02.01.14
@oswebguy isn’t interesting that ADA…
@oswebguy isn't interesting that ADA accessible restrooms also have room for a changing table? PS Lloyd Center has a secret family restroom.
For @oswebguy per our conversation…
For @oswebguy per our conversation this week: http://t.co/EDQXaFpQVF
For @oswebguy per our conversation this week: http…
For @oswebguy per our conversation this week: google.com/search?tbm=isc…
Apple OS unification in progress:…
Apple OS unification in progress: all 6! http://t.co/8nM7Kofmsk
Apple OS unification complete
This week there has been discussion (John Kirk) (John Gruber, Daring Fireball) (Dr. Drang) about whether Apple will ever unify iOS and OS X. I say they already have. I can easily pull up a VNC client on my iPad and with some tweaks to the universal access preference pane and single window mode, I can have an OS X experience on my iOS device.
Today I have a GUI interface inside a Touch interface. (A TUI if you will.) It’s not perfect by any means, but with a few tweaks and some polish by Apple and it would be just fine.
And this isn’t the first time this has happened. Have you ever used terminal.app? Only a slim sliver of the Mac-using population ever have. But there’s one unification right there: a commandline on top of a GUI.
Both of the scenarios above are nigh on impossible to enjoy on an iPhone. But it works in a pinch. But on an iPad it is serviceable. And if there was a mythical iPad Pro? Then I might never buy another Mac again, except as a server.
Let’s take a fundamental digital era task: creating an event in a calendar.
I could use my mouse and keyboard in the calendar desktop app. (Traditional GUI)
I could open up a terminal.app window and use a commandline tool. (CLI)
I could run an AppleScript to create the event. (ASI?)
I could use VoiceOver and never touch the screen. (VOI?)
I could use the calendar app on my iOS device and only ever touch a screen. (TUI)
I could logon to the iCloud.com website and create the event through a web interface. (WUI) [And that might split into AJAX vs. REST techniques.]
To a certain extent the unification that people are talking about is simply a bit of polish and a tiny step forward. It sure is a good thing Apple never makes incremental improvements towards a larger vision. (AppleScript in Numbers) (Mavericks Full-Screen mode) (iWork Platform Independence) (iWork 2013 on Web/OS X/iOS)
Apple OS unification DOES work.…
Apple OS unification DOES work. VNC client+Universal Access pref pane+single window mode :: Terminal.app. Just needs polish. @daringfireball
Yes. Very correct. http://t.co/OanE3z96Qj
Yes. Very correct. spannerhead.com/2011/10/23/rel…
01.27.14
HIPPA and Reducing Insurance Exclusionary…
HIPPA and Reducing Insurance Exclusionary Periods: http://t.co/KQuvge2VUm
HIPPA, Reducing Insurance Exclusionary Periods
I was looking into information about a Certificate of Credible Coverage which is a “Proof of Insurance” for healthcare.
…some people with a history of prior health coverage will be able to reduce the exclusion period even further using “creditable coverage.”
It turns out that HIPPA isn’t just about patient privacy. Its primary purpose is to allow “portability” of insurance between jobs, as long as there isn’t a break of more than 63 days of coverage. (The waiting period when you start a job doesn’t count against that.)
If I have “credible” coverage and less than 63 days of time between jobs, insurance companies are required to take that into account and reduce the exclusion period.
If I had just come from a long-term job (say 3 years or more) and had insurance during that job, a new insurance company might eliminate the exclusionary period altogether. Because I had a short job over the summer with only a month of actual coverage from Cigna, I will probably have a month knocked off my exclusionary period, bringing it down from 6 months to 5 months.
If I could get an additional certificate from the United Healthcare (insurance provider at my job of 7 years prior to last summer) I could probably get the exclusionary period waived entirely.
Here is the relevant text about HIPPA insurance portability from Labor Dept.:
…a preexisting condition exclusion can be imposed on a condition only if medical advice, diagnosis, care, or treatment was recommended or received during the 6 months prior to your enrollment date in the plan. As an example, you may have had arthritis for many years before you came to your current job. If you did not have medical advice, diagnosis, care, or treatment – recommended or received – in the 6 months before you enrolled in the plan, then the prior condition cannot be subject to a preexisting condition exclusion. If you did receive medical advice, diagnosis, care, or treatment within the past 6 months, then the plan may impose a preexisting condition exclusion for that condition (arthritis). In addition, HIPAA prohibits plans from applying a preexisting condition exclusion to pregnancy, genetic information, and certain children.
If you have a preexisting condition that can be excluded from your plan coverage, then there is a limit to the preexisting condition exclusion period that can be applied. HIPAA limits the preexisting condition exclusion period for most people to 12 months (18 months if you enrole late), although some plans may have a shorter time period or none at all. In addition, some people with a history of prior health coverage will be able to reduce the exclusion period even further using “creditable coverage.” Remember, a preexisting condition exclusion relates only to benefits for your (and your family’s) preexisting conditions. If you enroll, you will receive coverage for the plan’s other benefits during that time.
The portion in bold in that last paragraph is something I had never heard of before, but it could potentially eliminate waiting periods when you change jobs.