December 10, 2024 • 20 mins
Podcast listeners, imagine losing your voice after a rowdy pre-Thanksgiving celebration and then being sidelined by a vicious cold. That's exactly what happened to me, leading to an unplanned hiatus from our beloved LNBE Podcast. Much like dusting off gym shoes after a lengthy break, I’m jumping back into the rhythm of things and sharing a few laughs along the way. This episode includes a little historical nugget about how Abraham Lincoln turned Thanksgiving into a national holiday amidst the Civil War, along with a funny story from a family gathering in Salem, Massachusetts, where a forgotten air mattress resulted in a memorable night on the floor. Your unwavering support, as seen in my Spotify Wrapped stats, reminds me of the community we're building together, and I’m excited to invite you to engage even more.
Switching gears, I tackle a topic that's been on my mind—our frustrating experiences with the American healthcare system. From sky-high deductibles to the paradox of paying out-of-pocket despite having insurance, these issues hit close to home and resonate with many of you. A chilling event involving the murder of a United Healthcare executive raises questions about its potential impact on industry practices. Could this tragedy catalyze a rethink in how insurance companies operate? We'll also touch on the uproar surrounding Blue Cross Blue Shield in Connecticut over anesthesia coverage changes, pondering if such incidents could drive meaningful reforms. Join me as we unravel these complex topics, hoping for a glimmer of positive change in a system that so dearly needs it.
If you would like to share your opinion, send an email to lnbemedia@gmail.com and don't forget to follow me on Instagram and TikTok @thelnbepodcast.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Mike (00:10):
and we're back.
What is up everybody?
Welcome back to another episodeof the LNBE podcast, where lmbe
stands for literally nothingbut everything.
I'm mike risp and I am so sorryfor not putting out an episode
last week.
I know, I know I have been soinconsistent doing this podcast
(00:31):
as of the last few weeksActually you could even say as
of the last month.
But reason for this week why Imissed is because I went out the
Wednesday before Thanksgivingand, on top of talking over my
friends and the music at the barand whatever else was going on,
I lost my voice and then I alsogot some sort of like a
(00:54):
sickness.
I think there's something goingaround where some sort of
respiratory thing it wasn'tCOVID, but just something is
going around.
So I like lost my voice for thebetter part of a week.
So to the people around me itwas probably a blessing, but for
me doing this podcast it hasjust been so inconsistent and
(01:15):
I'm so sorry.
And I got to say it's kind oflike when you miss a day or two
from the gym where you're justgoing so consistently, or two
from the gym where you're justgoing so consistently, and then
all of a sudden maybe you go onvacation or you get sick, like
in my case, and you try and getback into it and that first time
that you're doing that firstset you're just like what is my
(01:37):
life right now?
It is just so hard trying toget back into it.
But we are back and I am sorry,so let's kind of get into this.
I hope you all had a very happyThanksgiving.
I know I'm only like two orthree weeks late.
No, I think I'm only two weekslate.
Thanksgiving was fucking latethis year, which is really funny
because all over social mediawhich is something that I
(02:00):
definitely have to get back intoI mean, if you guys are curious
, check me out on Instagram andTikTok @thelnbepod but all over
like Instagram and TikTok,whatever, I was seeing people
posting stuff of like.
I always thought Thanksgivingwas the third Thursday of the
month, not the last Thursday ofthe month, and, from what I know
(02:20):
, abe Lincoln was actually theone who established Thanksgiving
back in 1863.
And from what I at least think,I know, abe Lincoln was
actually the one who establishedThanksgiving back in 1863.
And, from what I at least think, I know he made it the last
Thursday of November as a day ofThanksgiving because it was
during the Civil War and hewanted it to be a day that
people could just pray for peaceand have harmony and whatever,
(02:42):
at least throughout the unionduring a time of war.
Because, keep in mind, likeduring the Civil War, it was
brother against brother, even ifthese guys weren't fighting for
the same side, they were allAmericans.
And it's so funny, because thenyou see these brain teasers on
the internet Like what's the warthat the most Americans died in
?
Of course it's the Civil War.
(03:03):
600,000 people died in thecivil war and they were all
american.
Well, didn't?
A lot of people die in vietnam?
Yeah, but if we're only lookingat american statistics, only 60
000 americans died in vietnam.
So there you go, there's yourlittle war, fun facts of the day
.
