The Red Brick Times

One of our EHS schoolmates (Anne Fischer Mancine, '71) and her husband Ben currently live in Kent. They published a book of Elyria Historical postcards in 2004. I found a preview site for their book while searching for references to the 1920's power plant at the East falls (Washington Ave) on the Black River. Look at some of the photos.
Posted 1:37 PM by Andy (4) comments

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Intereting. Thought I might see my parents since (little known fact) they spent their honeymoon night in the Graystone Hotel Nov. 6, 1948. Family lore has it I was conceived there, too (my birthday is 1 day shy of nine calendar months from that night).

# posted by  jeichenlaub : March 22, 2008 9:59 PM
 
Conception to birth is a standard 266 days. How does that work for you?

# posted by  Terri S : March 26, 2008 7:24 PM
 
I'm still gestating some ideas I conceived back in 1981. Is that an example of a pregnant pause?

# posted by  Andy : March 27, 2008 8:17 AM
 
272 days. Well that would mean that I was conceived in either Niagra Falls (how pithy is that) or Pittsburgh (how depressing is that). Nevertheless: HONEYMOON BABY !!!! Guess they wasted no time getting started, then there were 5 more spread over 18 years. Apparently never gave up either ;-)

tata

# posted by  jeichenlaub : March 29, 2008 2:00 PM
 
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The plot thickens. I seem to be in the market for an Arteriovenous Fistula (first one on page) Right now I have a Venous Catheter (same link, third one down) which is only meant as a temporary access measure. It leads straight to a chamber of my heart and if an infection should set in, well, not good. With a fistula the dialysis is delivered through a needle in the huge vein that results which cuts the possibility of infection way down. Sooo.... I'm now covered by Medicare and have been calling around to find a vascular surgeon to do the fistula. They either don't accept Medicare or want a bunch of money up front because Medicare doesn't pay enough. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do now.
Posted 3:37 PM by whatley (11) comments

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And speaking of money, insured people may not know how non-insured people are charged for the same exact services.

My initial 15 minute visit to the GP's office (where this all started): $350.00

My dialysis: $50,000.00 per month. (A patient with insurance, or the insurance company, is charged approximately $4,500.00 per month.)

# posted by  whatley : March 06, 2008 4:04 PM
 
Wait a minnit - are you saying that the same medicos that accept $4500 from an insurance company are charging the disenfranchised $50k for the same stuff? And that the US gummint is paying the $50K through the Medicare system? Whose pork belly do we hafta slash to fix this?

# posted by  Andy : March 07, 2008 9:39 AM
 
Seems like a visit to a crusading attorney and a muckraking journalist (what's Strang up to these days?) might be in order. Embarrassment has a tendency to level any number of playing fields.

I'm with Andy on the need for clarification. Is that $50,000/mo a base figure and the insured guy has to come up with $4500 out of pocket or is the insured guy only charged $4500 to start with? Is there a sliding scale depending on the generosity of your insurance plan? Is this just a tax dodge given that if you can't afford insurance at $600/mo you sure as hell can't afford $50,000/mo? So they just make out an exorbitant bill and write it off as uncollectable? WTF anyway?

There has to be some kind of oversight on this crap.

# posted by  A. O. : March 07, 2008 12:00 PM
 
Andy - Yes, the disenfranchised are charged $50,000 for the same stuff. Once my Medicare kicks in I'm no longer "disenfranchised" (Medicare is a type of insurance) so the billing to Medicare will be more in line with the $4500 insurance company charge.

Tony - The insured guy pays whatever his insurance plan says he pays, which is typically a percentage of the total bill, depending on the plan. The total fee has been negotiated ahead of time by the insurance company.

In Ohio there is no cap on what a patient (one without insurance) can be charged. The only fee limitations are negotiated between the doctor/practice and each individual insurance company.

Here's another example: If you're a hospital inpatient and need an aspirin your insurance company will be billed about 45 cents. As a "self-pay" patient you'll find that aspirin line-item billed at about $15.00.

# posted by  whatley : March 07, 2008 1:06 PM
 
I should clarify a bit. Medicare pays 80% of whatever charge has been determined to be fair (by the government's estimation - there's no negotiation and providers don't have to accept that). The other 20% percent is on the patient (me). Some doctors/practices/hospitals accept the governments determinations, some don't.

# posted by  whatley : March 07, 2008 1:18 PM
 
Like I said . . . Time for some muckraking!

# posted by  A. O. : March 07, 2008 1:46 PM
 
Have you checked out asset protection ideas (look at the section titled Personal Residence, the fourth topic down)?

# posted by  Andy : March 07, 2008 4:40 PM
 
Update: The Cleveland Clinic has agreed to do the fistula and (as best I understand) accept what Medicare pays as payment in full. I spent the morning there today setting things up. Surgery will be in a little over three weeks. Anybody wanna be a driver? It's an outpatient procedure and should run about 3 hours for the whole thing (not counting driving time).

# posted by  whatley : March 11, 2008 4:06 PM
 
Gimme the date and I will trundle you.

# posted by  Andy : March 13, 2008 9:47 AM
 
April 9th, a Wednesday. I have dialysis first thing in the morning. The clinic wants me to complete that then show up there asap in the afternoon. This would mean leaving from my house around 11:45am. I have to go to the clinic in about ten days for vein mapping and pre-op testing and will verify everything (and try to get a more definite surgery time if possible) then.

# posted by  whatley : March 14, 2008 4:29 AM
 
'k. Will wait your confirmation.

# posted by  Andy : March 16, 2008 2:47 PM
 
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I don't recall if I ever posted about this company so bear with me if I have.

A few years ago my daughter-in-law, Ryan, gave me book titled Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough and Michael Braungart. They are principals in the firm McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry which advises companies on strategies to improve their evironmental effectiveness. In 1999 they oversaw the renovation of Ford's Rouge Rive complex and are consultants for Herman Miller, etc. Their approach is based on the concept that waste is food and that our currently accepted idea of recycling is actually downcycling, wherein each recycling creates an increasingly degraded product that eventually ends up in landfill. They advocate and attempt to practice engineering products from the chemical level up to be actually recyclable, i.e. each reuse producing an item of equal quality to the original.

For instance, the book, Cradle to Cradle, made of a material that can can be endlessly reshaped without loss of useful properties. The ink can be scoured off the pages and reused or transformed into another product. Obviously there is a touch of the gimmick here to help them illustrate their point, but the idea and focus are valid.

They have started an online community to let people track their progress and discuss issues surrounding implementation of the idea at MBDC . Keep in mind that they are a business which is one the selling points in my mind, such as it is. They have a track record of helping to transform business practice for the common good and the good of the bottomline. Check them out.

Posted 10:29 AM by A. O. (0) comments

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