drop to 1200 on a diet, you'll start burning muscle and your weight loss will slow. Ought to try to target about 500 cals less than your requirement. I dropped 30 lbs last year running 6 days a week and doing the above. Then Winter came, I traveled a bit, and kiddos had things to do... I think I just finished gaining it all back. Here we go again! Try to think of it as a lifestyle change, not just a temporary thing. That will help keep it off.

Just a bunch of dudes frantically Googling?

We may have at one point. They probably stopped it at about the same time they put the anti-evolution stickers on science books!

Since when was an ape a marsupial? Oh, in Canada... right...

Here in GA one can buy wine at a grocery store six days a week. No alcohol sales on Sunday. Period. It came up again a year or so back and our governor said something like "I don't think Georgia is ready for that."

Of course not. That's not the issue though. I actually kind of respect her for stating what she honestly felt, regardless of the reasoning behind it. My point is that I think she could have answered it in a much more diplomatic manner, which would have probably been a bit more beneficial to her. I really think that if she would have left out that "in my country" bit she would have been okay. That takes it from a personal morality standpoint to a national political position.

Yeah, we'll have to review the tape before I can comment on that, though...

Pauly "Walnutz" Gualtieri Dr. Jennifer Melfi -- Always thought she was the perfect mix of sultry professionalism and restraint. The freakin' Crypt Keeper.

"I believe that it's up to each individual state and the independent constituency within. I want what's correct for each state when the political climate is correct. As Miss America, I'll do my part to ensure every voice is heard." Successfully avoided without any personal feelings weaved in.

I don't even understand why this has to be a religious argument. No one is forcing the Catholic/Mormon/Southern Baptist/Lutheran/etc church to marry two men or two women. It's the legal agreement and the associated protections that people want. The "evil liberals" don't want to see gay unions blessed and validated in God's eyes. Why not grant consenting adults the legal status and leave the morality and religious connotations to the church itself? If your denomination decides to marry two dudes, then you've got your moral dilemma. Someone used the example of two older widows once. No family left and they desire to share in assets, tax liability, hospital/next of kin benefits, insurance status, and so on. Let them. From a legal status, that's no different than the state institution of marriage. Hell, for that matter, apply the same logic to polygamy of legal-age folks. I don't know. I've always been a small government guy. I don't want my tax money paying for a debate like this or for any subsequent amendment votes. Hell, call my marriage license a 'civil union between two adults' license for legal purposes. I don't care. That's especially true if it takes it off the table as a political issue. The sacrament itself is important to me regardless of what the government calls it. Edit... I think she made her mistake when she said "in my country..." If she had simply stated her personal beliefs, or that of her family, she would have probably been fine. By stating that she thinks it should be man and woman nationwide, she screwed it up. I *do* think she deserves credit for having enough sack to state what she did in a room like that with the question coming from Perez Hilton. It's a shame she didn't win, she's *smoking* hot.

Screw the robot, it's the never ending commercials that piss me off.

Ha. Same here. Why does everyone wait so long?

Yeah, that's a lot of it. None of it may hurt the kid at all (you ever been on a school bus? 'nuff said), but it's hard to be a parent around stuff like that. At least for me. I go into kid protection mode and spend more than half of my time watching for incoming puke streams, fist fights, and beer bottles. I'd have to go club, otherwise I wouldn't be able to enjoy the game myself. Realize that it's like you're taking your kid into a 70,000+ seat sports bar. That said, have fun with it! Cook some hot dogs in the parking lot. Toss a ball back and forth before you head in. I get annoyed at some of the behaviour when I'm just with adults, but it doesn't *really* bother me. The "positive" parts of the atmosphere still outweigh the four puking dudes, three fighting jerks, two swearing drunks, and the partridge in the pair tree.

My wife asked me "why do you like blondes better?" I answered "because they're hotter? I don't know?" My wife is a brunette.

Quite honestly, they showed a lot of the same lethargic skating back during the ECF runs. If you take out the heroics of the two that shall remain unspoken, it's much of the same. I really think that during 06-07 season, they rode the success of the first half of the year.