polamalu2009

Comments:

• As a grandson of immigrants one of the greatest social embarrassments would be not having enough to go around for all your guests. To this day we prepare way too much food and some goes to waste. Dick you are welcome to come and bring your appetite.

  Post: Pass the mashed potatoes by Quinn

  Link to comment from December 31, 2024

• Yes and the same glad tidings to all of Jonathan’s readers and posters. The finest group of online people anywhere.

  Post: To all

  Link to comment from December 26, 2024

• I would never confess to being anything more than middle class. If pressed I will confess to “upper” middle class. There is tremendous resentment against the rich or wealthy in this country- unless you’re an entertainer or professional athlete. I’ve always thought that the definition of wealthy was being able to live your desired lifestyle without having to labor, i.e. off your passive income alone.

  Post: Are you wealthy or just rich? By Dick Quinn

  Link to comment from December 18, 2024

• i thought I posted the above on your forum post from yesterday. Hard to tell whether it was a fat finger error or an iPad gremlin. You are correct, the majority of claims went through routinely. However those that were flagged were inevitably expensive alternatives for my sickest patients who needed them. The time and effort it took to appeal their decisions were onerous and often led me and my colleagues to abandon the effort. I don’t think that was accidental. In addition United Health Care and others had “ report cards” for their customers for physicians who exhibited “best practices”. Translation: the cheapest care.

  Post: HD readers – “a cut above” as Jersey Mike the new billionaire says

  Link to comment from December 10, 2024

• As a recently retired gastroenterologist I’ll offer my two cents. The denial of care was a real thing. Of course we had the right to appeal a denial and to discuss the case with a “peer reviewer “. Usually this would involve me explaining a highly complicated inflammatory bowel disease patient experiencing complications and why a particular treatment or course of action was recommended. The “peer” would usually be a retired GP who didn’t know what the hell I was talking about and more often than not would deny the request based on what his “handbook said”. United Healthcare was the worst. After so many of these denials I simply gave up which I’m sure was their goal all along.

  Post: HD readers – “a cut above” as Jersey Mike the new billionaire says

  Link to comment from December 9, 2024

• Wonderful, heartfelt story Steve. I am continually amazed at the courage and risk taking of people like your dad, my grandparents and parents who not only survived the first half of the 20th century but then thrived in the second. No hardships in my life can compare to what they went through and I am eternally grateful.

  Post: Coming Home by Steve Abramowitz

  Link to comment from October 23, 2024

• Agree and our utility bill takes another third.

  Post: Hedging your bet in retirement-dealing with inflation. What’s your strategy? R Quinn

  Link to comment from September 29, 2024

• The Dunning- Kruger effect. Cognitive bias. Those with limited or no knowledge of a complex subject are often the most confident in their stated opinions. As a former physician I saw it nearly daily. The classic example is a person watching a college football game yelling out suggestions to Nick Saban.

  Post: Anybody Listening? by Jonathan Clements

  Link to comment from September 27, 2024

• I would ask that you hear me out before commencing the eye rolls because the general consensus of these places is playgrounds for the rich. But visit them off season and they are magical. There is a reason they became famous in the first place. All three are islands. The first is Nantucket Island. Go in April or early May or in late September. No crowds. All the Bostonians are back at work or school. Stay at the Boat Basin or get a VRBO within walking distance of Nantucket town. At dusk the ghosts of the old whalers come out and walk the cobblestone streets with you. The Whaling Museum’s is one of my favorite museums in America. The next island is St. Barths French West Indies. It is unlike any other island in the Caribbean. It is as if some god tore off a piece of Nice and plunked it into the Caribbean. Again off season. The food, wine, beaches, sailing are incredible. Finally my favorite. The island of Capri Italy. A short ferry ride from Naples. Again April, May late September or October. Not just for a day trip but to stay. You will quickly get into the rhythm of the place. Hiking up to the ruins of Tiberius’ palace, hiking down to the Faraglioni, eating pasta with seafood, reading on your terrace, walking through gardens. Renting an old fishing boat with its captain to circumnavigate the island and visiting the grottoes. Truly magical. The key to all three: off season, live like a local, spend a few days and not just a day trip.

  Post: First Place by Jonathan Clements

  Link to comment from September 6, 2024

• What is this 25% excise tax?

  Post: I would like some RMD advice

  Link to comment from September 4, 2024