Dear Microsoft Executives,
I have been using Windows since Windows 3.0. I have installed and used just about every edition of Windows that has ever existed, and I have defended it in the face of naysayers for decades. However, you are following a worrying path with your OS and have been for quite some time, and I am extremely disappointed. My voice is but one voice, but I am sure that I am not alone.
We do not want nor need the following things in Windows; they do not make our experience easier nor do they make it safer or better in any way:

1. We do not want nor need Windows to spy on us, collect our telemetry and user data, and exploit it either internally or by selling it to other companies.
2. We do not want nor need Windows to advertise to us anywhere in the OS.
3. We do not want nor need Windows to decide for us what the "best" or "safest" default apps are.
4. We do not want nor need Windows to have "AI" built-in. See #1 for more information.
5. We do not want nor need Windows to run "on the cloud" as opposed to on our local hardware.

These just scratch the surface. All of these things should be OPT-IN, only installed and/or used if you consent to them. They should not be forced on us or OPT-OUT with hidden or obfuscated ways to do so.
AI is particularly egregious because the concept of having an AI assistant in our computers is one that many of us have dreamed about for DECADES. However, corporate America can't let it just be an optional component and can't let it be 100% local and private; they HAVE to be able to monetize the data it collects.
I worry for the future of technology of all breeds; will prosthetics and implants sell our usage data and force subscription fees and ads on us? Our cars already are allowed to prevent us from using features already installed unless we pay extra money.. corporations don't want us to own anything or have any rights whatsoever with the products and services we pay for. This dystopia is in many ways worse than the cyberpunk dystopias we grew up reading about.
Anyway, I know no one important will read this and it will just collect ephemeral dust on reddit servers, but it is important. I hope many more people will read this and add to this list, and that it somehow makes it to someone who needs to see it.
Thank you for your time,
TheRogueX
​

I work under a fee for service compensation model for a group practice. They recently changed expectations to state we need to average 25 sessions billed per week which is assessed every 3 months. We have unpaid sick, vacation, and holidays days off.
My question is, they are now stating that any time off is not taken into consideration as part of the 25 billable average. So if I choose to take one week off for vacation, I have to make up that time off by adding extra sessions in other weeks to maintain the average. Has anyone else experienced this? It feels wrong.

I had a lady walk into the hotel with a dog come and ask where a room was. I asked her to please not bring the dog into the room or I would have to charge the guest a pet cleaning fee (at my hotel, $100/stay). She gave me attitude and said ‘why not he’s a house dog’ and that she would only be there for an hour. I said it is an allergy concern and if the dog enters the room we will have to charge a pet fee and I asked if they could meet in the lobby instead. She said asked where the room was and said she would see her then leave.
10 minutes later the visitor came down and said her dog was an ESA so Hariot’s can’t refuse them. She had an attitude and was being extremely aggressive with her tone. As y'all know, ESA's are not service animals and are not protected by the ADA. She tried to argue that point- I just explained that they are not considered service animals by the ADA so I will need to charge a pet fee to the guest if the dog goes to the room.
I explained that we have to do a deep clean in the room after a dog in order to ensure it is clean for the next guest- that we have an entire cleaning checklist we go through. He response was that housekeeping doesn’t have to know (yeesh).
I invited them to meet in the lobby and offered to light the fire place in the lobby for them. She said no because the guest is working. I asked if she could keep the dog somewhere else while they visit- she again said no.
I said I wasn’t trying to give her a hard time and she looked at me and said “yes, yes you are” then walked back to the room so I went ahead and charged the pet fee because she had been warned multiple times by this point.

So I Bought a car
long story shot I still owe them money which I will pay them on Friday I didn't think about it till after but when I payed them using PayPal I selected goods and services . Welp now there's a fee right?
So I get messaged about how I must also pay this fee when I finish paying . I was told it's a 55$ fee by the seller. Fine okay well I look it up on Google to see the fee And it says 35.88 ? So they lied to me?? It was a payment of 1200.00 So I'm gonna pay them 36$ extra unless they can show me in person (which I have to meet up with them because they are demanding their plates now. Which is fine.) Am I crazy or is it somehow 55$? Yeah it's just 20$ but I hate being lied to.