Oh, I'm just being a holly,jolly asshole talking about war
(03:27):
and death here.
But yeah, technically, if itwasn't for abe lincoln, we
wouldn't recognize thanksgivingas a national holiday, even
though, as we all learned inschool, or as you all should
have learned in school, in 1621,when the pilgrims had that big
ass harvest and they decided toshare it with the Wampanoag
tribe and all of that stuff,that was considered the first
(03:48):
Thanksgiving, but without AbeLincoln it wasn't considered a
national holiday.
So there we go.
Honestly, I feel like thisshould have been what I talked
about last week instead of goingon my tirade about dating apps.
But this is where we're at and,trust me, there's plenty more
for me to bitch about with that,but at least for today we're
(04:10):
gonna move on to some greenerpastures here.
So I hope all of you guys endedup having a fantastic
thanksgiving.
It's funny because onthanksgiving I was the only one
who didn't drink, yet I was theone who ended up being on the
floor.
Reason being is because we wentup to my sister's house up in
Salem Massachusetts, and weforgot the air mattress that I
(04:32):
was going to sleep on.
So what did we do?
We took one of the littlecushion things that my sister
has on a loft in her living roomand I just ended up sleeping on
that.
So not the first time I'veslept on the floor.
Also, most likely probably notthe last, but again, since I am
bringing up the idea ofThanksgiving, I want to give a
(04:53):
huge thank you to all of youguys, because last week I did
end up getting my Spotifywrapped for this podcast and
apparently for 35 of my fans.
Thank you.
I made your top 10 for 30 ofyou guys.
(05:13):
I was a top 5 show, I had a 4.6rating and I have 21 top fans,
and I know for a fact that Ihave less than 20 friends.
So, and I also have only maybetwo or three family members who
actually listen to this thing.
So for the 30 of you guys whoactually do listen to this, who
(05:38):
I am not affiliated with, Ireally appreciate it.
Thank you so much for thesupport.
With your help, it's only goingto continue to grow.
But what I'm seriously lookingfor, guys, let's make this a
resolution for 2025.
You got to start writing inbecause I can only run my app
for so much, so please write in.
(06:01):
I really want to try andconverse a little bit more with
you guys.
I know I could do better withthe socials I've already said
that, but I'm going to throw iton you guys.
If you could please just be alittle bit more interactive with
me.
My email is lnbemedia@ gmail.
com.
Please feel free to write in.
I mean, I am so desperate toget better at this pod and I'm
(06:27):
almost approaching a year nowand out of the whole year I've
gotten like two write-ins.
So I actually use chat GBT togive me my advice because I
can't rely on any of you fuckers.
So I got to default to a robotto tell me what's working and
what's not.
But I'll tell you what's notworking.
Is that ceo for unitedhealthcare?
(06:49):
Oh my god.
News of the week can we pleasetalk about this?
The fact that they still hadthe meeting after he was shot.
And the worst, worst part, youknow, they have Microsoft Teams.
Because Zoom is for hipstercorporations or like startups.
(07:10):
Zoom is not for establishedcorporations like this.
So you're telling me that thatcouldn't have just been a
Microsoft Teams meeting.
They had to go in, and why?
Because they just had toutilize the real estate that
they were paying for.
I'll tell you what if that shoewas remote, he probably
(07:32):
wouldn't have gotten clipped.
Oh my God.
But the fact that they stillhad, they walked over this guy's
dead body and was just like eh,you know what, we'll just get
somebody to clean that up later.
Is anybody truly shocked?
Like?
Let's put this in perspectiveUnited Healthcare is the biggest
healthcare corporation inAmerica, so of course they make
(07:56):
also the most claim denials orwhatever the terminology is Like
by sheer volume.
That would just make sense tome.
I don't know what the actualnumbers are.
I'm also not going to bother tolook it up, because that's what
I got you guys for.
But no joke, considering thatthis corporation also gave the
(08:19):
least amount or the most fileddenied claims or whatever it is.
This guy probably just had oneclaim not go through and it was
the last straw.
And look, I've been on healthcare before, like working for
corporations, and it is dog shit.
Let's be real here.
Your deductibles are so fuckingcrazy high I've never actually
(08:39):
been able to utilize my healthcare.
If anybody else has been inthis situation, please write in
because I can't be the only one.
I'm a genuine, like generallyhealthy person.
I maybe would only get aphysical once a year.
