RedWizard

I have to get some blood work done. When I was told to get the blood work done, I was told to go to Quest Diagnostics. I told the person I was working with that I do not want to go to Quest, I have access to a great walk in lab in my primary care office. The person I was talking to said they sometimes do not get the information from that lab back reliably because its "outside our system". I said, that I'd just rather not do that. They pressed the issue somewhat. Ok, I said, I'll just give Quest a shot. That was, my first mistake.

Yesterday I go to Quest, first time I've been to a Quest lab, no idea what to expect. The KIOSK scans my ID, and my Insurance card, no human in sight except for the wall of people waiting in the tiny lobby. The Kiosk asks me why I'm there... which I figured it should know, they sent the order to Quest after all. I pick whatever option looks correct, because none of them look correct. Then it tells me "Sorry, we have no more availability today"... Cool, that could have been the first message, but no. I have to fast to get this blood work done. They kiosk tells me I can schedule a time, you can come back at 2:00PM tomorrow it says. I'm not fasting all day tomorrow until 2:00PM, no thanks.

I leave. I get on the phone with the provider's office I'm working with. It's one of these, public 🤝 private partnerships my state insurance has. Person answers. I tell them I want to have my orders sent to the lab I like, that I was just at Quest, it was not a good experience (you have to say things like this I've learned), and that I have great experiences at the lab I like. The person was nice, she changed my preferred location, she emailed me a copy of the order, she said she sent the order over, that it was all set. She said I didn't have to go to Quest, in a tone that implied "who told you that?". I told her, my provider effectively pressured me into going to Quest. She said, well, you don't have to. Just remember to send us a message once you see your results in your local providers health app so we can check if we've received it. Cool, I said, and moved on with my morning.

I went to the lab I like this morning. I sign in, it's a clip board. They open at 7:30, no one else is waiting, that's usually the case. I get pulled in right away. I sit down, they ask for my details, then after looking me up to inform me that I don't have any orders on file. Ok... They probably faxed them I said. She checks her stack of faxes, she then tells me, it's not there. OK... cool... Well I have the order right here! It's on my phone actually, do you need to look at it? You can just, have my phone. Nope. I need a piece of paper, she replies. OK... good... well, I see you have a printer there, can I just... email you the PDF I have? Then you can print it, then we can get this done? No, I don't give my email out like that, sorry. Ok... great... hey, does that Printer have a USB port on it? Do you care if I plug my phone into that printer? Yeah, knock yourself out. So I do. Nothing. Just a lot of wishful thinking.

Ok then, I'll be back, and if not I'll be back another day. I walk out the door, to the front desk. They ask if I have an appointment. I tell them my situation. They get my info. They look me up. Sorry, you don't have any orders on file. Yes, I am aware of that. I was just in the lab (which is about 50ft across the room), they said they didn't receive a fax. Is there possibly some other fax machine that might have received this order? Well, I just checked all the faxes, I didn't see any orders. Ok... I said. They replied, Your provider isn't in this building, you know that right? Yes... I said. One second, let me call them. So they call. Minutes pass. Yeah they didn't get anything, they say eventually. Ok, well I have the order right here on my phone. I hold up my phone. I see you have some printers here, at least three of them, is there a way I could send this to your email and you could print it for me? No. I'm not allowed to do that, she replies. Right, I see. Ok well, the order, which I have here on my phone, says the fax number it sent it to is XXX-XXX-XXXX, is that this buildings fax number? One second she says then turns to the room. Hey, is this our buildings fax number? Where does this fax go? Huh, oh... I think that one goes to MY desk, someone else answers. Two workers leave, to go check the fax. Minutes pass. Yeah sorry, we don't have anything, I'm eventually told. Got it. Cool. So, there is no way that we can find a way to use those printers, to print the order, which I have here? No... I don't think so. Right... let me call them.

