(IL)

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this, but long story short….

I currently work a government job that offers health insurance that is “self funded” meaning all of the employees insurance premiums along with the employers contributions go into a fund that finances the our medical expenditures throughout the year.

It’s managed by a third party insurance company and it’s set up like a typical health insurance plan (deductibles, 80/20, max out of pocket, etc..) Coverage / deductibles are mediocre at best.

Every year it seems like our premiums are going up, which is to be expected with the rising cost of healthcare and all, but this year, they skyrocketed (30%-125%) depending on the plan.

The county board has a history of borrowing money from the employee funded health fund to finance unexpected projects or expenditures. They say they pay back the money, but haven’t FOIA’d the documents to prove it.

Is it legal for the county board, who’s members aren’t even covered by the employee funded health plan, to use the money for other projects or expenses? Are their statues in place that regulate the use of these types of funds?

Thanks

People put themselves in these situations, and I don’t buy the “unhealthy food is cheaper” argument because you don’t need to go all organic and fancy to not eat garbage that is bad for you all the time. The same goes for people who refuse to exercise when they are able to, and then suffer from weight related illness.

Friends,

First a little background, I was an HR Benefits Director for a company in the US for over five years. We had facilities in three states when I worked there. Within a month of starting as the director I already hated health insurance and recognized that the scam was worse than I imagined. The horrors only increased as I learned more, until the faithful year I learned, and we switched to, a "Self-Funded Health Care Plan."

Before we talk about Self-Funded (SF) Plan let's cover what is a Fully-Funded (FF) Plan.

Fully-Funded Insurance Plan

A FF plan is exactly what you think is happening at your company. Your company signs up with one of the major insurance carriers, gives them certain details about their employees, and the carriers then give them a list of premium payments for benefit levels.

So the company can pick from a bunch of different plans with different benefit levels and costs to the company. Then the company picks how much of that cost they will have the employees pay. You sign up for the plan level you want with what other family members you want covered, it comes out of your paycheck and you start dealing with the insurance company for all your health needs.

When you go to the doctor's office, that claim gets send to the insurance company.

Every month the company gets a bill that shows which employees are on the plans at what rate and that's it. Once you hit a certain number of covered bodies on a plan you can also start getting information about what kinds of things people are going to the doctors for. For instance, you might get a report that shows that 20% of your employees are making claims that might indicate they are pre-diabetic. It doesn't say which employees and also they don't give that information until you have a lot of people covered so not to expose it through just percentages.

They suggest you use this information to drive health incentives to your employees. The insurance company might even offer a discount if you offer a health drive event.

From talking to people, this is what everyone thinks is happening at their company, and for FF plans, they are mostly right.

Self-Funded Insurance Plan

Before I get into this, know that these are complicated. I can easily talk about my experience, but not all SF plans are exactly the same. The base concept is the same, which is what I'm here to write about.

In a SF plan, instead of hiring a carrier to handle yo

https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/california-proposal-double-taxes

breach of fundamental human right to control your medical care?

state regulation of interstate commerce?

Forcing people to buy product against their will?

Interference with doctor/patient relationship?

How many doctors would retire?

I (41F USA) would like to send postcards I create out to your post box. The postcards have a positive mental health, self care, self love theme. Would anyone be interested in receiving them? I started creating images regularly last Fall. I am still working on finding my exact style with words and art - would love to send them out to get your feedback on what you think. If anyone would like some original art and a mental boost, I am ready to send you a postcard this month! I used to dread going to the post box bc I had bill alerts etc. I decided to start sending myself and my kids postcards so I had something to look forward to. I was really in a slump after a divorce and snail mail really helped lift my spirits. I just bumped into this sub - I remember having pen pals when I was younger. Occasionally I write poems - along the vein of Dr. Suess and Shel Silverstein. Hope to connect with some folks who need something to look forward to in their inbox!

it did for me at least. i spent so much time thinking about myself and no one else, i became miserable. it turned into selfishness disguised as self care. when you only focus on your own feelings 100% of the time, you are going to end up drained. we live in an imperfect world, full of imperfect people, and if you look hard enough you will always find something to upset you, or an excuse that you can’t help others, or reasons you can’t step out of your comfort zone, etc. real self care is good. make sure you’re eating well, check in with yourself sometimes, take showers, brush your teeth, exercise. but “self care” now a days is often thinking of yourself first always and no matter what.

If anti-vaxxers refuse a free COVID-19 shot without a legit medical reason, why should the taxpayer have to flip the bill if they end up in ICU? I say you refuse a shot for no legit medical reason then you pay for your own health care related to easily preventable disease.

They don't even protect their own 70+ year old parents, let alone anyone in society.

I know it's a slippery slope-just venting.

Hi everyone. I don't have much battery life on my computer right now (no charger around me) but wanted to write something to get this ball rolling that I've been putting off... Basically, as the title indicates, I have a very, very happy life but am depressed and believe it's the kind of depression that would need to be medicated, but I live in a place that does not have that option. If you'd like to read about that in more detail, please look at the post I made previously in r/askdocs in my profile. I would link it but am afraid I'll chicken out on this post if I delay writing much longer by finding the link for you. I'm sorry...

I am at a point where I self-medicate with alcohol. I drink about a bottle of wine a day, or the equivalent in other kinds of alcohol. I have tried sobriety and the depression did not get better. I understand that one issue with my approach was that I did not replace my coping mechanism of drinking with anything else, but that was not for lack of trying-- I have a real problem with motivation due to the depression. However, I have tried exercise (which I loathe) and eating a balanced diet and things like that. No hobbies really give me joy anymore. In case if you haven't read my other post, I am NOT at all wanting to end my life. I am absolutely terrified of death and leaving my absolutely amazing life and family. I just want to feel that spark again.... And as shameful as it is, the only thing that makes me feel it is for the few hours that I'm drunk each night. I of course feel horrible in the morning. But it seems very worth it every night again.

Even though I have tried sobriety a few times, the longest time being about a year and a half, the depression still did not improve. I have no way of getting help for this other than perhaps books or free phone apps. I have watched a YouTuber for years called Noah who went through something similar to me with depersonalization/derealization, which is what sparked this whole joyless thing years ago (even though I am well over the depersonalization and derealization).

Is there a book out there or a resource for someone like me? Or am I just doomed to living like this so long as I live somewhere without access to medicine? If the latter is the case, is there any book or resource I could turn to to help ameliorate this all in the meantime? I do not want to use alcohol to feel the spark anymore... It isn't healthy, and on top of that, my husband is very naive about this all and I am

Masturbating may have many benefits for your mind and body. Despite the possibility of addiction, there are no harmful side effects. Feel free to enjoy self-pleasure without guilt or shame. Speak with a therapist or someone you trust about any negative feelings you have.

This bullshit is mentioned at a big website regarding public health, we all know that this is BULLSHIT, maybe a 100 years ago it was normal for a person to matsurbate once in a while but now i don’t think that it is possible because masturbating nowadays is connected to unhealthy addicted behaviour which is porn. Anyways this paragraph that i copied is really annoying me because its total crap and encouraging young people to masturbate and giving them the idea that it is normal and healthy, my conclusion is how do we fight this ? Its really bothering me how degenerate the society is now.

Sorry for the misleading title