I've just started flipping the last month or so really but it seems like no matter how light or small the items end up being EBay is always a minimum of like $4.21-$4.34 per item but often I see the item im listing from other sellers w free shipping for a price that could only possibly leave them $1 profit even without being promoted. How? Are any of the shipping services actually worth their fees? I checked out a cpl like pirate ship and it was the same as eBay for me, are there any worth switching or is this the cheapest I'm really gonna find? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated thanks and have a great day to all

Location: France
I received an internship offer from a big company for my end-of-studies internship, which I accepted. We were in the process of finalizing the three-party internship agreement (myself, the company and my school) which they unfortunately did not sign. I sent then an initial draft of the agreement, which was reviewed by their legal team, then they sent me a set of modifications to include which I did and then I was waiting for their signature.
6 days prior to the start date, I am informed via a zoom call that the internship was cancelled due to business reasons.
Am I entitled to any compensation? Knowing that I declined other internship offers, cancelled interviews, stopped searching for internship opportunities, made arrangements for accommodation (moving fees, expensive rent in Paris, left my previous address), and paid for flights in accordance with my start date.
All I have is the email trail and a voice recording of our zoom voice call where I was informed of the news.
Many thanks.
tl;dr Internship cancelled 6 days prior to start date, the company hasn't signed any document. Can I get compensated for the financial, moral and professional prejudice?

I know parts prices usually have mark up, It's nothing new, however I've noticed a rise in parts places tacking a "service" fee on top of that. Say a dollar on top of every parts price.. it's been dealership and aftermarket.
I don't know how I feel about that, Is this common? Is this the new way of taking more money from people that is like a tip but forced?

Use this post to share any budgies that are lost, found, or need a new home!

Some rules:

1. Only share information you feel comfortable sharing. Example: rather than giving out your full address, maybe only say something like, "I'm in the Tampa Bay Area" instead. If someone is interested in knowing more, they can always DM you and you can choose whether or not you want to share any more information.
2. If you're meeting someone in real life, follow the "Craigslist rule" of meeting in a well-trafficked, public place.
3. No fees/charges! This is not meant to be an advertising platform to sell your budgies. Content that advertises budgies for sale will be removed.
4. This subreddit does not, in any way, offer warrantees or guarantees of budgie health. A budgie's health status is something that you and the other party should determine with an avian vet, and payment of that avian vet's services is something that you and the other party should decide beforehand.
5. We encourage you to share pictures! Just make sure they are accurate to the situation and don't break the rules in the sidebar.

Remember: this subreddit is just one of many possible places to make a budgie connection. Also consider FaceBook, Craigslist, Nextdoor, other online communities, as well as real-life bulletin boards in public places. See all the previous weekly posts (that have content) by clicking here.

We booked a mutlistop flight with Avianca: 2 direct one-way flights from NYC->Bogota, then Bogota->La Paz. We spent $500 extra to ensure the flight would leave Bogota in the afternoon on Monday 5/27, so we could have more time in Botota and have a direct flight to La Paz. We could have purchased the morning flight for $500 less, but it was less convenient and there was a layover from Bogota->La Paz. Weeks later, Bogota cancelled the direct flight and moved us to the cheaper earlier one.
We contacted Avianca through their online form and asked for them to at least refund the difference at least, considering the flight was inconvenient, had a layover, and was cheaper. They didn't even send a response. Then I tried calling by credit card company to ask them to see what happened, and they said that Avianca was unwilling to listen to our case. The reasoning was because by the time all this happened, the price of the early flight had increased to almost what we had paid for it, they said. This seems like an underhanded business tactic, waiting to engage with the customer until it is too late for them to have visible data on why this was a problem. We spent a lot of time planning this trip and already had to pay some fees to reorganize for the time change, it is super frustrating for a company to do nothing to help out.
I will never use Avianca again, and recommend you all don't either. They will change your flights from direct to flights with layovers, and ignore you when you try to engage with customer service.

