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Milton Said:

How do I find out what discounts hospitals offer insurance companies?

We Answered:

You're not likely to find out exact contracted rates. Hospitals don't even have the same rates across all insurers. (And they have some incentive to keep those rates somewhat secret - don't want to let Insurer A know that you're giving Insurer B a better rate, otherwise Insurer A will be knocking on your door to renegotiate.)

When I worked in a contracting department, we'd try to ballpark the rates that other insurers were getting by using EOBs that we had access to.

This strategy might work for you - if you know others who have used services at this hospital and who will let you see their EOBs, you can compare the billed charges to the insurance allowed amount to get an idea of what kind of discount the hospital is giving to insurers. It won't be scientific or exact, but at least it will get you in the ballpark.

Joanne Said:

Does anyone else remember the effects of a conservative government?

We Answered:

Yep, before it we worked a 35 hour week for good wages, houses were affordable for all, I ran a car just a couple of years old and my family had a decent holiday every year.

After Thatcher had finished with us we had lost the Coal Industry, Steel manufacturing, Ship building and the Motor industry was running on empty.
We had some of the lowest paid workers in the first world and yet we had the highest paid company directors in the world.
Before the last Conservative government, unemployment was hovering just below a million, by the time it had finished with us it was over five million.

The death of John Smith was a tragedy.
Do not lose hope, get involved and fight back, before this new lot sell us to the dogs and get us involved in more senseless wars for their own profit.

Many will not remember those years now, they are about to find out how bad it can be. Living conditions will fall within 18 months, workers will be on the dole, benefits they paid all their lives for will be cut and at the same time they will be vilified for being lazy. Then they will see their own government attack them again, with soldiers dressed as policeman, fighting anything that they disagree with.

Battle of Stonehenge ?
Miners Strike ?

Privatisation ! I was in the water industry as an engineer and surveyor, my area was the Cherwell Valley. After privatisation (we were bought by a French company) all but a few men were out on their ears and my area expanded to everything North of the Thames !
When there were problems, we had to phone people that the company had sacked, because everyone that knew their jobs had gone. You can imagine what they said.

They sold everything we had, from Electricty supply to our National Airline. Mostly to foreigners.
Graveyards in London sold for £1 to their Tory chums, Lord and Lady something or other, property worth millions, sold for a measly quid.
Charities that ran housing associations ! Houses left to rack and ruin, the directors being paid seven figure salaries, the people left to live in damp houses that were falling to pieces.

So many thousands out of work that could not afford to pay the horrendous water bills were taking a dump in a cardboard box, because they had their water cut off.

And then the media slagged them off for it !

Don`t get me started... gosh, horrible times, really, really awful times. 16 hour days just to keep the family going and 80,000 miles a year on my car just for work.

The Poll Tax ! The pensioners cottages under the rating system paid around £70 a year, Poll Tax put it up to over a thousand, but the Lord and Lady in our local Castle SAVED £1000s under the Poll Tax. I can vividly remember the misery.
I can also remember that the local Tory Party workers would not come to our houses to canvass, they were terrified of us beating the living cr*p out of them in our village, but they still seemed to win every bloody election for 13 years. How ? I know hundreds of people, but only about 4 that actually admitted to voting Tory

F*cking great and I have met Cameron three times. He is my MP in Oxfordshire.
Do not ask what I think of him.

They do not know what they, the British public, have let themselves in for.

EDIT @ Simm 101, most people are prepared to work, I agree that an incredibly small percentage of people are inherently lazy. But for every winner under the Tories, there were 5000 losers or men and women like me that saw their workload increase exponentially for no increase in salary whilst being told constantly by our foreign bosses that we were lucky to have a job !
The Tory system likes high unemployment, it keeps wages low and working hours high. Us common folk lose and the fat cats get fatter.

At least under Blair-Brown we thought we had a chance of at least getting through to retirement.

Now I am retired and I am terrified that they will take away everything that I spent my entire life working my nuts off for.

Theresa Said:

VanCity Credit Union raises line of credit interest rates?

We Answered:

Hi, we also got this amendment letter from Vancity. We were so outraged that we couldn't believe how they would expect their
long term customers to sign this. We have been with Vancity for over ten years. So far we have refused to sign and we are waiting to see if they are going to proceed with their threat to take action on our line of credit. Definitely, we will go and get a lawyer to fight this. If anyone else want to start a class action suit, I will be really happy to join. I am quite busy at this moment, but we may be upset enough if they keep pushing us to sign this amendment that we will take this to the highest court,and Vancity's image would be totally
tarnished. They won't have any credibility if they think they can
force people to sign a very one sided, heavy-handed agreement like this. I hope there will be enough people out there strong enough to stand up to Vancity

Kelly Said:

If you put money into foreign banks instead of domestic banks can you increase your profit margin?

We Answered:

No, because you pay double or triple the taxes.

Tom Said:

Why don't the Dems Increase the Value of the Dollar to Lower Oil Prices?

We Answered:

That would mean they would have to work on lowering the budget and not spend so much money on wasteful poor subsidies and unemployment benefits. Something they will not do.