freeflybella 0 #1 October 22, 2009 This American Life is amazing. This week is the second show of 2 on the issue of health care. If you don't already tune in, you can listen to free podcasts (Someone Else's Money and More is Less are the 2 I'm talking about) on their website. But every single episode of that show is worth listening to. Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marks2065 0 #2 October 22, 2009 Quote This American Life is amazing. This week is the second show of 2 on the issue of health care. If you don't already tune in, you can listen to free podcasts (Someone Else's Money and More is Less are the 2 I'm talking about) on their website. But every single episode of that show is worth listening to. the one I listened to was about medical coding. This is one area that Obama could do some good, standardize the coding. one company pays 25% of their payroll is due to billing, alot due to miscoding. I have heard about electronic records but nothing about standardizing the coding to reduce payroll costs in the billing department. If Obama was serious about saving money on health care this is one area he could do something with right now. Why not fix some things that could have an imediate affect on health care costs? why pas a 1500 page bill when 100-200 pages of standardizing coding, billing practices, selling across state lines and tort reform would save enough money to insure most if not all the uninsured and cost nothing but what we are already paying? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
D-rock 0 #3 October 22, 2009 I love this show! I also like the NPR planet money podcast. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PLFXpert 0 #4 October 23, 2009 Never heard of it. I checked Netfilx and seems Seasons One and Two are both available so I put them in my queue. Which season is better?Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflybella 0 #5 October 23, 2009 No! Go to the link and listen to the podcasts...the radio versions are FAR superior. Ira Glass is my boyfriend (not really, but he's great). Every weekly episode is FREE to iTunes if you subscribe. And you can purchase the old podcasts to iTunes for .99 each and listen anytime. (or just listen online to any episode for free). I think you'd love it. Each week they pick a theme and do variations on that theme (anywhere from 1 to 4 "acts"). David Sedaris is a regular contributor. It's informative, entertaining...Listen to 3 full episodes before you decide if you like it - they are all so different -everything from kids leaving a man to die in a well, to the real guy and his story behind the The Informant, to the cryogenics fiasco where they ended up stuffing 3 or 4 dead bodies in one chamber, to an analysis of the economic meltdown. I really wish more people listened to this kind of news and story than the screaming hateful exploitative crap on TV. Again, I think you'll like it. :) Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflybella 0 #6 October 23, 2009 BTW, 7.17.09: The Fear of Sleep is great entertainment. The Mike Birbiglia tale is amazing. I laughed out loud in my car. :) Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jcd11235 0 #7 October 23, 2009 A couple favorite episodes of This American Life: Should I Stay or Should I Go? My Pen PalMath tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflybella 0 #8 October 23, 2009 Have heard Pen Pal - loved it. Going to get 'Should I Stay or Should I Go' tomorrow. :) One of my faves - and I can't recall which episode it was - was right after 9/11. Basically stories on "arab" (perceived arab) people in america. The one I remember most is a hindu little girl in New Jersey who had to change schools. Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflybella 0 #9 October 23, 2009 Here are some incredible episodes. The housing and credit crisis explained, in just 59 minutes. Giant Pool of Money The collapse of the banking system explained, in just 59 minutes. Bad Bank Where were the regulators and watchdogs who were supposed to be overseeing the banks and the finance industry? The Watchmen What happened the first week of October, 2008, including what regulators could've done to prevent the financial crisis from happening in the first place. Another Frightening Show About The Economy Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #10 October 23, 2009 QuoteBut every single episode of that show is worth listening to. It's long been a favorite show for me. I love that it's available as a podcast and I get it automatically every week so I can listen to it on my own schedule, which is usually some dreadful LA commute. Here's a page with some favorites; http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Favorites.aspx Scroll way down and listen to the one titled "First Day". In that, you will find my all time favorite story from the entire series "Squirrel Cop".quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflybella 0 #11 October 23, 2009 SQIRREL COP was AWESOME. They brought him back later in another episode - can't recall which. (Found it: "No Map" 5.15.09) And me, too. Commuting to This American Life makes me hate my life (commuting) just a little less. Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nerdgirl 0 #12 October 23, 2009 Quote SQIRREL COP was AWESOME. Not much else I can say other than "+1." Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PLFXpert 0 #13 October 23, 2009 QuoteIt's long been a favorite show for me. I love that it's available as a podcast I have never heard of it, until now, and that annoys me. How were you all first introduced? Do you have Showtime and caught it, or is there something awesome I am missing?Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #14 October 23, 2009 Quote Quote It's long been a favorite show for me. I love that it's available as a podcast I have never heard of it, until now, and that annoys me. How were you all first introduced? Do you have Showtime and caught it, or is there something awesome I am missing? Yes. It's called NPR. (Okay, technically This American Life is a PRI production but it's played on NPR stations)."There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfriverjoe 1,523 #15 October 23, 2009 QuoteQuoteIt's long been a favorite show for me. I love that it's available as a podcast I have never heard of it, until now, and that annoys me. How were you all first introduced? Do you have Showtime and caught it, or is there something awesome I am missing? The something awesome is NPR (National Public Radio). This American Life, Car Talk, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, Fresh Air, MarketPlace are all great. Interesting, informative, and funny. For news, Morning Edition (am) All Things Considered (pm) and The World are great. More in-depth than "normal" news radio. Stories the "regular" news doesn't cover. NPR"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflybella 0 #16 October 23, 2009 It's been on the radio for like 10 years. I can't stand the TV version. Have only seen a couple episodes, though. Go to ThisAmericanLife.com and START LISTENING. (unqueue it from your Netflix) Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pirana 0 #17 October 23, 2009 Quotethe one I listened to was about medical coding. This is one area that Obama could do some good, standardize the coding. one company pays 25% of their payroll is due to billing, alot due to miscoding. I have heard about electronic records but nothing about standardizing the coding to reduce payroll costs in the billing department. If Obama was serious about saving money on health care this is one area he could do something with right now. Why not fix some things that could have an imediate affect on health care costs? why pas a 1500 page bill when 100-200 pages of standardizing coding, billing practices, selling across state lines and tort reform would save enough money to insure most if not all the uninsured and cost nothing but what we are already paying? Maybe you mean simplify the coding? CPT and ICD (for procedures and diagnosis) are already standardized - though they could be simplified. The forms themselves are standardized, but are not required by law to be used (that I know of); however carriers can contractually enforce their use by participating providers. Specifically what coding was being discussed. There are no laws forbidding selling across state lines. Any carrier can sell in any state as long as they comply with the regulations of each state in which they do business. The reform that is needed is a single set of rules at the national level. If that is what they meant, they are spot on." . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflybella 0 #18 October 23, 2009 If I heard the story correctly, it was that doctors get paid by the procedures they do. And they bill insurance companies with codes for those procedures. But the codes for each procedure are DIFFERENT for each insurer. And there are code changes and additions and deletions all the time. The story mentioned a doctor who had a partner in private practice, and their office employed FOUR medical billers to keep up with the codes. It does sound like a national level standard/system would help a lot. Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PLFXpert 0 #19 October 23, 2009 Quote It's been on the radio for like 10 years. I do not much listen to the radio. I listen to NPR for news. If it is any consolation, I have only seen a few Friends and Simpsons episodes. Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PLFXpert 0 #20 October 24, 2009 Quote Go to ThisAmericanLife.com and START LISTENING. (unqueue it from your Netflix) Check. and Check. Is there another squirrel cop? The one I listened to was from 2002: pretty wife, squirrel in the attic, horrific ending? I did not think it was funny (even before the awful ending part). I do not spend much time in my car. It sounds like most people are familiar with the other programming from long commutes. I make a nine-hour, round-trip commute a couple times/year to my corporate office and always just buy a new book on CD, which is expensive but worth it as it makes my trip fly by. It might sound silly, but I like being read to and really enjoy books on CD for long commutes.Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflybella 0 #21 October 24, 2009 Right. The ending was a bad outcome. But I liked that story as an example of human behavior. Go to 'Fear of Sleep' (linked at top). Mike Birbiglia's section is hysterical. Hopefully will make up for it. Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PLFXpert 0 #22 October 25, 2009 OK, so I will try anthing twice or three times... Quote Go to 'Fear of Sleep' (linked at top). Mike Birbiglia's section is hysterical. Hopefully will make up for it. "I'm the hulk. I'm the hulk. I'm the hulk." THAT was funny. I only listened for the first 20 minutes (through Mike's segment), but it was funny. Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflybella 0 #23 October 25, 2009 Trust me. You'll learn to love TAL and Ira Glass. Some think Obama has a cult following? He ain't got NUTHIN' on Ira... Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
