Shadows just seem darker these days
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spatch has summarized our latest go-round with our health insurance on Twitter. He used a lot less profanity than I would have. I mean, I texted him to ask if "dumpsterfuck" was a word.The good news, if you want to call it that, is that we can get our coverage reinstated for July. What we do not seem able to do, for the above-detailed reasons that feel like a fish trap rather than a business model, is get any kind of coverage or reimbursement for June.
Our refills having fallen due in the middle of this process, a word which increasingly capitalizes itself à la Kafka inside my head, I just paid out of pocket for a small amount of medications for myself and Rob because otherwise we're relying on willpower and over-the-counter drugs to manage brain chemistry, chronic pain, and an autoimmune disorder. Spoiler: it's not possible. Anyone who suggests we just don't have the right forward-thinking attitude is cordially invited to think of ten unprintable things and enact nine of them.
In mitigated bad news, I was glad to hear that Governor Baker has reversed his original decision to send the Massachusetts National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border to assist with the unlawful separation of families and the internment of children. The fact that he keeps making decisions like the original decision at all is one of the many, many reasons I plan to replace him with anything with ethics in November. In the meantime, you can donate to RAICES.
In actually good news, of which it's nice to have a little, I started Yoon Ha Lee's Revenant Gun (2018) on the way back from the insurance office, perhaps feeling that one dystopia deserves another, and I am enjoying it tremendously. I last encountered this novel in a relatively early draft, meaning it came as a nice surprise that while the first chapter features Jedao waking up to discover that he's being asked to prosecute a war with uncertain intelligence, patchy memories, and a body that really doesn't remember collecting all these scars, the second chapter features Brezan waking up to discover that he's being asked to run a government, which is definitely worse. I am extremely and unsurprisingly fond of Kel Brezan, who is cranky, basically decent, and would probably do very well left alone in a room with a lot of paperwork as opposed to the labyrinthine space politics he has been required to play ever since someone who looked like Kel Cheris but talked like Shuos Jedao shot the trigger off his gun while he was drawing it on them. I already want the crackfic crossover between him and Maia Drazhar.
The rest of this is just tiring.
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Thinking of you. I'm sorry the health insurance people are being terrible.
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Thank you. I feel we have officially passed the "stupid" stage and entered "malevolent." Individual people have been honest and helpful to the best of their abilities, but at this point I feel toward the system as firebugs must feel toward forests of pitch pine.
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Thank you. I want to rewatch Welles' The Trial (1962), except it's not on FilmStruck anymore.
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I read Baker had reversed himself, and immediately called him to thank him for that, and to push him to adopt *some* version of the Safe Communities Act, even if not in the budget, because sheesh.
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Thank you. I genuinely don't know what we could have done differently with the information we were given. I don't think we could have done anything differently with the information we were given. Hence the feeling of the fish trap.
I read Baker had reversed himself, and immediately called him to thank him for that, and to push him to adopt *some* version of the Safe Communities Act, even if not in the budget, because sheesh.
I think the combination of positive reinforcement and gentle pushing is valuable and I hope it finally has some effect where the Safe Communities Act is concerned, because, as you say, sheesh. I just really don't want a governor who I have to call to thank for doing the marginally right thing!
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I hope from here on out the curse will be broken.
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After saying they will!
I hope from here on out the curse will be broken.
Thank you.
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Can confirm it’s not, and that’s me speaking as a person who’s made off-label use of non-drowsy Claritin...
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I hope you have something now that works better than that.
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Child's always agitating us to do a travel team.
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Just so you know, you're wonderful.
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I can see that you might well feel that your energy and stress management could be better employed elsewhere, but this is SO egregious that I wonder whether there is some consumer assistance bureau or ethics watchdog or something that could beat up on Mass Health for you. Their conduct is unconscionable.
P.
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Thank you on both fronts!
I wonder whether there is some consumer assistance bureau or ethics watchdog or something that could beat up on Mass Health for you. Their conduct is unconscionable.
We are going to file the appeal no matter what and if it fails I am honestly wondering if we can take them to small claims court. (The out-of-pocket costs of medications and doctor's appointments, while prohibitive for us, are probably still that level. If one of us ends up in a hospital, of course, they won't be.)
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David and I were without health insurance for one month between the end of the COBRA from his previous regular job, and the beginning date for general coverage via the ACA. It was nerve-wracking. I actually did wrench my knee shoveling snow during that period, and just iced and elevated and hoped for the best. At least you aren't at risk for that. But seriously, ARGH.
P.
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AAAARGH. >.< That's awful.
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Thank you.
What is your icon text from? I sympathize.
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That one's from Newsflesh. ^_^
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Thank you.
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I am sorry.
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Thank you.
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Thank you. I will think of your icon.
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Thank you.
God forbid, which if I need to swear more later on?
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And a character who would cross over with Maia is an extremely good reason to, well, not read right now because I don't have the spare processing capacity, but to look forward to when I do.
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Thank you.
And a character who would cross over with Maia is an extremely good reason to, well, not read right now because I don't have the spare processing capacity, but to look forward to when I do.
Whenever you do, enjoy!
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There's a comic somewhere fairly early in Questionable Content in which one of the characters, trying to dispose in advance of every horrible possibility of what she's about to hear, suggests "OhGod, you had filthy dumpster sex, didn't you?!?". So probably, although possibly not in the sense you meant...
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Yeah, mine was more like the counterpart of "clusterfire," but that's still a great line.
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***SETS EVERYTHING ON FIRE***
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That's what we were told.
When it's not the government, I think it's called "extortion."
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At this point, I would not even be surprised if we went back to their office and discovered it had moved into a train station, or a disused hotel, or an airplane hangar, and had always been there.
I hope they will end up having to reimburse you for your June out-of-pocket expenses.
Thank you. We would enjoy that a lot more than what they're doing now!