HEALTHCARE: AI App That Quickly Appeals Denials

Wednesday, August 13, 2025

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/big-insurance-uses-ai-to-quickly-deny-claims-physican-fights-back-with-ai-app-that-quickly-appeals/?utm_source=newsletter.goodnewsnetwork.org&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=your-5-min-dose-of-good-news-ducks-take-over-town-center&_bhlid=9ae55e2f638cb4ac2fda40c6fc7c6f7bac698b74

Big Insurance Uses AI to Quickly Deny Claims, One Man Fights Back with AI App That Quickly Appeals
By Andy Corbley – Aug 5, 2025 

*** begin quote ***

The idea that American health insurance companies are using AI to analyze and adjudicate claims for approval or denial sounds terrifying, but one North Carolinian is using AI to fight back.

When Raleigh resident Neal Shah had a claim denied for his wife’s chemotherapy drugs, he thought it was rare, that he was the only one, that it was just bad luck.

Litigating his case on phone calls that lasted for hours changed the husband and father, and he set about creating a sophisticated app that uses artificial intelligence to compare claims denial forms against health insurance contracts, before automatically drafting an appeal letter.

*** and ***

they’ve built Counterforce to the point where it boasts a 70% success rate in appealing claims.

*** end quote ***

https://www.counterforcehealth.org/

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I like the “fight fire with fire” approach.

Completely free?  Astonishing. Wish I had a claim to arbitrate!

(Surprised that Big Insurance hasn’t bought them out or engaged in “lawfare” against them.)

To me, “health” and “healthcare” is not just about “the care you get or don’t get for your health”, but also all the “systems” adjacent to it.

Wonder if this will inspire other efforts to enlist AI against other “insurance” abuses (i.e., raising premiums; denial of coverage; use alf drones and AI against ordinary folks; credit card appeals)?

One could apply the concept to all sorts of adversarial interactions like “eminent domain”, intrusive Gooferment actions like regulations, or “cash confiscations”.

What a great time to be a programmer with today’s opportunities.

How about AI to lobby politicians and bureaucrats to “do the right thing”?

Any other uses?  Leave a comment.

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ENCOURAGING: Bicycle Refurbishers Pedal Good to the World for 26 years

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/chicago-bicycle-refurbishers-pedal-good-to-the-world-for-26-years-with-150000-bikes-saved-from-landfills/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_medium=weekly_mailout&utm_source=29-04-2025

Chicago Bicycle Refurbishers Pedal Good to the World for 26 Years With 150,000 Bikes Saved from Landfills
By Andy Corbley – Apr 24, 2025 

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Working Bikes, located at 2434 S. Western Ave in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, has seen an awful lot of bikes pass through its doors; pulling them from landfills, picking them up off the curbside, or accepting them from community members. Over 150,000 have been repaired since the registered 501(c)3 got its wheels turning in 1999.

12% of all the bikes they restored are sold in the Working Bikes storefront. 15% meanwhile are donated right back to the people of Chicago through local program partners that will ensure they arrive in the hands of people in need of transportation.

The whole operation is volunteer-supported: anyone can come in and fix a bike or learn how. A few dedicated employees ensure that salable models are in excellent condition, or boast unique designs and features.

*** end quote ***

I love the international economic chain that they have created.  Micro-loans to buyers and training local talent  — here and overseas  — in repair and maintenance.

That’s America in action!

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HEROIC: Child Born with Heart Outside Chest … …

Sunday, May 4, 2025

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/child-born-with-heart-outside-chest-becomes-solitary-survivor-thanks-to-surgical-procedure-invented-for-her/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_medium=weekly_mailout&utm_source=01-05-2025

Child Born with Heart Outside Chest Becomes Solitary Survivor Thanks to Surgical Procedure Invented for Her
By Andy Corbley – Apr 28, 2025

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Their patient was Vanellope Wilkins, the solitary survivor known to British medicine of ectopia cordis, a condition where a fetus develops with its heart outside its body.

Over a period of 9 hours, the team which included visiting surgeons from London would form a protective cage around Vanellope’s heart by reforming her ribs, and though her team included some of the best pediatric surgeons in the country, the procedure had never been done before, and was invented specifically for Vanellope’s case.

*** end quote ***

Team of 50 are all heroes in my book.  Saving a life, creating a unique approach, and following thru for 7 years is heroic in my book.

Compared to all the abortions performed for “convenience” makes this effort a statement about the value of human life.

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HEROIC: Philly cop saves child from a potentially deadly fall while he’s acrophobic

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/philadelphia-police-officer-sets-aside-fear-of-heights-to-rescue-child-from-a-roof/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_medium=weekly_mailout&utm_source=20-04-2025

Philadelphia Police Officer Sets Aside Fear of Heights to Rescue Child from a Roof
By Andy Corbley – Apr 16, 2025

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It takes bravery to be a police officer, but for someone with a fear of heights, it’s probably safe to assume most of the work will be done with feet on solid ground.