You do your dental, your vision, whatever, but weirdly dental
and vision mostly covered forsome reason.
Actual health care with aprimary physician not covered at
(09:02):
all.
Make that make sense to me,probably because that's the most
expensive part.
So why would a corporation wantto pay for that shit?
It doesn't benefit them.
So my deductible has alwaysbeen like extremely high.
And then when I go and get aphysical I'm automatically
paying a $50 copay on top ofthen doing like whatever the
(09:25):
blood tests are, because whenyou're of a certain age, that's
your physical, everything'sbased off of your blood work and
the blood work is like $700,$750, all the way up to God
knows what, and that's all comeout of my pocket because none of
my deductible ever gets puttowards that.
So I'm like why is this?
Why do I have health insuranceif I'm still paying out of
(09:48):
pocket for this garbage?
So you know what?
It was only a matter of timebefore somebody got sick of it.
And look, I'm not saying that Iagree with what happened.
I actually feel really bad forthe guy's kids and the guy's
wife.
I mean, truth be told, it's notnecessarily their fault that
(10:08):
their father and husband was theone who worked or was the ceo
for some heartless corporation.
But like it took this long forsomebody to snap.
Are we really shocked by this?
Like I don't know what theguy's situation is.
I think they just found the guy, I think they just released his
(10:28):
mugshot I have not seen it butlike say, his wife or kid or
whoever could be going throughlike chemotherapy or whatever.
And all of a sudden United isjust like, yeah, we're just not
going to cover this.
And he probably got fed up.
Look, I really don't know whatthe guy's situation is.
I'm just kind of talking out ofmy ass here.
(10:49):
I need more information beforeI go and just make blanket
statement claims like this.
But the more that I'm seeingabout these healthcare companies
, the more I kind of understandit.
Did you guys see this littletidbit that came out All of a
sudden, at least in Connecticut,I think it was Blue Cross Blue
Shield.
Somebody's gonna have to lookthis up too.
(11:10):
There was some sort ofanesthesia that was covered
under insurance and thenrandomly, they were just like
yeah, no, you know what, we'reno longer going to cover this
anesthesia.
Good luck, everybody, have funpaying for it.
But the way that it worked wasthat it was based on how long
(11:30):
the operation was supposed tolast.
So say you have God knows whatthe operation is, but say it's
supposed to last six hours andyour anesthesia is only supposed
to cover those six hours.
If your operation were to goeight hours, blue Cross Blue
Shield was just like well, we'reno longer going to cover those
(11:51):
extra two hours and that's goingto have to come out of the
patient's pocket, whereas beforeI don't think it really
mattered how long the anesthesiawas needed, because all of it
was covered by insurance.
But blue cross, blue shields isjust like nope, we're paying
for a set amount and that'sfinal.
If the patient needs more, thepatient can go fuck themselves.
(12:12):
That's not our responsibilityand it's not and that's final.
If the patient needs more, thepatient can go themselves.
That's not our responsibilityand it's not like that's the
patient's fault that they needthe anesthesia.
And all of a sudden, once thisunited guy got marked, all of a
sudden connecticut blue gosh,blue shields was like ah, maybe
you know, we'll still cover thefull percentage.
No, we'll still cover the fullpercentage.
So I mean I'm not saying thatwhat the healthcare CEO murderer
(12:37):
did wasn't wrong, because Imean, at the end of the day, he
still killed somebody.
That's pretty fucking bad.
I mean, what kind of a Catholicwould I be if I didn't at least
follow the sixth commandment ofthou shall not kill.
So I'm definitely not condoningthis guy's actions, but I am
saying that maybe he's kind ofputting all the CEOs in check
(12:59):
here with what they're allowingand what they're not going to
allow, at least when it comesdown to coverage.
So maybe health insurancecompanies will actually do more
to help cover people in need andmaybe you don't make the
deductibles so crazy, stupid,fucking high where people
actually have to pay out ofpocket for crazy amounts of
(13:20):
money for typical generic littlephysicals or other basic
necessities that people justneed.
Physicals, regardless of whatcompany you have, should all
just be standard covered.
How is it that a friggingdental cleaning, 100% covered
Physicals are dependent on afrigging deductible and until
(13:41):
you hit that deductible, that'swhen your insurance kicks in.
It's all a fucking scam.
Or am I wrong?
Am I just thinking of this thewrong way?
Like I don't even have kids,I'm not married, but I can only
imagine what that would be like,how much money that that would
cost.
