Posts by Andrew Mitchell41

Just to confirm, I went ahead and sent over all my documentation via email yesterday afternoon. Then, out of nowhere this morning, I get a call from the local branch letting me know they’ve received everything and processed my file. They told me I just need to drop by in person in about three months to make sure my Medicare coverage stays active. So, yeah, it’s doable—though it clearly depends on which specific office you happen to be dealing with.
I guess I should thank them for saving me a fifty-mile trek and the inevitable headache of standing in line for hours.

It’s just about reporting in, and IRS as far as I know, it’s because you don't have to be registered with the Social Security Administration anymore. They used to spin these stories about twenty years ago, claiming if you weren't on the SSA rolls you'd lose your health coverage entirely, so I suppose they eventually landed on this whole idea of reporting directly to Medicare. I can't help but wonder how bad the lines are at those offices, though. If it's anything like the crowds at the Department of Justice over in Providence, it’s going to be a total nightmare.

I get the logic behind the 90-day rule—I really do—but this whole thing about filing paperwork and submitting documents? I don't see why they can't just keep doing what we did during the pandemic. Apparently, they can't anymore because they have too many 🙄 employees to justify keeping those processes streamlined.
Back during the lockdown, it was perfectly standard to just shoot an email over to my contact in Seattle with a photo of my ID, my Medicare card, my Social Security card, and that specific form from the National Weather Service.

edit: Are those service counters usually packed like a Department of Justice office, or is it something you can actually "survive" without losing your mind?

Hey there.

Does anyone know if it’s still possible to file an unemployment claim through email—kind of like how we handled everything during the pandemic—or am I stuck driving down to the local Social Security office to deal with the counters in person?

Thanks.

I don't bother with news sites anymore; it’s honestly just a massive waste of time. There are plenty of them out there, sure, but I always come back to the same point: most of this could be handled remotely.

As for the older generation who don't have internet access, a computer, or a scanner—well, they usually have some younger relative around to handle those things for them. Honestly, I can't think of a single young person alive today who doesn't own a computer.
I mean, we’re all walking around with smartphones equipped with billion-pixel cameras. People really need to start actually utilizing these devices instead of treating them like expensive paperweights or something to just leave sitting on the bar at the pub.

And regarding the whole issue of physical service counters, that needs to be resolved once and for all in this godforsaken country. I truly hope this ends up being that one single "good" thing that the pandemic actually leaves behind for us.
We need to strip away a good chunk of that bureaucratic political machine, get rid of their useless F1 forms, and move everything possible online. I genuinely don't see the difficulty. Need a signature? You send the form, they print it, sign it, scan it, and email it back. Don't have a scanner? Use that smartphone with the million-pixel camera. They clearly have email if they’re even able to access these services in the first place.
I see absolutely no problem here.
Furthermore, there's no reason we can't implement electronic signatures so everything can be finalized directly from a phone. It just requires a little bit of willpower, some basic knowledge, and proper guidance for the public. But above all, we have to clear out the political cronies, because they are the ones actively stalling the progress I'm talking about, not the technology itself.

Couldn't they have just used a scanner or even a smartphone camera? They could have called everyone involved in the paperwork trail beforehand to see if sending over a PDF or a JPEG would suffice, just to avoid these kinds of headaches in the first place.
I mean, come on, people. Who in their right mind would turn down digital files in a situation like this? ☕Every single business has access to a computer, an A4 printer, and some form of internet connection these days. It's practically standard.
The whole idea is to limit contact—that’s the entire point. That's the only way things actually improve, rather than everyone running around aimlessly or hitting up local bars for social interaction. If you aren't set up with online banking, surely there's someone in your family who can handle a payment for you? That's what I do for certain people.

Maybe I'm being a bit thick here, but my parents back home are exactly the same. I put them in isolation in their apartment about a month ago and I'm not letting them out for anything. You have to hover over them like they're small children because once the enemy becomes "invisible," they just don't grasp it. They don't understand, they don't realize, and they certainly don't accept it... no matter how much I nag them or try to explain the logic behind it.

Lawrence Reed3 said:Honestly, that woman was either totally losing it or just incredibly dim-witted.
I mean, seriously, if you already know you're sick and you still decide to go out and wander around, there's really nothing left to say. It just makes zero sense.

Honestly, women like her—and people just like her—should be locked up immediately😠.
I run into types like this every single day. We really are a disaster of a nation.

And don't even get me started on the mockery and the laughing when you actually try to be responsible by wearing gloves and a mask. I truly don't get people sometimes. What's the issue with me deciding to take maximum precautions to protect my family and make sure they don't catch this crap?🙄.

The absolute circus and comedy routine my friend experiences while working at her pharmacy... I'd rather not even talk about it.
If we had someone like a hardline federal prosecutor in charge, they would have cracked down on everything these people did three times over, because some people only understand brute force.

I genuinely don't understand why we aren't just putting ankle monitors on those who are supposed to be in isolation and calling it a day. Is it possible we just don't do that here in the US, or is it just prohibitively expensive?

Can anyone recommend a decent place to check if they’re actually accepting new patients? The clinic here in our Suburban town where we've been living for the last few years is an absolute disaster. You can't make appointments, and wait times are measured in hours. On average, you're sitting there for two or three hours, and that's only when there are maybe three or four people in the waiting room 🤦.
Even for something simple, like getting a medical note signed or extending sick leave, the doctor insists on seeing you in his office rather than just letting a nurse handle it, which just adds to the wait. It’s driving us all insane. Everyone complains about it, yet nobody seems to actually say anything or take action.
When you're actually sick, he demands that you show up in person every two or three days 😵.
If the nurse would just write down some numbers on a slip of paper so I could swing by and come back a few hours later, I wouldn't be complaining so much 😠.

I am honestly willing to drive quite a distance—somewhere like a different part of the city or even further out—just to get away from this mess. I just want a place where there's actually a system, maybe through appointments or a numbered queue, where things are handled with a bit of human decency. I shouldn't have to sit there for hours just to grab a tiny scrap of paper from the nurse...

Hvala.