So I call them. I guess, however, It's too early. I get the "over night" line. It's about 8:00AM at this point. Someone picks up. I tell them who I am, what my situation is, that I would like my orders faxed over to my location. Ok, they said, just one moment. Hi, what's your name?
Oh, its Red Wizard,
Ok... Red Wizard, I'm with you, I'm communicating with you (this is real btw) can you spell that for me?
Uh sure, it's R E D W I Z A R D.
Great, thank you, one second... I'm with you... OK What is your phone number?
Yup its XXX-XXX-XXXX,
thank you... I'm communicating with you, I'm with you, ok, so What is your Email address?
Oh, it's redwizard@hexbear.net,
thank y.. did you say... sorry redwizardhexbearnet?
No, redwizard @ hexbear DOT net,
right of course, redwizard@hexbearnet,
No, DOT net.
Oh, redwizard@hexbear.net ok, I'm with you, one second, I'm communicating with you............... ok what is the name of your provider?
Right... its HEALTH PLACE,
right, can you.. spell that for me?
Sorry, what, you need.. Ok.. uh, its H E A L T
yes please spell it for me.
OK. IT's H E A L T H P L A C E, it's at ADDRESS in STATE.
Thank you... I'm with you, I'm communicating OK so, thank you for calling the overnight service for PROVIDER if this is a medical emergency please hang up and dial 911, my name is REDACTED what exactly are you calling about today?
Uh.. yeah, like I said, I have orders that I need faxed to my current location. I'm here at the lab, someone was supposed to fax those yesterday, that obviously didn't happen, and I just need them faxed again, so I can get this done.
Oh so this is about... about labs ok. What kind of labs?
They're just annual blood work labs.
Ok... right ok. Well, I've sent a message off, and they should see it soon.
Sorry?
I sent a message off, and someone should see it soon is there anything else I can help you with?
So you can't just, fax the labs over?
No sorry, I do not have access to that information. I've sent a message. Is there anything else?
Nope.

The orders, are on my phone. I'm standing in the middle of an office, where, from which I stand I can literally see at least 4 printers and 1 multifunction copier. I walk out of the building. I get into my car. I shut the door. I scream as loud as I possibly can. I drive home.

You know. I had this passing thought yesterday that I should have just printed the orders out, but I never did. I have access to a printer here in my office. I called them when I got into work today, a nice person on the line told me they would fax them over, again. I'm going to call the place soon and see if they got the orders. My guess is they probably haven't.

cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/56403

Laws across the country targeting transgender people are driving families to relocate.

From MR Online via This RSS Feed.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/48610427

Hey Folks, I have an opportunity here very soon to have some say in the affordable housing situation in my town (we'll see). While I read over the planning and studies the town has already done, I'd like to get a sense of the field for what effective policy looks like, what current left thinking on the matter is.

I don't know what I don't know, you know? Obviously, any advocacy I do will need to be a synthesis of the conditions of the place I live and whatever current leading thinking is on the matter, while dealing with the limitations of liberal democracy. I figured this was a good place to ask.

cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/55361

Vote Here is what we won, what the June 2 vote means, and how you join what comes next.

From Liberation News – The Newspaper of the Party for Socialism and Liberation via This RSS Feed.

cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/55604

Photo Credit Corey Saunders

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New York City has been ground zero in the fight over Trump's campaign to scare hospitals into dropping gender-affirming care for trans youth. When Zohran Mamdani ran for mayor, he promised to fight back—showing up to protests outside NYU Langone, pledging $65 million for gender-affirming care, and vowing to use every lever of city power to protect trans New Yorkers from federal intimidation. Since taking office, those promises have largely gone unfulfilled: no enforcement action against the hospitals that shuttered their programs, no fines from the Commission on Human Rights despite complaints open for over a year, and no public accounting of the promised funding. So when Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin announced Friday that the city would open its first-ever direct-care clinic for transgender people, it seemed like the administration was finally delivering. It isn't. This morning, Erin in the Morning can confirm that Mayor Mamdani's new clinic will deny care to anyone under 19 years of age—adopting the exact age cutoff from Trump's anti-trans executive orders.

"Transgender, gender-nonconfirming, and nonbinary New Yorkers deserve age-appropriate health care that is affirming, respectful, and considerate of all their needs. That’s why, for the first time later this summer, the NYC Health Department will be expanding services to provide gender affirming hormone therapy to adults 19 years of age and older at our Corona Sexual Health Clinic. As with the other clinic services, gender-affirming hormone therapy will be offered at no to low cost and regardless of immigration status. We look forward sharing more details upon launching the pilot,” said a NYC health Spokesperson in a statement to Erin In The Morning.

The confirmation comes after a city council budget hearing on Friday, where the exchange that first surfaced the clinic also revealed the administration’s reasoning. Councilmember Tiffany Cabán asked Commissioner Alister Martin—the city’s top public health official, appointed by Mamdani in January—whether the city would be expanding gender-affirming care. Martin announced the direct-care clinic, calling it “one of the first times a public health department has ever taken that step.” But when Cabán pushed back, pointing out that trans youth are the ones most under attack right now—noting that there are “almost no providers” left for youth the entire city—Martin indicated the clinic would not serve youth, citing the need to “strike a balance” between providing care and avoiding “clawbacks from the federal government.” This morning, EITM can directly confirm that the age cutoff is 19—matching the Trump administration’s executive order threshold, not the standard legal age of adulthood in New York. See the exchange:

Commissioner Alister Martin: “It’s incredibly important that we get the messaging right here and that we lean in on the comms and the campaign here, but it’s also important to deliver for people and to provide the services they need. And we’re excited to say that pretty soon we’re going to be able to offer gender-affirming care directly at our clinics. We have a clinic that will be opening up in Corona which will offer gender-affirming hormone therapy for adults. It’s like one of the first times a public health department has ever taken that step, and we’re proud to not just stop there. We’ll continue moving forward with this.”

