by way of background: Most people in Germany are covered by one of the state health insurance carriers. By law, every employee, every beneficiary, and their dependents, etc. is covered by this plan, which charges premiums based on your taxable income. Some people pay no premiums but get full coverage. The bulk of the population covers them by paying 14.6% of their adjusted taxable income into the scheme. It's a constant battle, but the quality of care for everyone in the population is pretty damned high.
Only a lucky few can opt out of this scheme: a) people who earn a lot b) freelancers (like me)
So I have a private scheme (costs me about â¬700 a month for me and my youngest son). But I also have a deductible so end up paying most bills out of my own pocket.
This means I see the bills and to be honest, I am pretty surprised at how reasonable they are. The state-insured pay even less than I do.
Got a bill today for Covid swab test, 36 hours in the quarantine ward, six hourly blood-saturation, blood pressure and temperature monitoring: ⬠278
So many business opportunities missed to gouge the population!
by way of background: Most people in Germany are covered by one of the state health insurance carriers. By law, every employee, every beneficiary, and their dependents, etc. is covered by this plan, which charges premiums based on your taxable income. Some people pay no premiums but get full coverage. The bulk of the population covers them by paying 14.6% of their adjusted taxable income into the scheme. It's a constant battle, but the quality of care for everyone in the population is pretty damned high.
Only a "lucky" few can opt out of this scheme: a) people who earn a lot b) freelancers (like me)
So I have a private scheme (costs me about €700 a month for me and my youngest son). But I also have a deductible so end up paying most bills out of my own pocket.
This means I see the bills and to be honest, I am pretty surprised at how reasonable they are. The state-insured pay even less than I do.
Got a bill today for Covid swab test, 36 hours in the quarantine ward, six hourly blood-saturation, blood pressure and temperature monitoring: € 278
Far out. That's nuts. Why do the insurance companies accept such inflated bills?
Because they don't pay them. They have agreements with the hospitals; the hospital bills a huge amount to establish their rate, but has a contract with insurance that says they'll accept vastly less. But if you're out of network or a self-pay, they can point to the $6000 as "usual and customary" and there you go. America!
Far out. That's nuts. Why do the insurance companies accept such inflated bills?
Because they don't pay them. They have agreements with the hospitals; the hospital bills a huge amount to establish their rate, but has a contract with insurance that says they'll accept vastly less. But if you're out of network or a self-pay, they can point to the $6000 as "usual and customary" and there you go. America!
So where do we disagree ? Enough to say that I am lying ?
The statement you put in bold in my previous post
Unfortunately wearing a mask does less to protect you than others.
Followed by your statement:
That is a myth lie, recently admitted by Fauci. It was stated early on in order to keep masks available for health care workers; to prevent a shortage for health care workers by the public hoarding them like everything else.
I have not seen any statements by Fauci or other health officials that directly disputes this.
I do try to avoid meta-discussions of other people's posts but my reading was that you were saying that Fauci previously lied by saying the bolded statement was untrue. I dispute that.
Medical masks and cloth face coverings are now a common sight when venturing out in public amidst the coronavirus pandemic; most states require them as part of reopening plans, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advocates their use.
This wasn’t always the case. When the coronavirus pandemic hit stateside, face masks were strictly recommended as personalprotective equipment (PPE) for health care professionals. According to Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert and a key member of the White House coronavirus task force, masks weren’t advised to the public from the start because of the anticipated PPE shortages.
Gov. Greg Abbott said the virus had taken a âswift and dangerous turnâ in Texas, noting that the percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive had risen to 13 percent from 4 percent in month.
The increase in positive % kills the argument that the increasing number of cases is due to an increase in testing
So where do we disagree ? Enough to say that I am lying ?
The statement you put in bold in my previous post
Unfortunately wearing a mask does less to protect you than others.
Followed by your statement:
That is a myth lie, recently admitted by Fauci. It was stated early on in order to keep masks available for health care workers; to prevent a shortage for health care workers by the public hoarding them like everything else.
I have not seen any statements by Fauci or other health officials that directly disputes this.
I do try to avoid meta-discussions of other people's posts but my reading was that you were saying that Fauci previously lied by saying the bolded statement was untrue. I dispute that.
Masks do a great deal to protect the wearer, at least the commercially made surgical masks. They aren't as good as the M95 certified ones, but they are effective enough to go a long way to benefit the wearer. The homemade cloth ones ... now with those you would be correct. They do little to protect the wearer and more the people on the other side of the mask.
No, you are lying. The evidence on masks protecting others is solid.
So where do we disagree ? Enough to say that I am lying ?
That is a myth lie, recently admitted by Fauci. It was stated early on in order to keep masks available for health care workers; to prevent a shortage for health care workers by the public hoarding them like everything else.
Masks do a great deal to protect the wearer, at least the commercially made surgical masks. They aren't as good as the M95 certified ones, but they are effective enough to go a long way to benefit the wearer. The homemade cloth ones ... now with those you would be correct. They do little to protect the wearer and more the people on the other side of the mask. Maybe ... I see the home made ones as more virtue signaling than anything else.
