Something different...

[Clearwater AL]

Something different to rant about..

I couldn’t be more happier that the dead line for Medicare Part C has passed.
The endless commercials, every channel, 24/7 and one here with some women
named Martha. It costs millions to advertise like that on national TV, where
did that $,$$$,$$$ come from?

Ok, these plans, anyone needs to read the fine print first. And when you
are talking to someone on the phone… they are sales people. No different
than a car salesmen, most likely commissioned too. I’ve wondered if at the beginning
of the call you told them you are going to record the call.

If you have a big co-pay there is a credit card (won’t name it… advertising
restrictions here) that is solely for medical expenses, it has a 4 star rating
and recommended by a lot of doctor facilities. The first six months are
interest free and after that the interest rate is reasonable.
(Most hospitals will also offer a payment plan, years ago we used one.)

We have two relates who bought into of these plans, after few months
they were told their regular doctor withdrew from the plan… that wasn’t
true. Their regular doctor was forced out of the plan.

Now I hope the dead line for Marines/family who deserve compensation
comes soon. The political ads have passed… maybe. The next election is
two years from now. But… one crazy ego manic is already conning for
money with a collector card scam. You’d think we could have at least
a break for one year, next year, before it all starts again.

To me, isn’t strange the most of the channels have all agreed to go
commercial break at the same time? So much for competition.
Then news programs, shows that are on the air for just 8 to 12 minutes
followed by 4 to 8 minutes of commercials.

Guess I need to break down and get that thing that records the programs
then you can skip past the commercials.

Anywhooo… that’s my rant.

 

[KimT]

I'm recording everything, including the news. Between Joe Namath selling Plan C and Tom Selleck selling reverse mortgages, I just couldn't take it any longer.

There are some states that do have decent Advantage plans but you have to read the fine print carefully. And Florida isn't one of them. My SIL got conned by someone who goes to her gym. First, the lady had her son, who was an Advantage Plan salesman, go to her house and sign her up, then he gave her Covid. My niece got her out of the contract but now she has long Covid with congestive heart failure. I doubt that Advantage Plan would have paid her full hospital deductible like her supplement did (in fact, I know it wouldn't because I read the plan.). They tried to push it on an 80-year old who just thought she was saving money and was totally confused at what she actually signed.

I'm also sick of drug ads on TV.

I saw the collector scam and thought it was a skit. It was not. But the grift will continue and people will continue to send him money. He's sure low hanging fruit for late night TV.

 

[Clearwater AL]

Those pharma ads make me chuckle, covering the possible side effects takes longer than the initial ad.
The side effects... they're more scary than the rash or ill you maybe suffering from. My guess... is your
doctor on board with them? I also wonder if they (doctors) get kick backs. Don't mean to fuel another
conspiracy . And those ads take millions of dollars to have on national TV too. Maybe it's the high
prices they charge here to pay for the ads here.

Whatever...

 

[lisa g]

First it was the political ads as if they weren't overplayed then it moved on to the Medicare supplement commercials. I think if I saw Martha with her oversized glasses one more time I would shoot myself. Lucky that my fingers still work so I could continuously hit the mute button.

I agree Al, the pharmaceutical ads are down right scary. The side effects they spew sound alot worse than what the medication is for. I'm constantly shaking my head at those ads.

 

[Clearwater AL]

Lisa, the ads for Camp Lejeune… not a bad thing. It came from their steel underground petroleum storage tanks rusting out then leaking into the ground. I was a Projects Manager for a petroleum equipment company. We serviced and built new service stations (gas stations) we didn’t call them pumps… our terminology was dispensers.

About that time, after 1987, the EPA forced the removal of steel tanks to fiberglass tanks. Many qualified for the Super Fund. It pushed my project schedule board from 3 weeks to 3 or 4 months. All the other petroleum companies endured the same, in some cases we worked together.

A sad part was it forced a lot of small Mom and Pop gas stations out of business because they had steel tanks or ‘leakers’… they didn’t qualify for the Super Fund. When we removed leaking steel tanks we had to dig as much contaminated soil possible. Many of these small gas stations had to have their product (gas/diesel) pumped out then for some who couldn’t afford removal we filled up their old steel tanks with a concrete slurry mix which would eventually harden.

To me it was a sad story for hundreds of these family stations that didn’t get much/hardly any coverage or help from the Super Fund.

Ok, wrote all that (thanks for staying with it if you did) to say this, think about this… that was just Camp Lejeune. I think about all the neighborhood and rural leaking tanks we removed. People on wells most of all. Public water plants, at that time, weren’t alert to dangerous levels of benzene and other contaminates or didn’t have the funds to upgrade filtration.

To this day Flint Michigan is replacing equipment and pipes that are 50 and 60 years old. That’s just Flint.

Just my thoughts… the huge wave of Cancer that has beleaguered this country. And… other diseases, maybe MNDs too. Guess I rambled a rant

 

[Clearwater AL]

Another ad is the one for a car warranty from 5,000 to 150,000 miles with
famous people promoting them. My opinion, when something floods the
TV with countless ads… again it takes millions of dollars to run those ads.

No repair shop is going to release the car until the repairs are paid for.
Most likely there will be exchange between the shop and the warranty
company which may not be the same day.

Then shops may have a labor rate of say… $70 dollars an hour. But, the
warranty company may have a different lower flat labor rate they pay.
You could end up with a co-pay amount.

And… a repair shop I use said there is a first computer diagnostic test the
warranty company won’t pay for. These computer tests often indicate the
problem or other problems directly. “Other Problems”… you wanted your
power window fixed but the computer test indicated you have power
steering issue. A lot of new cars today do not have fluid power steering
but have electronic assist power steering. Now the warranty company wants
to question something that wasn’t the original repair request. Rather than
repair that issue while it’s there… they often want to you re-issue a new
repair claim. I’ll keep short and just say… round and round it goes.

The Better Business Bureau here will only say the complaints are numerous.

Ok, I rambled again… maybe I did a public service.

Have to make an edit to my post above, it's been many years. We did not
completely fill the old steel tanks with the concrete slurry mix. We filled
about a 1/4 or 3rd. It was enough to keep the tank down from possible future
high water tables. Then in the future if the tank were to be removed it
wouldn't be a 2 or 4 thousand gallon rock to be lifted out. The folks who
had to have their tanks emptied were paid for the products they lost.
There's more my memory now recalls but enough of that..