I mean, you go to the fuckingvet.
(14:03):
You're not spending anythingless than $1,000 walking out of
there, which is absolutely crazy, because people would be way
more willing to pay for anoperation on their freaking pet
than they would be on themselves, because it costs that much
less and it's going to be thatmuch less of a headache for them
(14:25):
.
So if a kid needs it shot orwhatever, I can only imagine the
cost that that would bring to afamily.
So, yeah, I think, if anythingnow again, I don't know what
this guy's motives were, but ifanything, it shows that people
are just getting sick and tiredof what healthcare companies are
(14:48):
doing and it's kind of like nodifferent than colleges to a
degree, because colleges arebecoming crazy expensive.
I think I covered this on oneof my very early episodes too.
But at least nowadays, in orderto even get your foot in the
door in some company, you needto have a bachelor's degree.
(15:10):
So colleges know, hey, we knowthat this is a requirement for
any standard job nowadays, Ithink even working at McDonald's
, you need to have some sort ofa degree.
So colleges know that peoplehave to pay for these
astronomical degrees, no matterwhat it's in, because that's the
(15:30):
only way that they're going tobe quote unquote hireable.
So what do they do?
They jack up their prices,knowing that it's quote unquote
a need.
And I feel like that's whathealthcare companies are also
low key kind of doing, becauseit's a need that everybody has
to have.
So they're going to jack up allof their prices, regardless of
(15:51):
what it is, because it'ssomething that we all need and
we all are going to have to payfor it no matter what.
So I don't know.
I don't know.
Something needs to happen herewhere there is some form of
easier coverage and people don'tjust get denied things based on
a pre-existing condition orwhatever.
I mean the fact that insulin, Ithink, costs what?
(16:12):
$60 for a 30 day supply.
People spending $700 a yearjust on insulin is
astronomically way moreexpensive in the United States
than it is in any other country,and that's not something that
even that person can control.
Now, granted, if it's type twodiabetes and you got that just
because you're hopped up onsugar, as in any other country,
and that's not something thateven that person can control.
Now, granted, if it's type 2diabetes and you got that just
because you're hopped up onsugar and instead of eating
(16:33):
donuts you can replace it withan apple every once in a while,
then that's on you.
And also, from what I know,type 2 diabetes can somewhat be
reversed.
You go on a treadmill, youwatch your sugar intake and
you'll end up being pretty okayfor the most part.
But for someone with at leasttype 1 diabetes, where, if they
literally don't get theirinsulin or they will die, is
(16:55):
that maybe one of the thingsthat United was saying, hey,
we're actually not going tocover.
I think people's eyes are beingopened up to all this shit and
they're like, hey, somethingneeds to happen.
It's no different than thatstupid insurrection that
happened in january 6th.
People were so pissed off atthe government.
They were like, hey, we're justgonna go right to the source,
never mind the fact that ourleader also pretty much told us
(17:17):
to go and do this.
But, on the same note, this guygot so pissed off at his health
insurance.
He was like, hey, fuck it, I'mgonna go right to the source.
I don't know, like I said, noneof the details have come out,
or, if they have come out, Ihaven't looked into them.
So I really don't know whatthis guy's motives were.
I don't really know anythingabout this whole situation.
(17:38):
But that is just my take onwhat I think is going on here.
But since this was the mostcurrent news of last week and
considering I didn't do anythinglast week, I felt like I had to
talk about it.
But here's a promise to youguys that when I do another
episode this coming friday, itwill be a little bit more fun
(17:59):
and light-hearted.
We're not going to talk aboutany of this garbage.
I do have a pretty interestingstory, or at least it's
interesting to me that I cantell you guys.
On friday also, I do want to getback into some of the segments
that I was doing with music.
Hopefully you guys like thatsegment because that is
something that I can makeconsistent.
But please write in.
Do you guys like it when I talkabout music?
Do you guys like it when I talkabout sports?
(18:20):
Because that's really all I gotother than like current events
and stuff.
So you guys gotta write in,because friday I was definitely
thinking of telling you guys, uh, something that happened to me
last week, uh, maybe we'll coversome sports stuff and I was
gonna cover the music segmentagain.
I got a couple bands that Ithink you guys might like if you
(18:40):
guys are into the same musicthat I'm into, and hopefully I'm
also back up to 100% by friday.