Good evening Healthcare_anon members
I believe we are at the midpoint of the multi series DD on the paper:
Rooke-Ley H, Brown E, Grumbach K, Hoffman A, Ryan A, Roy V, Grogan C, Appelbaum E, Lipschutz D. Medicare Advantage and Vertical Consolidation in Health Care. American Economic Liberties Project, April 2024. Available: https://www.economicliberties.us/our-work/medicare-advantage-and-vertical-consolidation-in-health-care/#, accessed 05/19/24 (for this subreddit post).
Today's discussion will be centered around page 23-31. I will be collaborating with u/ Fabulous-airport-273 on the remainder of the paper, as I believe we should address the topic in a collaborative fashion after this midpoint. If you like, you may review the previous DD in the following links:
https://new.reddit.com/Healthcare_Anon/comments/1culz57/medicare_advantage_capitation_model_prio
https://new.reddit.com/Healthcare_Anon/comments/1cw50xp/vertical_integration_of_the_healthcare_insurance/
https://new.reddit.com/Healthcare_Anon/comments/1cwsavi/vertical_integration_of_the_healthcare_insurance/
I was thinking on also discussing Aetna and Humana within the model as well, however in the interest of time and effort, I may have to revisit those 2 creatures at a later time - not because they are particularly difficult, but that it would be a similar rehash of UNH and BHG. The minutiae of improper population model care and investment made by CVS/Aetna and Humana is in my personal belief the reason why their MCR exploded, and perhaps inadequate preparation for CMS V28 blend adjustment also played a role. Even though CVS/Aetna has an adequate service sector, Humana does not, and we may see further margin divergence of these 2 behemoths.
Without further digression, let us begin:
Vertical consolidation - what is currently happening
"Consolidation allows these vertical conglomerates to use capitated payment structures in ways that drive profits without creating value. As noted above, corporate consolidation in health care has existed for decades, largely driven by hospitals. The primary result: hospitals can negotiate higher prices in the commercial market, cut labor costs and demand more of clinicians, and exploit various loopholes in the fee-for-service Medicare system. In addition, private equity (PE) rollups in health care have risen dramatically over the decades, also exploiting fee-for-service reimbursement and threatening patient care."
We have certainly seen the damage from PE acquisition on practices, especially in emergency medicine, which I previously alluded to in: https://new.reddit.com/Healthcare_Anon/comments/1c0bi4u/the_healthcare_workforce_staffing_crisis_a/. The damage to physician morale is especially acute during this consolidation process.
We are also seeing widespread practice buyouts in the PCP arena now:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/08/health/primary-care-doctors-consolidation.html
https://www.beckersasc.com/asc-transactions-and-valuation-issues/optum-s-multibillion-dollar-acquisition-spree-3-deals-to-know.html
https://www.hcinnovationgroup.com/finance-revenue-cycle/mergers-acquisitions/news/55000097/steward-health-care-plans-to-sell-physician-network-to-optum
https://radiologybusiness.com/topics/healthcare-management/healthcare-economics/unitedhealth-earns-emergency-order-buy-radiology-provider-placed-crisis-due-change-cyberattack
The last one from Corvallis is a particularly spicy acquisition - the change healthcare cyberattack created a cash flow crunch within Corvallis, creating the impetus for Corvallis to then sell itself to Optum. If I were to use cruder terminology, the analogy is this: Optum/Change groomed Corvallis to be dependent on its "service", and once Corvallis is dependent on Optum/Change, Optum/Change then "convinced" Corvallis that Corvallis needs to sell its body (clinics) to Optum for the couple to stay together after Optum/Change failed in its basic "pimp" duty on protecting the groomed subject. Absolutely disgusting analogy, and I hope it brings the message across - what Optum did was absolutely abhorrent and should have paid Corvallis interest and damages, but instead gets to steal the Damsel-in-distress. Who said pimping doesn't pay?
"Today, as policy moves away from fee-for-service, analogous patterns of corporate consolidation are emerging under capitation-based financing. While vertical conglomerates promise clinical integration, familiar harms are emerging, such as the push toward “productivity” medicine and the replacement or supplementation of physicians with less expensive advanced practice providers."
Ok, I am not sure if that last part was absolutely necessary. Advanced Practice Providers (APP) are Physician Assistants (PA), Advanced Nurse Practitioners (APRN), or in the case of Anesthesia, CRNA (Certified Nurse Anesthetist) who work under a supervision of an overall Medical Doctor (MD) for the practice. In the current labor shortage, there are not enough physicians to make up for lack of physician help. I would rather work with our APP colleagues on creating a more equitable platform, and this paper is not helping the cause in this manner. Vertical integration can bring plenty of harm, but having APP being part of the Team is NOT a problem. In fact, I have worked with many APP who are wonderful healthcare colleagues and we all want the same thing: equitable treatment of our patients in the most humane, effective, and medically appropriate way possible.
I. Gaming capitated benchmarks:
"Vertical conglomerates in capitation-based models are keen on controlling primary care physicians, who are essential for inflating risk-adjustment payments and quality bonuses. In MA alone, gaming of risk adjustment is responsible for at least $23 billion in annual overpayments to insurers, while quality payments amount to another $10 billion in subsidization without demonstrated value. In addition to increasing costs, the preoccupation with risk-coding and box-checking wastes scarce time with patients and contributes to dissatisfaction among clinicians."
Remember my CMS DD a month ago? If not, I will submit those links again:
https://new.reddit.com/Healthcare_Anon/comments/1c1n3tf/cms_finalizes_payment_updates_for_2025_medicare/
https://new.reddit.com/Healthcare_Anon/comments/1c1yg8q/cms_finalizes_payment_updates_for_2025_medicare/
We on the field AND CMS knows this is happening. In fact, CMS is attempting to stop this practice by the rollout of CMS V28 AND the April 1 2024 Contract Year 2025 Medicare Advantage and Part D Final Rule (CMS-4205-F). What CMS is attempting to do is to decrease the capitated payments on risk adjustment and quality bonus payments to elongate the Medicare Trust Fund depletion runway, which hopefully also will force the MA companies to take care of patients. As was seen in our 24Q1 DD, companies will instead retrench, retreat, and cut benefits instead. this indicate a potential market failure of the capitated model payment. We should readdress this point in a future post.
***"***The centrality of data in diagnosis coding puts vertical conglomerates in the driver’s seat. It helps contextualize UnitedHealth’s recent $13 billion acquisition of Change Healthcare, the nation’s largest billing clearinghouse, which, according to the Department of Justice, would give UnitedHealth a near monopoly (94% market share) over the clearinghouse market. Through the prism of risk coding, as well as other financial strategies discussed below, the business case was obvious: acquiring Change gives UnitedHealth visibility into the claims, diagnosis codes, and provider IDs of tens of millions of patients"
With the Change Cyberattack in February 2024, UNH unleashed the biggest cybersecurity threat on our patients' medical history in this nation's history, all because someone forgot 2 factor authentication on a whole server worth of data. Good job United. We thank you for proving the ineptitude of private enterprises. We no longer get to just make fun of the National Health System in UK for ineptitude, or that only government agencies suck, but a private enterprise that is a small nation state with a profit margin higher than the NSA's yearly budget can't figure out 2FA.
