karmamo giuseppe gereldine

[Cre Moonin]

We are breaking new ground here at Allen Health Academy, by equipping and empowering working Americans to be savvy health care consumers. It is possible! The Never Pay Pathway videos are engaging and accessible and we are excited to see people enjoying them and learning from them. Contact me if you want more information!

Her portion of the bill came to $1,650. Laurie, 60, has been reading my Allen Health Academy newsletter, so she called the hospital to challenge the bill. She politely asked the billing representative what she now calls the three magic words: \u201CIs this negotiable?\u201D

I love the way Laurie framed the conversation. She could have been pushy and demanded a discount, but that would have likely made the billing rep defensive. She could have asked directly for a discount, but that gives the billing rep the opportunity to simply say, \u201CNo.\u201D

Asking, Is this negotiable? is a non-confrontational way to propel the debate in the patient\u2019s favor. That\u2019s because there\u2019s only one truthful answer when you ask whether hospital prices are negotiable: \u201CYes.\u201D

If you\u2019re a working American who is self-pay or covered by a commercial or individual health insurance plan - those hospital prices are all negotiated. Laurie\u2019s bill is a typical example. The hospital initially charged $19,375 (!) for her echocardiogram. That\u2019s the chargemaster rate, the made-up sticker price that nobody is supposed to pay. That made up charge is merely a starting point for insurance companies to negotiate discounts.

Laurie doubted she would get a break when she asked if the bill was negotiable. She knew she had a high deductible \u2013 the portion you have to pay before your insurance kicks in. She figured she had to pay it.

But often it\u2019s not enough to just ask if something is negotiable. In my book, \u201CNever Pay the First Bill: And Other Ways to Fight the Health Care System and Win,\u201D and in my \u201CNever Pay Pathway\u201D health literacy videos, I show patients how to contest medical bills with evidence. I walk through the process of obtaining an itemized bill, with the billing codes, and contesting any inaccurate or overpriced charges. Making your argument with evidence weighs the negotiations in your favor. If necessary, it also gives you the evidence you need to lower the bill by suing in small claims court.

The thrill Laurie felt from saving $825 was quickly followed by anger. She and her husband could have paid the full bill, which she knows puts them in a privileged class. About 4 in 10 Americans would not be able to pay a $500 medical bill, or would have to pay it over time, according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll I wrote about in a previous newsletter. As a social worker, Laurie has helped clients and friends with their medical bills. Many lower-income Americans would never ask for a discount, she said, because they don\u2019t know that they should, or would feel ashamed. Most of them would be put on a payment plan and mired down by the debt, she said.

Let\u2019s not let this happen. Laurie\u2019s story is such a clear example of how easy it can be to reduce a medical bill. Let\u2019s spread the word. Just remember, it starts with those three magic words.

I\u2019m a huge fan of Dr. Eric Bricker and his instructive AHealthcareZ videos. I\u2019m honored that he featured my new health care literacy videos, The Never Pay Pathway, in a recent video called, Health Literacy and its Role in Financial Literacy.

Health care financial literacy has not previously been considered an essential part of employer sponsored health plans. Employers typically let their employees fall into the financial traps set by the health care system. Let\u2019s change this!

There\u2019s nothing that brightens my day like people putting the advice that\u2019s in Never Pay the First Bill and The Never Pay Pathway into action \u2014 and saving HUGE money. I love this Amazon review from \u201Cbadyoga\u201D because it shows that patients can be empowered health care consumers. It\u2019s so satisfying to see them overcome the health care giants. Let\u2019s gooooooo!!!

I don\u2019t know \u201Cbadyoga,\u201D so if it\u2019s you, please reach out to me so I can savor the victory with you. And if you or others you know have Victory Stories, please share them with me. Let\u2019s normalize our rejection of these unfair health care business practices.

The (spoiler alert) Motivation Opportunity Ability framework began in the advertising literature, with Batra and Ray 1986 and MacInnis, Moorman, and Jaworski 1991 as early sources. Follow-on adaptations explored the framework in environmental communication, social issue behavior, strategic human resources, and elsewhere (sometimes with the three words in a different order). And I find it to be a reliable and powerful lens through which to explore human behavior, and the various barriers to productive or preferred behavior by individuals and groups.

What if I told you there were three magic words that can help you in all 10 functions of Arts Management? That would help you observe with clarity, analyze with intention, and act with purpose in ways that advance the work of your Arts and Cultural Organization? Would you want to know what they were?

This video is about the three magic words that I keep coming back to in my consulting work and my teaching and my writing and research. They are three words that really help you bring clarity to the way you observe the actions of the people around you, and your own actions. They help you analyze those actions and think through how you might act in positive and productive ways in response.

They come from a framework that originally started in the advertising world, but then branched out into multiple domains: including environmental practice, how do we get people to individually and collectively act in ways that are more productive for the environment? Or in social marketing, which is how do we get people to make choices that are positive for themselves and for their community? Like brushing their teeth. Like buckling their seatbelts when they get in the car.

MOTIVATION is about whether or not the person is motivated toward the action or toward stopping the action that you have in mind. What is their desire, their purpose, their connection to this action? How is it reinforced or discouraged by social norms, by the actions of their peers or reference individuals they look to in the world for guidance? How are they pulled in or pushed away from the idea of this action in their motivational constructs?

And then finally, ABILITY is about the internal capacities of the individual to do the thing you have in mind. Do they have the skills, the knowledge, the abilities, the capacity, the behavior, the insight, to do the thing effectively in the world, or do they not?

And the benefit of these three words is that they help you break down what is often a big mess of a problem into at least three separate messes. And each suggests a particular tactic or action to take.

So again, we have motivation, opportunity, and ability that would block people from attending or participating in the work of our organization. And we have to think of them independently in order to engage the behavior we want in the world.

So here again, motivation, opportunity, and ability gave us three different lenses of looking at contributed income. To think differently about how do we remove the barriers that might be blocking people from full engagement of the work of our enterprise.

If you find yourself facing an issue or challenge of complex human behavior, which is pretty much everyday work for the arts manager, maybe think about these three magic words to help you find your way through: motivation, opportunity, and ability. Not only do they help untangle and decipher complex human behaviors, and also suggest positive outcomes or actions you might take to move forward. They also remind you to not necessarily push all the time, but sometimes to look for the barriers that are blocking people from their best performance, their positive engagement, or their full participation in the work.

The two words I am are the name of God. As Dr. Wayne W. Dyer explains, "I discovered while reading James Twyman's book The Moses Code that the sounds you will be hearing in this audio download were the result of some intense research to reproduce the exact sounds associated with the name of God found in the Old Testament, translated from the original Hebrew as I am that I am."

Three Magic Words presents a simple but profound truth: we can shape the outer world by shaping our inner thoughts. Instead of being controlled by circumstances, we can become architects of our reality by harnessing the power of consciousness itself. Throughout the book, U. S. Andersen illustrates this principle with meditations to help you reframe difficult situations and cultivate liberating thoughts.

With amazing insight and clarity, Wayne helps you break down mental barriers and align your thoughts and goals to bring what you most desire into your life. In the process, he reveals how manifesting is so much more than simply getting what you want - it is a journey to the heart of the spiritual being you truly are. In discovering your true identity, not only are your wishes fulfilled, but your outer life is transformed to reflect your highest inner self. The rewards are immense, as you discover that you are far more than you ever dreamed yourself to be.

c01484d022