Although I gotta be honest, Ikind of like the rasp in my
voice Kind of makes me sound alittle bit more sexy, at least
in my opinion.
I could be totally wrong, butI'm hoping that the sickness
goes away, but the voice kind ofremains.
(19:00):
But if you guys did like thisepisode.
Please share it with a friend.
Please like, subscribe, comment.
Give me that five star rating.
It really does help boost thisthing more than you guys know.
And please feel free to writein.
You can email me atlnbemedia@gmail.
com, and also feel free to checkme out on my socials.
You can find me on instagramand tiktok @theln be pod,
(19:24):
although I feel like by nextmonth, tiktok is no longer going
to be a thing, so we'll figurethat out as we go along.
But alright, guys, thank you somuch for listening and I will
catch up with you on Friday.
Thank you.
and we're back.
What is up everybody?
Welcome back to another episodeof the LNBE podcast, where lmbe
stands for literally nothingbut everything.
I'm mike risp and I am so sorryfor not putting out an episode
last week.
I know, I know I have been soinconsistent doing this podcast
(00:31):
as of the last few weeksActually you could even say as
of the last month.
But reason for this week why Imissed is because I went out the
Wednesday before Thanksgivingand, on top of talking over my
friends and the music at the barand whatever else was going on,
I lost my voice and then I alsogot some sort of like a
(00:54):
sickness.
I think there's something goingaround where some sort of
respiratory thing it wasn'tCOVID, but just something is
going around.
So I like lost my voice for thebetter part of a week.
So to the people around me itwas probably a blessing, but for
me doing this podcast it hasjust been so inconsistent and
(01:15):
I'm so sorry.
And I got to say it's kind oflike when you miss a day or two
from the gym where you're justgoing so consistently, or two
from the gym where you're justgoing so consistently, and then
all of a sudden maybe you go onvacation or you get sick, like
in my case, and you try and getback into it and that first time
that you're doing that firstset you're just like what is my
(01:37):
life right now?
It is just so hard trying toget back into it.
But we are back and I am sorry,so let's kind of get into this.
I hope you all had a very happyThanksgiving.
I know I'm only like two orthree weeks late.
No, I think I'm only two weekslate.
Thanksgiving was fucking latethis year, which is really funny
because all over social mediawhich is something that I
(02:00):
definitely have to get back intoI mean, if you guys are curious
, check me out on Instagram andTikTok @thelnbepod but all over
like Instagram and TikTok,whatever, I was seeing people
posting stuff of like.
I always thought Thanksgivingwas the third Thursday of the
month, not the last Thursday ofthe month, and, from what I know
(02:20):
, abe Lincoln was actually theone who established Thanksgiving
back in 1863.
And from what I at least think,I know, abe Lincoln was
actually the one who establishedThanksgiving back in 1863.
And, from what I at least think, I know he made it the last
Thursday of November as a day ofThanksgiving because it was
during the Civil War and hewanted it to be a day that
people could just pray for peaceand have harmony and whatever,
(02:42):
at least throughout the unionduring a time of war.
Because, keep in mind, likeduring the Civil War, it was
brother against brother, even ifthese guys weren't fighting for
the same side, they were allAmericans.
And it's so funny, because thenyou see these brain teasers on
the internet Like what's the warthat the most Americans died in
?
Of course it's the Civil War.
(03:03):
600,000 people died in thecivil war and they were all
american.
Well, didn't?
A lot of people die in vietnam?
Yeah, but if we're only lookingat american statistics, only 60
000 americans died in vietnam.
So there you go, there's yourlittle war, fun facts of the day
.
Oh, I'm just being a holly,jolly asshole talking about war
(03:27):
and death here.
But yeah, technically, if itwasn't for abe lincoln, we
wouldn't recognize thanksgivingas a national holiday, even
though, as we all learned inschool, or as you all should
have learned in school, in 1621,when the pilgrims had that big
ass harvest and they decided toshare it with the Wampanoag
tribe and all of that stuff,that was considered the first
(03:48):
Thanksgiving, but without AbeLincoln it wasn't considered a
national holiday.
So there we go.
Honestly, I feel like thisshould have been what I talked
about last week instead of goingon my tirade about dating apps.
But this is where we're at and,trust me, there's plenty more
for me to bitch about with that,but at least for today we're
(04:10):
gonna move on to some greenerpastures here.
So I hope all of you guys endedup having a fantastic
thanksgiving.