***"***As with risk adjustment, vertical conglomerates can inflate quality scores with greater control of clinicians. They can, for example, game medication adherence quality measures by pushing providers to put their patients on 90-day refills, mail-order prescriptions, and automatic refills, even if patients never take the medications. Similarly, they can discourage or prohibit clinicians from giving samples to patients and allowing them to use lower- cost alternatives. Further, Star Ratings and other quality programs require significant administrative efforts, placing small practices at a disadvantage."
I do take exception to the samples argument. Look, we just got out of the VERY SHADY stuff happening in the 90s with MD offices taking a HUGE backhand deal when giving out samples, I don't really want to see that stuff back in vogue again. Do you know how frustrating it was for a patient to say they are on a med that is from their doctor's office, they got it for free, and they must have it as an inpatient, when they don't even have it on the medication fill list or on the electronic medical record database? Who do I trust?
II. PATIENT STEERING AND “CAPTIVE” REVENUE:
This section is the reason why I did UNH and BHG as a DD - to pave the way for the discussion on this section. If you haven't read it, please see:
https://new.reddit.com/Healthcare_Anon/comments/1cw50xp/vertical_integration_of_the_healthcare_insurance/
https://new.reddit.com/Healthcare_Anon/comments/1cwsavi/vertical_integration_of_the_healthcare_insurance/
"UnitedHealth is increasingly relying on this captive revenue—or “intercompany eliminations”—with its growth of its provider subsidiary, Optum. UnitedHealth has increased intercompany eliminations by over 80% in five years, reaching $108 billion in 2022. It now sends over 25% of its medical claim revenue to its own subsidiaries. Its market presence shows why: UnitedHealth exists in 87% of insurance markets, only rivaled by Humana at 90%. 130 Further, UnitedHealth has over 50% share in more than 140 MA markets."
OK even though this paper is quoting another paper, my 10K/10Q analysis does match what this paper said, except it isn't 25%. Its 37.7% now. WHOA!
"These captive revenue strategies enable regulatory arbitrage. Medical Loss Ratios (MLRs) were established in the Affordable Care Act to cap insurance administrative costs and profits and to ensure that a minimum percentage of capitation payments and private insurance premiums were spent on medical care. However, insurance companies can circumvent this regulation by paying themselves, directing above-market payments and end-of-year bonuses to their own sister subsidiaries. This is referred to as “transfer pricing” and has been best documented with PBMs. For example, UnitedHealth can evade the MLR requirement by paying higher-than-cost fees to its Optum PBM, booking that fee as a medical cost. The same is possible with medical providers: insurers can increase fees to their sister primary care or post-acute providers to conceal profits as costs and to therefore evade the MLR constraint."
Is this how UNH continues to have high profits, and how the impact of CMS V28 somehow did not threaten UNH and Elevance the same way as Humana and CVS/Aetna? I think they may be onto something...
"In addition to increasing profits, steering squeezes independent providers and other competitors. In the prescription drug space, the gaming of medication adherence, explained above, diverts business away from unaffiliated pharmacies while gaming quality metrics. As another example, vertical conglomerates that own PBMs can devise formularies and copays that funnel patients to their own pharmacies, squeezing independent pharmacies. The proliferation of “specialty” pharmacies embeds these anti-competitive practices.".
Personal anecdote: I know of independent pharmacies who CANNOT compete anymore due to high PBM requirements, "clawback" penalties, quality metrics that is impossible to achieve, and "out of network" processing fees, that these pharmacies either have to be shut down, or acquired. "Specialty Pharmacies" are basically pharmacies who carry high dollar cost items that may have more stringent FDA counseling requirements, but because now the Marketplace is littered with PBM funnels, most independent pharmacies cannot "enter the foot in the door" of the PBM requirements. Guess who does though? Optum Rx!
"Vertical consolidation in the post-acute setting presents similar steering risks. MA insurers have increasingly been under scrutiny for limiting or denying care through narrow networks, “ghost networks,” and onerous prior authorization. Recent reporting revealed that UnitedHealth and Humana are using artificial intelligence with their conveners, specifically NaviHealth, to drive “clinical” prior authorization decisions and override clinical judgment."
I think I've beaten this dead horse many times already.
"Another way to steer patients in post-acute care is to effectively bring the prior authorization function “in house.” By directly employing physicians, the risk-bearing entity can cut costs by prohibiting or discouraging clinicians from authorizing expensive care. In a 2020 whistleblower lawsuit reported by The Prospect, Maxwell Ollivant, a UnitedHealth-employed nurse practitioner in a nursing home, alleged that his supervisor denied requests to transfer UnitedHealth-MA patients with exacerbations to the hospital. This, Ollivant alleged, was consistent with UnitedHealth’s compensation structure, which gave bonuses to their clinicians who kept patients in the nursing home and out of the hospitals."
Well holy shit Batman, that is more degenerate than a WSB 0-5DTE put taken on a Thursday afternoon.
III. PATIENT “FLIPPING” AND ENROLLMENT ARBITRAGE
" In MA, favorable selection is responsible for another 11%-14% of overspending, or as much as $56 billion annually. Selecting enrollees also allows insurers in MA to game county benchmark bonuses, which excessively rewards insurers with patients in areas of low Medicare spending, to the tune of another roughly $10 billion in excess MA payments. As vertical conglomerates increasingly own physicians and operate in ACOs, similar risks of selection may arise."
CMS is acutely aware of this gaming, however their model hasn't exactly been able to pinpoint how to address this yet. This was discussed in the CMS Final rule comments section.
"More direct than marketing, provider acquisitions allow conglomerates to “flip” patients into MA plans or ACOs by coordinating efforts with sister provider subsidiaries. Conglomerates can initiate the flipping strategy by using some of the steering tactics discussed above. In a recent lawsuit, UnitedHealth was accused of terminating contracts with unaffiliated physicians in order to force the patients to establish care at nearby Optum practices. In another suit, UnitedHealth, with 50% of the MA and commercial insurance markets, allegedly attempted to force the sale of local practices to Optum. UnitedHealth was accused of cutting insurance reimbursement and steering members away from the target practice, and as a condition of insurance contracting, forcing the target practice to give UnitedHealth the first right of refusal upon sale.
I inivite our physician colleagues to comment on this section. I have personally heard of such anecdotes, but further validation is always helpful and will also increase our membership engagement on such complicated subjects
And we now reach the end of page 31. This paper is extremely dense, and required basically a multi-layer DD on top of it to corroborate and create discussion points on the topic discussion.
We hope you enjoyed this half of the mini-series, and we hope to bring you the 2nd part of the mini-series soon as a collaborative post.
Thank you for taking the time to read through this. I hope this provides you with a better perspective on a glimpse of the landscape that I am personally aware. Please submit your comments below on your thoughts
Sincerely
Moocao
​