Councilmember Tiffany Cabán: “Can I ask a follow-up on that? Particularly because that’s a really big deal, but also—we’re seeing this devastating decrease in services for youth, and especially youth under 13, 12—like, there are almost no providers who provide that care. And the one or two that do is obviously under attack from the federal government. So is there going to—are you thinking about an expansion in that youth care? Because I’m talking to parents all the time and they don’t know where to take their children.”

Commissioner Martin: “As you can appreciate, the balance that we have to strike is—we are committed to this issue and want to make sure that we provide the services and resources for youth, as well as making sure that we don’t expose ourselves to clawbacks from the federal government, which disrupt the rest of the care that we can give. And so there’s much more to come on this, trying to sort of figure out that right balance. We’re eager to work with you on this, but rest assured we are working on this and we’re trying to figure out how to do this.”

The news comes amid mounting questions about Mamdani’s commitment to the promises that helped elect him. During his campaign, Mamdani held a Trans Community Town Hall where pledged to invest $65 million in gender-affirming care. That pledge involved “public hospitals and community clinics,” indicating to many that he could begin opening direct care clinics for youth being forced out of hospitals. His platform also explicitly pledged to hold the hospitals that deny transgender youth care accountable for their capitulation to Trump and to “use every single tool” to stop them from complying with Trump’s illegal executive orders.

Those pledges have largely evaporated. Journalist Aviva Stahl reported for Prism in March that the $65 million was nowhere in the city’s preliminary budget, and as of June, advocates who reviewed the executive budget say the money is still not there. The Commission on Human Rights complaints against NYU Langone and Mount Sinai have sat open for over a year with no enforcement action, and the agency has refused to comment on them in response to questions by Erin In The Morning. And now, Mamdani’s own health commissioner is using the very same rationale NYU Langone and Mount Sinai used to deny trans youth care—fear of federal retaliation.

It is a far cry from when Mamdani stood at a rally outside NYU Langone in March 2025 and declared: “We have seen NYU Langone comply with illegal executive orders out of a fear of their so-called biggest donors. Let us remind them that the city is also one of their biggest donors. Let us remind them that they do not pay a dollar in property tax, [and that] we are a city that is ready to use every single tool to assure compliance with city and state human rights laws.”

Mamdani is not powerless here. He has significant leverage over Health + Hospitals—the largest public municipal healthcare system in the country, with 11 hospitals, more than 70 clinics, and eight existing Pride Health Centers. He controls the board. He can demand H+H absorb displaced trans youth patients tomorrow, with significant power behind those demands. He has the Commission on Human Rights, which can levy fines of up to $250,000 per violation against hospitals that deny care in violation of city law—complaints against NYU Langone and Mount Sinai have been open for over a year with no action. He has a campaign pledge to coordinate with AG James, who has already told NYU Langone that no federal law requires them to stop. He also promised $65 million to this community. The tools are there. The legal authority is there. The money was promised. What is apparently missing is the will to use any of it for the kids who are the most under attack.

It is important to note that in a recent appearance on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show, a parent of a trans child asked Mamdani directly what his administration is doing for her kid. Mamdani cited a $15 million investment in gender-affirming care over two years. But there are virtually no public details on what the $15 million funds, which agency controls it, which patients it serves, or when it will go into effect. And two days after that interview, Commissioner Martin announced a new clinic that would be adults only, using Trump's executive order age cutoff of 19, and told the city council that the city was afraid of federal "clawbacks"—raising the question of what, exactly, the $15 million "unlocks" for trans youth if the administration's own policy for a new clinic is to avoid serving them. EITM has reached out to multiple NYC agencies and press contacts for the mayor's office and has received no response on whether the adults-only clinic is intended to be part of the $15 million pledge—which is also, notably, a fraction of the $65 million Mamdani campaigned on, and which, as of today, does not serve youth.

Opening a city-run gender-affirming care clinic is, on its own, a meaningful step. But when the clinic adopts the Trump administration's age cutoff, when the health commissioner cites the same federal fears as the private hospitals the mayor protested against, and when the promised $65 million remains unaccounted for while trans kids in the largest city in America are told there is almost nowhere left for them to go, the step is as likely to be seen as a betrayal as it is a meaningful advancement of his promises.

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From Erin In The Morning via This RSS Feed.

cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/55116

A new poll found that just over one in ten Americans believe President Donald Trump’s war against Iran has been beneficial for the nation.  A poll conducted by Brookings, released on Friday, found that just 12% of Americans said the war against Iran has had a positive impact on the country. Notably, just one in […]

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