It's funny because onthanksgiving I was the only one
who didn't drink, yet I was theone who ended up being on the
floor.
Reason being is because we wentup to my sister's house up in
Salem Massachusetts, and weforgot the air mattress that I
(04:32):
was going to sleep on.
So what did we do?
We took one of the littlecushion things that my sister
has on a loft in her living roomand I just ended up sleeping on
that.
So not the first time I'veslept on the floor.
Also, most likely probably notthe last, but again, since I am
bringing up the idea ofThanksgiving, I want to give a
(04:53):
huge thank you to all of youguys, because last week I did
end up getting my Spotifywrapped for this podcast and
apparently for 35 of my fans.
Thank you.
I made your top 10 for 30 ofyou guys.
(05:13):
I was a top 5 show, I had a 4.6rating and I have 21 top fans,
and I know for a fact that Ihave less than 20 friends.
So, and I also have only maybetwo or three family members who
actually listen to this thing.
So for the 30 of you guys whoactually do listen to this, who
(05:38):
I am not affiliated with, Ireally appreciate it.
Thank you so much for thesupport.
With your help, it's only goingto continue to grow.
But what I'm seriously lookingfor, guys, let's make this a
resolution for 2025.
You got to start writing inbecause I can only run my app
for so much, so please write in.
(06:01):
I really want to try andconverse a little bit more with
you guys.
I know I could do better withthe socials I've already said
that, but I'm going to throw iton you guys.
If you could please just be alittle bit more interactive with
me.
My email is lnbemedia@ gmail.
com.
Please feel free to write in.
I mean, I am so desperate toget better at this pod and I'm
(06:27):
almost approaching a year nowand out of the whole year I've
gotten like two write-ins.
So I actually use chat GBT togive me my advice because I
can't rely on any of you fuckers.
So I got to default to a robotto tell me what's working and
what's not.
But I'll tell you what's notworking.
Is that ceo for unitedhealthcare?
(06:49):
Oh my god.
News of the week can we pleasetalk about this?
The fact that they still hadthe meeting after he was shot.
And the worst, worst part, youknow, they have Microsoft Teams.
Because Zoom is for hipstercorporations or like startups.
(07:10):
Zoom is not for establishedcorporations like this.
So you're telling me that thatcouldn't have just been a
Microsoft Teams meeting.
They had to go in, and why?
Because they just had toutilize the real estate that
they were paying for.
I'll tell you what if that shoewas remote, he probably
(07:32):
wouldn't have gotten clipped.
Oh my God.
But the fact that they stillhad, they walked over this guy's
dead body and was just like eh,you know what, we'll just get
somebody to clean that up later.
Is anybody truly shocked?
Like?
Let's put this in perspectiveUnited Healthcare is the biggest
healthcare corporation inAmerica, so of course they make
(07:56):
also the most claim denials orwhatever the terminology is Like
by sheer volume.
That would just make sense tome.
I don't know what the actualnumbers are.
I'm also not going to bother tolook it up, because that's what
I got you guys for.
But no joke, considering thatthis corporation also gave the
(08:19):
least amount or the most fileddenied claims or whatever it is.
This guy probably just had oneclaim not go through and it was
the last straw.
And look, I've been on healthcare before, like working for
corporations, and it is dog shit.
Let's be real here.
Your deductibles are so fuckingcrazy high I've never actually
(08:39):
been able to utilize my healthcare.
If anybody else has been inthis situation, please write in
because I can't be the only one.
I'm a genuine, like generallyhealthy person.
I maybe would only get aphysical once a year.
You do your dental, your vision, whatever, but weirdly dental
and vision mostly covered forsome reason.
Actual health care with aprimary physician not covered at
(09:02):
all.
Make that make sense to me,probably because that's the most
expensive part.
So why would a corporation wantto pay for that shit?
It doesn't benefit them.
So my deductible has alwaysbeen like extremely high.
And then when I go and get aphysical I'm automatically
paying a $50 copay on top ofthen doing like whatever the
(09:25):
blood tests are, because whenyou're of a certain age, that's
your physical, everything'sbased off of your blood work and
the blood work is like $700,$750, all the way up to God
knows what, and that's all comeout of my pocket because none of
my deductible ever gets puttowards that.
So I'm like why is this?
Why do I have health insuranceif I'm still paying out of
(09:48):
pocket for this garbage?