I met A when she was 21 years old through a mutual friend. For 2.5 years we’ve had an unofficial but consistent arrangement where I provide her a monthly allowance. I have provided her with gifts & she has accompanied me on trips. We’ve had a misunderstanding here or there but overall we’ve had a good relationship.
A lived with her sister until they were kicked out of their apartment by a family member year ago. At that time I wanted to help. She told me it wasn’t my responsibility so I backed off. However, after 3-4 months of seeing her couch surf, stay overnight in hotel rooms we sometimes meet at, I caved and gave her $5k to help her (she didn’t ask for the money). Instead of securing housing, she blew the money. In hindsight, I should’ve expected that. $5k is a lot of money but it doesn’t impact me that much financially. We had a few discussions about it, & we moved past it.
I backed off on the housing issue. Fast forward a year and A is still having issues finding stable housing. Most recently she was kicked out by another family member. Shes unable to secure an apartment by herself because apartments are expensive and she doesn’t met the 3x requirement on paper. I asked her if she wanted an apartment & she said yes.
I thought about being a guarantor on a lease for her, but I wouldn’t have the right to cancel the lease therefore I would be responsible for the entire lease regardless of what happens between us. So I offered to secure a lease in my name. She accepted and within a week I provided her the keys to a nice apartment in a nice neighborhood. I paid the first months rent, and turned the utilities on in my name.
But that’s where things went south. We typically meet weekly or biweekly depending on our calendars. For 3 weeks I felt like she was avoiding me since all of my requests to meet were met with some excuse. I gave her the benefit of the doubt. On the 4th week I asked her to do me a favor which was something she has done before & requires minimal effort from her. She fails to do it and provides even more excuses as to why.
At that point I asked her to leave the keys on the counter & gave her a date to vacate the unit. I felt disrespected & unappreciated as there was not 1 act of reciprocity from her end. I did not expect anything new or extra at all, even though it would’ve been nice, but she failed to meet the expectations I’ve had for years.
I stood firm & my decision was final and abrupt. She vacated the unit and proceeded to block my number & block me on social media. With the early termination fees of the lease and the $5k from a year earlier, I have spent over $11k on attempting to house her.
I now see why her own family member kick her out. She’s unappreciative of what people do for her.
But I’m interested in hearing other point of views. Would you have done the same if you were in my shoes? Was I too harsh?

