I feel like I should make a post about this because it’s not something that’s very well-known, and that Americans in particular may need to know about given the uncertain state of our healthcare system at the moment. I’ve wanted to write this out for a while, It’s kind of a long post, so sorry about that!
If you have an emergency and have to go to the hospital, you’ll owe the hospital a lot of money. (I got into a car wreck and broke my ankle and my arm. My hospital bill was around $20,000)
You’ll also owe the ambulance provider, if you need one. (My ambulance bill was about $800)
You may get separate bills from the anesthesiologist or surgeon. (My anesthesiologist bill was $1,700)
You may need follow-up appointments. (My orthopedic surgeon billed me for the appointments and his surgery together and it was about $1,000)
You’ve also got to pay for medical equipment you need afterward, like crutches or a walking boot. (Mine cost about $75)
Altogether, I ended up with almost $24,000 in medical debt from one car accident. That’s a really scary number for someone like me who makes $10/hr at a 12 hour a week job.
I got my debt down to $1075 by making some phone calls and submitting some paperwork.
The first thing I did was contact the hospital. They don’t make it easy to find, but many hospitals (perhaps most hospitals?) have financial assistance programs for people who can’t afford medical bills. I don’t make a lot of money, and I have bills to pay, so they were able to help me. I called the billing department and asked if they had any assistance programs for low income people who can’t pay their bills. I had to call multiple times, and I got transferred in circles by people who didn’t know what I was talking about. Finally, I got an appointment with someone in “Eligibility Services” (I don’t know what other hospitals call it, if it’s something different). I had to bring my pay stubs and copies of all of my bills. When I got to the hospital for the appointment, nobody knew what I was talking about so I had to wander a little to find where I needed to go. I spoke with the guy in Eligibility Services, and I waited for a decision on how much of the bill they would forgive. A month later, I got a call telling me it was totally forgiven.
I did the same thing for my ambulance bill and my anesthesiologist, but the process was a LOT easier. I just had to mail some paperwork and it was totally forgiven.
I didn’t bother with the medical equipment suppliers, since the bills came from separate companies and I didn’t feel like going through the process twice for $75. I was assured at the hospital that they had similar programs for debt forgiveness, so I could have probably avoided paying that too.
The only thing I couldn’t get taken care of was the surgeon/follow-up appointment cost, but they were able to put me on a no-interest payment plan.
Medical debt is scary because it’s something that can come from stuff that’s already really scary. I didn’t need the burden of $24,000 in debt on top of trying to get around on a crutch with a broken arm (it’s not easy, believe me!).. but I can’t imagine what it would be like with a bigger debt or a more severe medical emergency. I see lots of people in even worse trouble than I was in, both financially and medically. Please know that there are options for you when that GoFundMe doesn’t do enough. Even if your income is higher than mine, it’s worth a shot even for partial debt forgiveness.
I am about 900% sure there are people who don`the know this.
PLEASE READ THIS IF YOU LIVE IN AMERICA AND HAVE MEDICAL BILLS
I had to do this once as well and I can ABSOLUTELY confirm that this is true.
Get in contact with the hospital. Don’t just…sit there and let the anxiety grow and panic and then ignore it in an effort to find peace.
This adorable little robot is designed to make sure its photosynthesising passenger is well taken care of. It moves towards brighter light if it needs, or hides in the shade to keep cool. When in the light, it rotates to make sure the plant gets plenty of illumination. It even likes to play with humans.
Oh, and apparently, it gets antsy when it’s thirsty.
The robot is actually an art project called “Sharing Human Technology with Plants” by a roboticist named Sun Tianqi. It’s made from a modified version of a Vincross HEXA robot, and in his own words, its purpose is “to explore the relationship between living beings and robots.”
I don’t care if it’s silly. I want one.
It’s very cute. I doubt the plant will survive long.
Are plants okay being shaken this way?
Plants orient themselves to the light over slow time. Turning them around at that speed – ???
Still a fun art project. Probably for the Dark Side.
Plants are just fine being gently shaken, aside from extremely fragile ones.
They’re also generally okay with being moved frequently. They aim themselves towards the light for optimal light collection, but having a robot put them in the optimal spot is also OK.
The plant above could use a bit more sunlight by the look of it, however. It’s a succulent that needs a lot of light and would really be better off perched in a very bright windowsill or outside in the bright sun. A plant that needs slightly less light, say a fern, would do great. Plus, it’s adorable.
AND NO. WASHING THE LETTUCE WON’T LOWER RISKS OR REMOVE ANY E. COLI PRESENT. DON’T EAT BAGGED ROMAINE.
I’m here to add extra info since I work in a restaurant affected by this.
It’s extremely important to note that this applies to romaine lettuce grown in the Yuma, Arizona region. Romaine grown in other areas like California is still fine to eat. So if you can find out where any romaine you have is sourced from, that’s great, but ultimately if you are unsure, throw it out! And don’t eat anything with romaine at a restaurant if they cant or won’t tell you where it’s sourced from.
straight boys often have literally no idea how makeup works, it’s absolutely fucking wild like they really think it’s ALL lipstick and eyeshadow??? i’ll mention wearing makeup (i’m a gay dude) n they’ll be like “so you do drag?” and i’m “uh no i actually wear it to look more masculine if anything” and they’ll look SO fucking confused
“i’m literally wearing makeup right now,” i’ll say.
“what?? no you’re not!!!” they all vehemently insist, now searching for the Femininity in my face.
“i have concealer on to cover up my acne and make my whole face less red in general, my eyebrows are filled in to make them look bushier, and i’ve contoured my cheekbones, my jawline, and around my eyes all to look more defined so i look both more masculine and older. yall have never seen, and WILL never see me without makeup on.”
and even with that explanation, they remain baffled more often than not. they’ve gone their whole lives only knowing that makeup is a Girly Substance with no thought given to the actual purpose of each type of makeup, to the point that they’re completely unable to conceptualize it as a thing that could alter your face in a non-feminine way. they’ll have expressions that make it seem like their brain is rebooting so that they don’t actually have to process any of that information.
it’s so fucking sad tbh
Reblogging. Trans men out there could probably do with this boost actually. I’m not sure if it would necessarily occur to folk to use makeup to look more masculine!
i am trans actually! and makeup definitely is part of how i manage to pass. darkening eyebrows and cheek n jaw contouring does fucking wonders
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