One of the most surreal experiences in my life was riding in an ambulance in Norway and having the EMT sheepishly explain that while the ambulance ride was free, the ER visit was going to come with a bill. He was equal parts embarrassed and indignant about it. The bill was the equivalent of $25.

And the more you dig into it, the worse it gets. That price discrepancy exists at the provider level too.

• You have a health issue and need treatment.
• The treatment cost the Dr $200 to perform.
• The list price for the treatment is $500.
• The big insurer uses the weight of their customer base to negotiate with the Dr and the agree to pay $300 for the treatment. If the doctor doesn’t accept, then they’re out of network and can’t get patients.
• The plucky startup co-op doesn’t have the same negotiating leverage, so they have to pay $400 for the treatment.
• The co-op is going to cost more to operate, and now the real monthly cost you have to pay with the co-op is $700 instead of $600.

And it gets worse.

This video is a nice little primer about how the insurer might not even pay that $300 they agreed to, how that let’s them profit further on the treatment while creating financial pressure on healthcare providers, and how your Dr may end up being owned by the insurer, further reducing the ability of a new co-op to compete.

If you have an employer that does the right thing, you should have a union that doesn’t need to do much. But you should still unionise, because it’s niave to think the company will always continue to behave that way. If anything, they naturally drift away from that state and it’s only a matter of time until it changes. The union is about having a level playing field with the company when you need it.

Glasses usually have obscene markups. Imo, the most cost effective way is often lasik (or similar), but it’s an up front cost.

I think I paid 4k usd for both eyes, but that was something like 10 years ago and with no assistance from insurance.

I still get an eye exam every few years just to make sure everything is okay, but I am expecting another 10 years before I need too start thinking about vision correction again. Also, I’m fairly certain the provider that performed my lasik offered a warranty and would perform additional corrections as I age, but I don’t live anywhere near the location anymore.

When I compare that to the combined cost of insurance, exams, glasses, contacts, and prescription sunglasses that my wife pays… lasik was a significant cost savings for me (and that’s not counting any quality of life benefits).

Oatly oat cream is a staple in my fridge at this point. It’s basically better than cream (or milk if diluted) in many recipes because it’s more heat resistant and flavour neutral.

Others have pointed out siblings, but it’s also worth noting that, in the context of your comment, sisters and brothers is more correct. Sibling is more clinical and might be used in a description like “I have 3 siblings, 2 brothers and 1 sister”. When you are addressing a group, the more familiar brothers and sisters is appropriate. “May the force be with you, siblings” would be very weird.

10 years… how refreshingly optimistic…

In 2007, Congress passed the increase to 7.25 to take effect in 2009. The minimum wage change 15 years ago was passed 17 years ago.