So you know what?
It was only a matter of timebefore somebody got sick of it.
And look, I'm not saying that Iagree with what happened.
I actually feel really bad forthe guy's kids and the guy's
wife.
I mean, truth be told, it's notnecessarily their fault that
(10:08):
their father and husband was theone who worked or was the ceo
for some heartless corporation.
But like it took this long forsomebody to snap.
Are we really shocked by this?
Like I don't know what theguy's situation is.
I think they just found the guy, I think they just released his
(10:28):
mugshot I have not seen it butlike say, his wife or kid or
whoever could be going throughlike chemotherapy or whatever.
And all of a sudden United isjust like, yeah, we're just not
going to cover this.
And he probably got fed up.
Look, I really don't know whatthe guy's situation is.
I'm just kind of talking out ofmy ass here.
(10:49):
I need more information beforeI go and just make blanket
statement claims like this.
But the more that I'm seeingabout these healthcare companies
, the more I kind of understandit.
Did you guys see this littletidbit that came out All of a
sudden, at least in Connecticut,I think it was Blue Cross Blue
Shield.
Somebody's gonna have to lookthis up too.
(11:10):
There was some sort ofanesthesia that was covered
under insurance and thenrandomly, they were just like
yeah, no, you know what, we'reno longer going to cover this
anesthesia.
Good luck, everybody, have funpaying for it.
But the way that it worked wasthat it was based on how long
(11:30):
the operation was supposed tolast.
So say you have God knows whatthe operation is, but say it's
supposed to last six hours andyour anesthesia is only supposed
to cover those six hours.
If your operation were to goeight hours, blue Cross Blue
Shield was just like well, we'reno longer going to cover those
(11:51):
extra two hours and that's goingto have to come out of the
patient's pocket, whereas beforeI don't think it really
mattered how long the anesthesiawas needed, because all of it
was covered by insurance.
But blue cross, blue shields isjust like nope, we're paying
for a set amount and that'sfinal.
If the patient needs more, thepatient can go fuck themselves.
(12:12):
That's not our responsibilityand it's not and that's final.
If the patient needs more, thepatient can go themselves.
That's not our responsibilityand it's not like that's the
patient's fault that they needthe anesthesia.
And all of a sudden, once thisunited guy got marked, all of a
sudden connecticut blue gosh,blue shields was like ah, maybe
you know, we'll still cover thefull percentage.
No, we'll still cover the fullpercentage.
So I mean I'm not saying thatwhat the healthcare CEO murderer
(12:37):
did wasn't wrong, because Imean, at the end of the day, he
still killed somebody.
That's pretty fucking bad.
I mean, what kind of a Catholicwould I be if I didn't at least
follow the sixth commandment ofthou shall not kill.
So I'm definitely not condoningthis guy's actions, but I am
saying that maybe he's kind ofputting all the CEOs in check
(12:59):
here with what they're allowingand what they're not going to
allow, at least when it comesdown to coverage.
So maybe health insurancecompanies will actually do more
to help cover people in need andmaybe you don't make the
deductibles so crazy, stupid,fucking high where people
actually have to pay out ofpocket for crazy amounts of
(13:20):
money for typical generic littlephysicals or other basic
necessities that people justneed.
Physicals, regardless of whatcompany you have, should all
just be standard covered.
How is it that a friggingdental cleaning, 100% covered
Physicals are dependent on afrigging deductible and until
(13:41):
you hit that deductible, that'swhen your insurance kicks in.
It's all a fucking scam.
Or am I wrong?
Am I just thinking of this thewrong way?
Like I don't even have kids,I'm not married, but I can only
imagine what that would be like,how much money that that would
cost.
I mean, you go to the fuckingvet.
(14:03):
You're not spending anythingless than $1,000 walking out of
there, which is absolutely crazy, because people would be way
more willing to pay for anoperation on their freaking pet
than they would be on themselves, because it costs that much
less and it's going to be thatmuch less of a headache for them
(14:25):
.
So if a kid needs it shot orwhatever, I can only imagine the
cost that that would bring to afamily.
So, yeah, I think, if anythingnow again, I don't know what
this guy's motives were, but ifanything, it shows that people
are just getting sick and tiredof what healthcare companies are
(14:48):
doing and it's kind of like nodifferent than colleges to a
degree, because colleges arebecoming crazy expensive.
I think I covered this on oneof my very early episodes too.
