165,781 notes

a-dinosaurs-left-kneecap:

wintermoth:

aquadraco20:

pyroteknich:

mycatisabunny:

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.

Hey psst @allfrogsarefriends i found it.

47,350 notes

sergle:

southerndrawlinmypants:

hanasheralhaminail:

idontwant-these:

A Star Trek idea: A comedy sitcom where instead of a Vulcan on a mostly human ship it is a human on a mostly Vulcan ship

All the Vulcans are fiercely protective of the ‘fragile, illogical, prone-to-danger, smart, reckless little human’.

To make the human feel more accepted (as it is only logical) the Vulcans try to include aspects of terran culture in the ship’s day-to-day life, failing spectacularly at it.

The human loves them even more for it.

They’ll get better at celebrating the human’s birthday next year. It’s the thought that counts.

@jvlianbashir​ THAT’S A GOOD END TO THAT EPISODE THOUGH…

the vulcans put together awful, bland decorations. they make a cake because it’s of “significant importance”. they go through the process of putting together this party and Studying this Human Ritual and the entire episode is setting up to what you KNOW will be a horrible result. they do a bad job!!

then when the human’s birthday comes, and they reveal the off-the-mark, underwhelming looking birthday bash, the human just. starts crying. because they had no idea their crew would go through all this trouble to celebrate their birthday, and even put up DECORATIONS, or make a CAKE, and there’s a birthday card with extremely polite impersonal messages written and a hundred perfectly tidy signatures.

and the vulcans are just standing around like “you appear upset. the Birthday Party was unsatisfactory”.

22,744 notes

mechalesbian:

robot character: oh, who could possibly ever love me? me, an ugly, cold, lifeless machine???

me:

(Source: hexglyphs)

358,958 notes

fanaticalqueergeek:

dinovia-grant:

lightningchaserarts:

29-pieces:

7faerielights:

solarpunk-gnome:

therealflurrin:

systlin:

dragginage:

tami-taylors-hair:

I was in line at Aldi and this girl with two toddlers in front of me had her card declined and she looked so fucking sad and said “let me call my husband real quick” and it was only 18 dollars, so I just paid for it, and she was very sweet and then as she walked off, the lady behind me said `”You know that was probably a scam, right?” and like, even if it was, like what a sad fucking scam, right? 18 dollars at the Aldi. If you’re “scamming” me for some Tyson chicken and apple juice and cauliflower, then just take my fucking money. 

“A scam” people are fucking wild.  

This happened to me, too. A woman had used WIC for the majority of her stuff (which I say from personal experience is such a long and embarrassing process) and to buy the remainder of her groceries, which included diapers and wipes, she used a card, and it got declined. I bought the other $30 of her groceries because hey, I’ve been there, and now I’m not. She was extremely emotional and began to cry and even hugged me. My mom called me on the drive home and could tell I had been crying myself, asked what was wrong, and when I told her what happened, she berated me for being “duped.” I couldn’t believe she could be so disappointed in one of her children for doing something- nice? Is that the hill you want to die on? Getting mad about people needing groceries?

I once paid for a woman’s bill at the vet…it wasn’t a big one, but she was trying to pay for some medication for her dog, and her card was declined. And her lip started trembling, and she says “I don’t get paid until Tuesday, would he be ok until then?” 

So I just told them to add the $20 something onto my bill, and I thought she was going to break down crying right there.

And I don’t care if it was a scam or not. Just do nice things for people sometimes. 

Do good recklessly.

I think “Do good recklessly” would be fantastic word art to hang on one’s wall. Artistic people, go!

So this has happened to me but from the other side. Several years ago when my oldest was around three or so, I had my debit card decline at Walmart. It wasn’t a scam or a mistake, I was genuinely broke. Out of money. I checked my bank and discovered I had something like 7 dollars left to my name and a hungry kid and nothing to eat at home. So I sat there trying to come up with the best way to stretch that tiny amount of money to feed my kid. Not even to feed me. I can live on popcorn or something if I have to but my kid was three and he had to eat. So there I am trying really hard not to cry while I slowly take things out of my basket to get it down to under 7 bucks, when a lady tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up and she smiled at me and started putting the things back in my cart. I opened my mouth to tell her that I didn’t have the money for them but she stopped me right away and said “Don’t worry about it. It’s gonna be fine.” Then she handed the cashier her credit card and said “Ring up all of it.” My kid got to eat because of her. I got to eat because of her. I had laundry soap and deodorant because of her. She could’ve just ignored me silently struggling in that line. She could’ve decided I was a scam and gone home feeling good about avoiding being duped. But instead she chose to help me and she saved us. So maybe the person struggling in front of you is trying to put one over on you or maybe they are just sad and broke and trying to figure out what to do. You get to decide which you want to believe and what you want to do. But I’ll tell y’all, no one has ever been more beautiful to me than that lady in that line who saved me and my baby. Be like her. Be beautiful.

Do good recklessly

DO BETTER. BE BETTER. STRIVE TO BE BETTER.

DO GOOD RECKLESSLY

There’s a thing I learned at a very young age from a very brilliant mother who told me that in our family, we give with open hands. She explained that our work is to do good without expectation, meaning without expectation of reciprocation and without expectation that the person will use our gift in the way that WE deem acceptable. She explained giving the gift is our work and receiving it is the other person’s work and judgment shouldn’t be part of the equation.

If you are moved to help someone, help them. If your five dollars is used for food or for a beer or for whatever, what does that have to do with you? Give with open hands. Give gifts without judgment attached. It saves everyone so much drama and so much stress.

@dinovia-grant is living proof of this- when the heat in my apartment went out and I was too poor to even buy an extra blanket before my next paycheck, she sent a heating blanket and a heating pad for my tiny dog- no expectations of reciprocation or thanks.  

THAT’S how we become a better society- by not assuming everyone is trying to dupe you- and that our society becomes better when we help those who need it, without shaming them or expecting anything from it. 

wanted to add my little story as well, that human kindness can go a long way-
One time in a Rite Aid I was buying some simple things, like tp and other essentials. My card wouldn’t work for some reason, and I was checking my bank right there and the money was there. It was very embarrassing (I had the money, it just wouldn’t work! I later found out my card had expired and I hadn’t noticed, I was young still, new to that stuff) and then without a thought, a Navy guy in uniform behind me stepped up and swiped his card. I was just so amazed at the time that someone would do that for me, a complete stranger. I had no idea what to say, and kind of regret maybe not thanking him more thoroughly. I just said “oh my gosh, thank you” and gathered my things and left hurriedly. At the time I was pretty anxious, but I hope that guy knows how much I appreciated what he did, even though it was small. 

later I returned the favor when I saw someone else struggling. Two friends once had no money and their phone chargers were completely lost/ruined. They needed their phones for work, and were worried about losing their jobs if their work called and they couldn’t answer because of dead phones (they were brother’s) I bought them two new chargers and sent them their way. Be kind, be human to others. I can say I might have done this even without that act, but I can tell you I thought back on the times people had been kind to me. 

Kindness is infectious, and if it’s a scam sometimes, well you know what, it’s worth the risk to spread a little love every now and then. 

0 notes

Even though I won’t be posting art on my art blog anymore, I will continue to maintain my influence and inspiration blog here! So I may post the occasional aesthetic art piece every now and then.