I'm not totally sure if this is medical malpractice or not so I am here to seek advice
Background: I started getting sick when I was about 18 and I was diagnosed a few months after I turned 19. It took a long time to get testing done. My first specialist did not do a great job at taking care of me. Because it took so long to dignose me I ended up in the hospital. My first specialist didn't respond back for days while I was in the hospital and I was very frustrated with their care. It didn't feel like they were taking it seriously. While I was at the hospital I met my current specialist (who this post is about) they suggest their clinic which was a bit closer to me so I decided to switch specialist. It went by smoothly the first 3 months. They got me on treatment right away and I was satisfied with how quick things went.
After a few months on the treatment I can tell it wasn't working and my appointment was coming up so I thought I'd let them know during the appointment, it was canceled. No biggie. I made another one, which was 2 months out. Every single one of their appointments is about 2 months out. The day comes, it was canceled. At this point my body was shutting down and I was already not going to work. Made another one, canceled. They explained to me because I was 19, that I was still being seen through child services or something? I was so confused but that was because I use to me on my mother's health insurance plan (we have medical) and then I got my own and had to made a big switch to an adult doctor and get removed from this so call child services, still no idea what that was about. Now, 2 months later after I finally fix the child services issue and insurance. My body gives up and I end up being hospitalized. Where I saw my specialist there. They do a small procedure to check how worse I've gotten and my mayo score increased. They give me steroids and I feel a bit better, I get sent home and told to call to make an appointment with their office again I call and they are able to finally see me. I go to the office. They cancel because my insurance doesn't approve it on time. I literally break down in their office, in tears that one of the other patients their tell something to the front desk and they are able to see me. I think one more apartment was canceled after this instance and I call my insurance and they fix things for me because after that I had not one missed appointment. I had to always call them and make sure they request an authorization to see me because they neve did it on time. I basically went a whole year without seeing my specialist and wasn't on any working treatment and that's why I ended up in the hospital. Now this year, I haven't had any canceled appointments but none of the medication worked whatsoever. It seems the only thing keeping me from getting as bad as I did last year are the steroids, but I can't be on these for long. It's not a viable solution. I've been on several medication, none have worked, at least not the way they would like it to work. So now i have to do surgery. I can't help but feel that this is their fault for not seeing me for almost a year without proper treatment.
Recent issue: I was referred a surgeon this month, I called and they said they can see me for a consultation until the end of June??? But my specialist said this was urgent and I needed surgery soon or I can be at risk getting MUCH worse. So I called my specialist office again, they said we don't understand why it will take so long and they will fix it. They even noted that they give me the wrong surgeon they requested. They said they will fix it as soon as possible. I get a text from my specialist office, they said the surgeon herself would reach out to me. This was Thursday. I wait for a call Friday, nothing. This Monday I call and no one gets back to me. I finally send a text today and they finally tell me. "Oh it looks like we made a mistake". They appointment filled out the form wrong and give me wrong physician to do my surgery. Is that even possible? I imagine those forms are very detailed, how do you make a mistake so bad they give you a different doctor. The two surgeons have different names and are different sex. I'm so confused. They also asked me to stop taking all the medication, even the steroids. They told me to stop taking them 2 weeks ago because I will need surgery soon and I can't be on any medication like that before surgery. I am slowly getting worse. I am lost and completely in the dark. They send they sent in a corrected form today and it should be resolved within 72 hours. But even then, how long will it take to get seen for consultation? When will I get surgery? They told me to stop taking medication so I don't even know if I will make it until then.
Here is where i don't know if I can sue. The doctor himself never made a mistake, I feel like my specialist gave me proper care. But his staff, canceling so many appointments, not giving me any clue as to why they are being canceling, messing up important documentation, causing me to delay needed surgery. His staff are the problem, so do I have grounds to sue and should I?
Important notes: I have ulcerative colitis. When I mean I was in a horrible state last year. I mean I was using the bathroom 30 times a day. Eating once a day. Throwing up bile because I was throwing up on a empty stomach. Blood in my stool every single time I used the bathroom so i lost so much blood. I went through literal shit.
Current: I don't throw up, I am using the bathroom 8 times a day. Slowly increasing back to 10 and still blood. I know it may seem bad and according to my specialist this is still not liveable. But this is so much better then the hell I went through last year. I don't want surgery, I don't know why it had to come to surgery. I am getting a total colectomy, my whole colon is being removed. I hope this bit of information helps. Any advice is appreciated.

