The Insurance Industry is Evil, but the Health Insurance Industry is Really Evil

Here's a don't miss series by the Toledo Blade about the Health Care Industry. It's not pretty. This isn't exactly about, say, auto or car accidents, but the practice of "Deny, Delay and Deceive" seems to run across insurance families. Or as the story says: People with health insurance were harmed because insurers interfered.

Some Youtube vids.

Day One: Not what the doctor ordered.



Day Two:

Patient Peter Tsikns ordeal with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

Study Finds Its Better to Settle in Most Cases

As usual, you should consult your attorney. Just as a layman, I would imagine that there shouldn't be a large difference between a settlement and what you would get if a trial verdict goes your way. Full story here:

The vast majority of cases do settle — from 80 to 92 percent by some estimates, Mr. Kiser said — and there is no way to know whether either side in those cases could have done better at trial. But the findings, based on a study of 2,054 cases that went to trial from 2002 to 2005, raise provocative questions about how lawyers and clients make decisions, the quality of legal advice and lawyers’ motives.

Critics of the profession have long argued that lawyers have an incentive to try to collect fees that are contingent on winning in court or simply to bill for all the hours required to prepare and go to trial.

“What I would want them to look at was whether or not the lawyers had a strong financial incentive to go to trial,” said Cristina C. Arguedas, a criminal defense lawyer in Berkeley, Calif., when told of the study. “I’m not suggesting the answer, because I don’t know, but that would be my question.”

The study, which is to be published in the September issue of the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, does not directly answer Ms. Arguedas, but it does find that the mistakes were made more often in cases in which lawyers are typically paid a share of whatever is won at trial.

How To Avoid Car Accidents

This comes from the California and Insurance Blog about things you shouldn't do in your car:

Parents magazine has a list in its July, 2008 edition with "5 Totally Unsafe Car Moves." Their top 5:

1. Climbing into the backseat, while the car is moving;
2. Picking up your baby while the car is moving;
3. Traveling with pets loose in the car;
4. Packing the car to the gills; (My car doesn't have gills, does yours?)
5. Forgetting to double-check the car seat.

I have to tell you, other than #3 and maybe #4, none of these ever come up. After three kids, I can not count any times when anyone climbed into the backseat to be with the kids. The idea never even cross our minds. Nor did #2 or #5. I have traveled with an old dog to the vet with him sitting next to me. And once in a while, we put a lot of luggage in the car for a road trip. (Although, with gas prices being so high, the road trips are done for a while.)

Here are my 5 totally unsafe car moves:

1. Putting on makeup while driving;
2. Shaving while driving;
3. Text messaging while driving;
4. Changing your clothes while driving;
5. Passing things between cars while driving.

Share your totally unsafe car moves with me.

I think you would be better off if you just ignore kids and makeup entirely but that's just me.

Common Sense About Tattoo Removal

Common sense should prevail when you ask yourself should I remove my authentic Mali face tattoo
before I interview for a job that I really want. Or if you're like most people: a job that you
really need.

While times have changed and most people won’t assume you’re an unsavory sailor or an
ex con or that really scary guy Robert De Niro played in Cape Fear that you could read then you
should still expect the worst from your employer. That goes double if you’re in any kind of entry
level job where at will work rules prevail. “At will”, by the way, means that your
employer can fire you go for any reason. Now, if you have actually done any work in the work
place, then you will run into people who are completely insane and will stretch that version of
“any reason” into pretty much any reason. He or she just might not like you. They
might not like the cut of your jib, whatever a “jib” happens to be. You might work in
a office with a dress code that requires a short shirt that shows off your flaming arm tats. Your
tattoo just gives them an excuse to show off their authority.

Or, worse than the psychopathic boss that I can promise that you’ll run into, your tattoos
could actually be a legitimate hindrance to your job. If you’re working with a clientele
that’s conservative or that doesn’t like people with tattoos then it’s your
job—if you want that job—to get rid of that tattoo. If you have a family to feed, or just
yourself, then you have to get rid of things that hinder you in the workplace. That’s what
grownups do anyway.

Now, for tattoos that are on parts of your body that aren’t visible—for example the Henry
Rollins tats on the back—then that’s a problem that can be easily solved. If you have
tattoos on your legs or your arms then you might make a disciplined decision to cover up both your
legs and your arms when you’re at work. You certainly would want to do that for any kind of
job interview that you’re serious about. Ditto for any kind of odd piercings that you would
even suspect would be a turn off. You might even want to continue that policy if you’re
company has a strict dress code and they’re a bit touchy about it.

Yet what about those tattoos that you can’t easily hide or on parts of your body that you
can’t conceal, such as your face or upper neck? This depends on the job of course, but if
you’re an adult and you act like an adult then you need to consider professional removal of
those tattoos. The technology has improved over the years and in this economy—whch looks like it
will get worse before it gets better—then your job is probably the most important thing that you
have.

You simply can’t afford to lose your job over a cosmetic decision that you made in your late
teens.

So grow up and make the make the right choice for you and your family, if you’re planning on
having a career that will allow you to support one. Have those job killing tattoos removed by a
professional.