But at least nowadays, in orderto even get your foot in the
door in some company, you needto have a bachelor's degree.
(15:10):
So colleges know, hey, we knowthat this is a requirement for
any standard job nowadays, Ithink even working at McDonald's
, you need to have some sort ofa degree.
So colleges know that peoplehave to pay for these
astronomical degrees, no matterwhat it's in, because that's the
(15:30):
only way that they're going tobe quote unquote hireable.
So what do they do?
They jack up their prices,knowing that it's quote unquote
a need.
And I feel like that's whathealthcare companies are also
low key kind of doing, becauseit's a need that everybody has
to have.
So they're going to jack up allof their prices, regardless of
(15:51):
what it is, because it'ssomething that we all need and
we all are going to have to payfor it no matter what.
So I don't know.
I don't know.
Something needs to happen herewhere there is some form of
easier coverage and people don'tjust get denied things based on
a pre-existing condition orwhatever.
I mean the fact that insulin, Ithink, costs what?
(16:12):
$60 for a 30 day supply.
People spending $700 a yearjust on insulin is
astronomically way moreexpensive in the United States
than it is in any other country,and that's not something that
even that person can control.
Now, granted, if it's type twodiabetes and you got that just
because you're hopped up onsugar, as in any other country,
and that's not something thateven that person can control.
Now, granted, if it's type 2diabetes and you got that just
because you're hopped up onsugar and instead of eating
(16:33):
donuts you can replace it withan apple every once in a while,
then that's on you.
And also, from what I know,type 2 diabetes can somewhat be
reversed.
You go on a treadmill, youwatch your sugar intake and
you'll end up being pretty okayfor the most part.
But for someone with at leasttype 1 diabetes, where, if they
literally don't get theirinsulin or they will die, is
(16:55):
that maybe one of the thingsthat United was saying, hey,
we're actually not going tocover.
I think people's eyes are beingopened up to all this shit and
they're like, hey, somethingneeds to happen.
It's no different than thatstupid insurrection that
happened in january 6th.
People were so pissed off atthe government.
They were like, hey, we're justgonna go right to the source,
never mind the fact that ourleader also pretty much told us
(17:17):
to go and do this.
But, on the same note, this guygot so pissed off at his health
insurance.
He was like, hey, fuck it, I'mgonna go right to the source.
I don't know, like I said, noneof the details have come out,
or, if they have come out, Ihaven't looked into them.
So I really don't know whatthis guy's motives were.
I don't really know anythingabout this whole situation.
(17:38):
But that is just my take onwhat I think is going on here.
But since this was the mostcurrent news of last week and
considering I didn't do anythinglast week, I felt like I had to
talk about it.
But here's a promise to youguys that when I do another
episode this coming friday, itwill be a little bit more fun
(17:59):
and light-hearted.
We're not going to talk aboutany of this garbage.
I do have a pretty interestingstory, or at least it's
interesting to me that I cantell you guys.
On friday also, I do want to getback into some of the segments
that I was doing with music.
Hopefully you guys like thatsegment because that is
something that I can makeconsistent.
But please write in.
Do you guys like it when I talkabout music?
Do you guys like it when I talkabout sports?
(18:20):
Because that's really all I gotother than like current events
and stuff.
So you guys gotta write in,because friday I was definitely
thinking of telling you guys, uh, something that happened to me
last week, uh, maybe we'll coversome sports stuff and I was
gonna cover the music segmentagain.
I got a couple bands that Ithink you guys might like if you
(18:40):
guys are into the same musicthat I'm into, and hopefully I'm
also back up to 100% by friday.
Although I gotta be honest, Ikind of like the rasp in my
voice Kind of makes me sound alittle bit more sexy, at least
in my opinion.
I could be totally wrong, butI'm hoping that the sickness
goes away, but the voice kind ofremains.
(19:00):
But if you guys did like thisepisode.
Please share it with a friend.
Please like, subscribe, comment.
Give me that five star rating.
It really does help boost thisthing more than you guys know.
And please feel free to writein.
You can email me atlnbemedia@gmail.
com, and also feel free to checkme out on my socials.
You can find me on instagramand tiktok @theln be pod,
(19:24):
although I feel like by nextmonth, tiktok is no longer going
to be a thing, so we'll figurethat out as we go along.
But alright, guys, thank you somuch for listening and I will
catch up with you on Friday.
Thank you.
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