30 a day ? Wow. You thought that you wouldn't have any because Trump is not your leader ? Take the glass half full. We are farther along with more real knowledge and thus more prepared to deal with the virus now than back when this all started. Survival is much more likely now.
So based on your statement, I can assume that you wear a mask 100% of the time you are out in public, as I do ?
No, you are lying. The evidence on masks protecting others is solid. The physics makes sense. You know how they came up with the social distancing 1.5-2 m guide? That was from knowing how far droplets an unprotected sneeze or cough disperse. Wearing a mask will not only filter out many particles, particularly the larger ones, but it reduces the velocity and thus the dispersion. You know, like we were all taught to cover our mouths when we cough. Only now we don't want you to get the goo onto your hands where it can transmit the disease when you touch surfaces (a secondary form of transmission).
I disagree with the early communication that masks weren't needed for the general population. That was part lack of understanding of the virus but mainly to protect supplies for health care workers. Understandable but a more nuanced approach would have got people in high-infection areas wearing cloth masks earlier and most importantly would have helped get more people to accept them. And I'm good with doing everything we can to protect the ones on the front line, even if it means a slight increase in risk of catching it for the rest of us. But all of that is about allocation of resources, not about cloth masks protecting others to a greater degree than they protect you.
What we have are leaders who have stuffed up royally on occasion but generally follow the science. Our prime minister would have gone more of the trump route but his powers are less dictatorial and he probably would have been turfed out by his party if he did. We have strong contact tracing but that is quite hard to do in many cases. We have good communication from the government, including information in dozens of 63 languages because we want to do our best to make sure that people understand what they are being told. Leadership on the state level is stronger than the pathetic Trump ass-kisser prime minister. Victoria was down to less than 10 a day - it's the trajectory that is important. The premier just started a testing blitz in the hot-spot areas. 100,000 tests in a week, focused on locations with breakouts. Our premier isn't afraid to ask for federal help where it is needed, even if that makes the other party look good. Same thing he did with asking for the military to help with bushfire evacuations. Other states still have their borders closed. And just so you know, I don't like many things this Labor Party premier has done but he is good on crisis response.
I follow the government guidance and don't wear a mask most of the time. Locally, we haven't had any new cases in about a month, and they test everyone who goes into hospital. They also test the sewage but that is still research. Minimising time in public spaces, particularly indoors, hygiene, and social distancing go a very long way when most people chip in - if your caseload is small enough. But, it is really hard to snuff this one out completely. Even New Zealand found a case or two after they thought it might be gone. You have to maintain resolve, something many Americans seem to lack.
Unfortunately wearing a mask does less to protect you than others.
So yeah, I judge people who don't wear masks in your country. I fully expect guidance here to change to having people wear masks in crowded spaces. Afterall, my state is up to about 30 new cases a day.
That is a myth lie, recently admitted by Fauci. It was stated early on in order to keep masks available for health care workers; to prevent a shortage for health care workers by the public hoarding them like everything else.
Masks do a great deal to protect the wearer, at least the commercially made surgical masks. They aren't as good as the M95 certified ones, but they are effective enough to go a long way to benefit the wearer. The homemade cloth ones ... now with those you would be correct. They do little to protect the wearer and more the people on the other side of the mask. Maybe ... I see the home made ones as more virtue signaling than anything else.
30 a day ? Wow. You thought that you wouldn't have any because Trump is not your leader ? Take the glass half full. We are farther along with more real knowledge and thus more prepared to deal with the virus now than back when this all started. Survival is much more likely now.
So based on your statement, I can assume that you wear a mask 100% of the time you are out in public, as I do ?
Texas hit ~5500/day this week. Florida something like 9000.
The fact both states have GOP Governors is pure coincidence. c.
But, they have GOP governors as a result of elections - so it's really the majority of voters who are responsible for "sending a message" about how they want their state run. After all, the governor can do/say whatever the heck they want, and the people have their choice to make.
In CA, Newsom correctly tells everyone that cases are on the rise and wear a mask. And the replies he gets on FB/Twitter are along the lines of "you're an idiot and I won't do what you tell me, Dad."
Another of the failing points of Trump is his willingness to connote to the nation that science is political. What he says trickles down to his supporters, and ripples through the community. The real leadership would be to say
"The learned people are telling me that this could be really bad news if we don't do what's right. It's tough, but we're all in this together and we'll support you however we can. But, we've weathered worse in America, and will come out on the other side having done all we know how to do. So let's listen to the people who've spent their entire lives and careers doing everything they can to understand this better - and do what they say, for the sake of your friends, family, neighbors, and all Americans. Doctor Fauci - what should we be doing?"
kurtster wrote: Unfortunately wearing a mask does less to protect you than others.
So yeah, I judge people who don't wear masks in your country. I fully expect guidance here to change to having people wear masks in crowded spaces. Afterall, my state is up to about 30 new cases a day.
Texas hit ~5500/day this week. Florida something like 9000.
The fact both states have GOP Governors is pure coincidence. c.
The thing we learned, or should have learned at the start of this, is that you need to take a small number of infected people seriously