First a couple legal acronym meanings for those unaware of what these stand forTRO-Temporary Restraining order EPO-Emergency Protective Order.
I 38f reside in Rverside County, CA. I’m wondering how to go about filing a lawsuit against my former landlord for his illegal self-help eviction as well as him knowingly allowing me to live in uninhabitable conditions. When I attempted to withhold rent and make him aware of my decision to do so, He violently assaulted me, harassed me in many other ways, and retaliated against me in the most unbelievable ways (ie. shutting off my electricity, water and plumbing, witholding my mail, and keeping me from my patients as the house on the property that he owns but doeNOT live in was my place of employment at the time.) He also caused my great financial ruin in one of his attempts to have me removed from the property by filing a false TRO and EPO against me forcing me to have to leave for 6 weeks. I had to shell out thousands of dollars in air bnb fees due to that little stunt. He also never allowed me to gather the remainder of my things as when I arrived to do so, he had random people moving my things out of the unit that I was still in lawful possession of. He not only violated my tenancy rights, but also basic human rights and continues to do so with the tenants that still reside there. I want to stop him from continuing to do so. EVERY single government entity I’ve attempted to get help from (ie. Sheriffs dept, code enforcement, fair housing counsel, adult protective services, but especially the RCSD) has failed me greatly as I attempted to reach out to them numerous times and was told by every one of them that “there’s not much I can do for you”. My landlord violated the restraining order I had in place against him the very day he was served with it and when I called the sheriff about it, they did nothing! He has violated the restraining order more than once and neither time was he held accountable for doing so. The RCSD has been MORE than negligent. I even attempted a call to the watch commander whom pretty much gave me the same crap all the officers did. They keep telling me that they can’t get involved in civil matters when I know for a fact that this is not merely a civil matter but a criminal matter finable up to $100per day he stays in violation of my civil rights. It’s even stated in their penal code. So any attempt to hold him responsible for his blatant violations of my rights have been met to no avail So here I am doing everything to the letter of the law and going about this the legal way, while he’s basically being rewarded for being an abusive slumlord who sees my attempts at legal action as nothing but a game. I’ve got mountains of evidence to back up ALL of these accusations and need help persuing a lawsuit… the problem is…all of my savings were squandered when I had to pay thousands for an Air BnB when I was forced off of the property due to his false claims against me which prompted the approval of his EPO. At the hearing for that TRO, his claims were found by the judge to have no merit and so it was not extended. I attempted to seek payment from him for such expenses at that hearing, but the judge wouldn’t grant it to me bc I had not served him with my answer to the TRO prior to the hearing. I truly feel like I have a solid case here against my landlord and possibly even against the RCSD as I feel they pretty much assisted him in illegally attempting to remove me by cutting my utilities. Like I said though, since I accrued astronomical costs not only on temporary housing, but moving costs as well, my funds have been exhausted. Are there any lawyers that would possibly take my case on a winning contingency? I’ve tried to find one, but keep running into dead ends or just being referred to legal aid services which I always feel are kind of scammy. Any advice as far as what I can do to move forward with this matter even though I don’t have the finances to cover upfront costs?

