☣️ SIRIUS DOWNER ☣️

My neighbor's father collapsed at a family barbecue in July. Someone called 911. An ambulance showed up in six minutes and drove him four miles to the nearest hospital. He survived. A blocked artery, a stent, three days in the ICU. The hospital was in network. The surgeon was in network. Insurance handled almost every line of it. Then a separate envelope arrived, from the ambulance company. Four miles. $3,870. Insurance treated the ambulance as out of network and paid $410. The company billed the remaining $3,460 straight to him. His son called to ask how a man is supposed to pick an in-network ambulance while unconscious on a patio. Nobody picked this company. The county's 911 system sent whoever was next in rotation. Federal law now protects you from surprise bills from out-of-network ER doctors and air ambulances. Ground ambulances were left out of that law. So the one provider you can never choose, never compare, and never negotiate with in advance is the one allowed to bill whatever it wants after. He had insurance. He did everything right. He just wasn't conscious for the one decision that cost him $3,460.

What made you like Batman?

Last Tuesday, I paid to park three blocks from my apartment because my neighbor wouldn’t move his car out of the space I already pay for. By the time I got home, rain had soaked through my work shirt. His car was still downstairs, directly beneath the sign with my apartment number. I rent that space separately. It’s near the elevator, and after a late shift, knowing I can park and go straight upstairs is worth the money. The first time he used it, security called him. I waited almost half an hour before he came down carrying an empty shopping bag. “Just bringing a few things upstairs.” I told him I needed the space when I got home. He nodded, moved his car, and I thought that was the end of it. Four days later, he was back. This time, he didn’t answer security’s calls. The next morning, I caught him in the lobby and asked him not to park there again. He looked surprised that I was still bothered. “It’s empty all day. Seems a waste when other people could use it.” I explained that I paid for it precisely so it would be empty when I arrived. He said his wife had children to pick up and groceries to carry. Being close to the elevator made more sense for their family. Then he offered what he apparently considered a compromise. “Call me fifteen minutes before you get home. If I’m free, I’ll come down and move it.”

🎭 RIDDLE TIME I keep time but have no hands, and I swing back and forth to set the pace. Answer drops in 2 hours!