City of Toronto spends 1.9 million dollars on wood

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by GGG

Isn't this a quality of life issues for people and good plans should cover it.

How much does the city pay for massages and chiro, dietitions, naturopaths and other non medically neccessary treatments.

I agree that a reasonable cap should be put in place

I do wonder how much my own insurance plan premiums could be reduced if they didn't insist on covering chiropractic, naturopath, and acupuncture pseudoscience.

But I agree, medications to increase quality of life should absolutely be covered, and the Sun is -- as usual -- being a bunch of twats because "MUH TAXES".

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

The problem isn't the cities fault. The issue is the medical insurance not having limit policies on these medications.

Exactly how is it not the city's fault? Do they not dictate what level of coverage their employees get?

My company covers lifestyle drugs as well, but we're capped at a certain dollar amount. When given a mandate to cut benefits costs during thw downturn, our percent coverage dropped, as well as total dollars covered for physio/massage/etc among other things.

Lowered cost, lowered amount of coverage. All company driven, not insurance driven. I can't imagine the no-limit not costing an extra premium for the city/employees.

I have zero issue with lifestyle drugs being covered, but put a limit on it. I'd bet a lot of these folks are getting them and re-selling them.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

I do wonder how much my own insurance plan premiums could be reduced if they didn't insist on covering chiropractic, naturopath, and acupuncture pseudoscience.

But I agree, medications to increase quality of life should absolutely be covered, and the Sun is -- as usual -- being a bunch of twats because "MUH TAXES".

To be fair when chiro and acupuncture are delivered as physiotherapy rather than a philosophy there are proven benefits. Both being used for muscle release.

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

I do wonder how much my own insurance plan premiums could be reduced if they didn't insist on covering chiropractic, naturopath, and acupuncture pseudoscience.

based on typical utilization you might be looking at a 10% to 15% decrease in claims cost if you dropped these specific paramedical coverages.

The city of TO must have a rich coverage for lifestyle drugs. As mentioned above, most plans cover $500 or so for lifestyle drugs

[MRCboicgy]

Isn't one of the side effects of crack long-term the inability to perform? Makes sense - #ripRobFord.

[calgaryblood]

How is Viagra covered? It's not a medical "need", is it?


Because watching my grandma who is on Aish and barely scraping by pay for a lot of her insulin medication and the testers for her blood sugar level is real frustrating all while they're paying for men to get wood which isn't a necessity.

[Northendzone]

^ you are talking about different payors - AISH is a social program - while the city of Toronto has an employer sponsored benefit program that forms a part of employees overall compensation plan.

[shermanator]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Seriously, shut the hell up. Part of me thought the story was funny so I posted it but you have to make it a one man bitch crusade about me.

Is it wasteful spending absolutely, its stupid and ridiculous.

But is it funny that a city is buying 1.9 million dollars worth of boner pills sure.

Seriously you sound like a whiny 6 year old, you don't like what I say, then please please put me on your ignore list. But get the #### out of my face.

I see I have triggered the classic CaptainCrunch internet tough guy act. Even with you on ignore, I can't avoid your posts, because you're in every damn thread! Quite frankly, your shtick is one of the reasons why this site has gone downhill big time lately.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by GGG

To be fair when chiro and acupuncture are delivered as physiotherapy rather than a philosophy there are proven benefits. Both being used for muscle release.

Acupuncture is an elaborate placebo. Chiropractic is unfounded nonsense, a good massage will do the same thing without all the magical explanations.

[Shazam]

What a plan. Boner drugs are explicitly excluded from coverage on my wife's plan.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by shermanator

I see I have triggered the classic CaptainCrunch internet tough guy act. Even with you on ignore, I can't avoid your posts, because you're in every damn thread! Quite frankly, your shtick is one of the reasons why this site has gone downhill big time lately.

Only because it doesn't agree with your absolute idiocy.

And you're the one that open up with taking a completely Un-neccessary shot at me.

Since when did you become the grand decider of what is and isn't good on this site or who belongs here or who doesn't.

What used to make this site great was we had a lot of people with different opinions and different viewpoints.

Now we have complete a#### like you that have decided and judged what belongs here or doesn't belong here with no investment.

I'm glad you've appointed yourself judge of what opinions and debating points belong here or not, it just shows how narrow minded you are.

But you don't own this site, you're not a moderator so your opinion is actually pretty irrelevant.

If the moderators and owners of this site decide that I'm what's wrong with this site, or I'm not the type of poster that ascribes to their vision, they're certainly welcome to kick me off or ban me.



So tell you what, why don't you take your saltiness, put it in a big pile, grab a hammer and pound it up your Southern orifice.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

So tell you what, why don't you take your saltiness, put it in a big pile, grab a hammer and pound it up your Southern orifice.

Works better than Viagra!

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

You are correct. These "insurers" really adjudicate claims and manage the process. The city says "please manage our prescription benefits" and assumes the insurer knows what they're doing. As for pharmacies, I'm not sure how their provincial drug management is, as we have a system in BC that shows me what a patient has filled elsewhere. With regards to Dr, it wouldn't be hard to go to multiple walk ins

So you're saying it's a private business bilking tax payers by improperly managing their prescription benefits and not the city?

Odd.

[peter12]

A lot of internecine rivalry on the board recently.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by peter12

A lot of internecine rivalry on the board recently.

I don't know what I assume is a crucial word in your sentence, but I agree.

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by Shazam

What a plan. Boner drugs are explicitly excluded from coverage on my wife's plan.

have you seen the plan documentation, or is that what she is telling you?

anyways, while the $1,900,000 number seems big and it makes for a more interesting and outrageous headline than "City Employees spend $1,900,000 on cholesterol reducing drugs".

the cost is likely a small part of the overall cost of the entire benefit plan

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by peter12

A lot of internecine rivalry on the board recently.

I looked the word up

in·ter·ne·cine
[ˌin(t)ərˈˌneˌsēn, in(t)ərˈnēsīn]



ADJECTIVE

1. destructive to both sides in a conflict:
   "the region's history of savage internecine warfare"
   
   
   • of or relating to conflict within a group or organization:
     "the party shrank from the trauma of more internecine strife"
   
   
   

you can now impress your friends the next time a brawl breaks out at the club or on the c-train

[puckedoff]

Originally Posted by peter12

A lot of internecine rivalry on the board recently.

Within the family?! Gross.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

So you're saying it's a private business bilking tax payers by improperly managing their prescription benefits and not the city?

Odd.

Why is that odd? The city does not likely employ experts in adjudicating and administering medical insurance, that's why businesses pay these companies.

If Joe Construction gets group insurance for his employees, is he telling them how many boner pills his employees may have? What limits are on pain killers? What limits are on special authorization medication? No, there are literally tens of thousands of drugs, each with different limits set on them. For example: some adjudicators limit triptans (migraine meds) to 12 tablets per month. When a pharmacy tries to process a claim and that limit has been reached, it will not go through, or the balance after the 12 will go to the patient. This is normal. Maybe the city should've audited it more closely after the fact, but that's hardly normal protocol. One would assume the insurer is following similar rules to other insurers.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

have you seen the plan documentation, or is that what she is telling you?

anyways, while the $1,900,000 number seems big and it makes for a more interesting and outrageous headline than "City Employees spend $1,900,000 on cholesterol reducing drugs".

the cost is likely a small part of the overall cost of the entire benefit plan

Yes I read the plan restrictions. There were a few drugs on there, not just things like Viagra.

Not sure it's the same thing as cholesterol, people are genetically predisposed to high cholesterol and not treating it can result in early death.