I know a lot of people can be scared about leasing a car through a broker. In the world of auto leasing, trust is paramount. Here are some essential steps to build trust with your auto lease broker, ensuring a smooth and satisfying leasing experience.

1. Research and Referrals: Before choosing a broker, research their reputation. Read reviews and seek referrals from friends or online communities.
2. Transparency: A reputable broker provides clear information about lease terms, pricing, fees, and potential charges. Open communication is key!
3. Expertise and Experience: Choose a broker with industry knowledge. Make sure they have in-depth understanding of various car brands and market trends.
4. Personalized Service: Trust is built through personalized service that puts the client first. Make sure they understand your requirements and budget.
5. Ethical Practices: Trustworthy brokers operate with integrity. Business must be conducted honestly and fairly.
6. Clear Communication: Effective communication is key to building trust. Make sure you're informed at every step, and that they're willing to answer questions and provide updates promptly.

In conclusion, building trust with your auto lease broker is essential for a positive and rewarding leasing experience. Happy leasing!

Hello. I'm not sure what else to do at this point with Turo, as they sided with the owner here.
I rented a car this past weekend in the Denver area for 3 days. In the description of the vehicle, it said it was at the Denver airport car share lot. That is why I picked it. However, either at the bottom of the display or after payment (I can't recall), the initially message gave an Aurora address and the owner confirmed that when I asked. I was victim of a cancelled flight and thus canceled car rental plans, it was 10pm, so my friend and I used a rideshare to get there ($45).
We arrive. The car ('14 Malibu) immediately says it needs an oil change. It is not full (was at 7/8 of tank). The next day, we check the oil. Black as night. But thankfully, car operated fine the whole trip. We photograph all but the color of the oil, which I wish I had.
Now we are on the eve of returning it. We get an automated-type message that says to drop it at the Car Share lot by the airport. Mind you, there were no drop of details in the initially description. We say "okay thank you, we will drop at CarShare." We had an early flight and did not much pay attention to anything besides dropping it and getting to the airport. We had also observed that there was a CareShare windshield sticker that worked at the arm/gate. We thought, "oh he pays for this so maybe he wants to have it here for next trip." We dropped it and hopped on the shuttle from the lot and ending the ride. We see 2 messagee that were sent after we departed the hotel. One that says "no, drop it where you picked it up" and another with the same exact automated-type message but saying the Aurora address instead of the Car Share lot. So he charges us $50. We did not respond, as we felt wronged, and screen captured everything.
We appealed to Turo on the basis of 1) faulty information regarding initial pick up, 2) vehicle in need of oil change, and 3) being told to drop it at the Car Share lot and doing as told. They sided with the owner and essentially said that we should've communicated better with the owner. Sorry, Turo, I didn't know I was supposed to be a mind reader to use this service. The next step is to appeal to Capitol One but they are sometimes just as full of shit and side with merchants. Does anyone have any advice here?

Long story short. I’m moving soon back to Colorado from California this summer and knew that it takes 5mo for a C-file privacy act request. So I mailed that in last week with my Colorado address at my sisters house where I’ll be staying.
But a month ago I also put in for an upgrade of a service connected condition and today got a phone call from VES telling me about an appointment next week in Colorado??
The only place I’ve ever put that address is on my C-file request.
Who can I contact to get this fixed in the fastest way? Both 800 VA and VES told me that there isn’t anything I can do besides cancel the claim and submit it again? That doesn’t seem right at all.

I have recently finished up a job in Thailand, and would live to move around $200k AUD back to Australia. My IBKR accoounts are linked to my australian account.
What i was thinking of doing was using the IBKR Wise service to transfer the 200k to my IBKR account directly from my Thai bank account. Leave 50k in there for some ETFs and transfer the other 150k to my australian accounts for property investment.
Will this be ok, or will i get flagged and my account cancelled?