For one acrophobic Philadelphia officer however, preventing disaster meant going above and beyond the call of duty, literally.

Officer Eric Robbins was on patrol December 10th, among the two-storey houses on N. 64th Street, when he got a call from neighbors saying someone’s child was out and walking on the pitched-roof of a nearby house.

*** end quote ***

That takes courage.  Any adult can quickly realize what a fall from such a height can mean.  For someone already afraid of heights to push thru and save a baby is imho heroic.

I know how quickly babies can get into trouble even when you’re sitting watching them.  Never mind doing a chore or cooking at your phone.  The baby was probably down for a nap, woke up, and silently decide to explore out an open window with no child guard.

Well all’s well that ends well.

Thanks to a fast cop with no fear.  

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ENCOURAGING: Demonstration project shows improved yields, diversified crops, and boosted incomes

Friday, March 14, 2025

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/degraded-lands-transformed-into-productive-farms-with-science-we-can-create-wonders/

Degraded Lands Transformed into Productive Farms: With Science, We Can Create Wonders
By Andy Corbley – Mar 3, 202

*** begin quote ***

In a degraded and semi-arid farming area in India, simple science-driven changes to the landscape have colored the horizon, and a village’s fortunes, with green.

In the Latur district in the central western state of Maharashtra, 40 years of erratic rainfall, groundwater depletion, soil erosion, and crop failures have impoverished the local people.

In the village of Matephal, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) launched a project in 2023 that aimed at addressing these challenges through integrated landscape management and climate-smart farming practices.

*** and ***

“This ICRISAT project improved yields, diversified crops, and boosted incomes. It also spared women from walking over a kilometer for drinking water, now available in the village for people and animals,” said Mr. Govind Hinge of Matephal village.

*** end quote ***

Pretty amazing results.  Went from “dirt poor” with no water to abundant water and good soil.  

Unfortunately, the author doesn’t itemize the capital investment that went into creating this miracle.  While obviously significant, far beyond what a poor village could afford, one wonders what the ROI would be?  For example, the 30 tons of fish harvested might be a source of capital.  A 13 foot rise in the water table might be economically exploitable.  The extra acreage that become productive might be a source of capital to be used.

I wonder if the world’s engineering schools could be an educational resource?  Imagine instead of funding football teams with expansive coaches, Universities could complete for whose intervention produces the most results.  Funny?  No fill the stadium with two equally sized plots and see which produced the best tomatoes.  Yeah, now that is exciting. 

Listen to the 4 minute video and see if you’re not as impressed as I am. 

Interesting to me is that this intervention made a permanent positive change in peoples’ lives.

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Note: I learned that a hectare (symbol: ha) is a unit of area that is accepted in the International System of Units (SI). It is primarily used to measure land area. One hectare is equal to 10,000 square meters and is equivalent to approximately 2.471 acres.

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CRYPTO: It may have been fraud, but savers did NOT diversify

Sunday, November 17, 2024

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/life-savings-of-an-entire-small-town-recovered-from-the-depths-of-a-cryto-scam-by-fbi/

Life Savings of an Entire Small Town Recovered from the Depths of Cryto-Scam, Thanks to FBI
By Andy Corbley – Nov 7, 2024

*** begin quote ***

A Wichita courtroom rang out with sobs and cheers when over two dozen people learned that their life savings had been recovered after being lost by a local bank.

Over $8 million in children’s university funds, retirement accounts, funds for eldercare, and bequeathments to children and grandchildren were returned after the FBI located and seized a cryptocurrency wallet linked to an account in the Cayman Islands.

The bank’s founder Shan Hanes, claims he had unintentionally lost it all by investing in a sophisticated cryptocurrency scam, though he ultimately lost his defense and received 24 years in prison for defrauding depositors and investors.

In August, Heartland Tri-State Bank was put into receivership by federal regulators after being drained of cash. The FDIC paid out $47 million to everyday depositors and other investors, but the rural, community-owned bank had 30 shareholders who had carefully planned long-term accounts that were not insured.

*** end quote ***

While I am happy that the insured depositors were made whole, they should have diversified their deposits.

One lady had 250k$ in one IRA account.  That far exceeds the risk she should be taking.  Four partial roll over accounts of 50k$ each would have mitigated her losses.  She was lucky to get it back.  Yeah, it makes for more paperwork, but look at the alternative,

There are accounts available with private insurance up to ¼ million last time I looked.

In short, having large sums of money requires you to take a modicum of care.

Don’t trust anyone.  (Even me!)  Verify!  Lawyers and accountants may seem expensive, but are cheap in the long run.

YMMV but I know what I do and preach.  

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GUNS: Guns, even pellet guns, are always deemed to be loaded … … PERIOD!

Sunday, September 22, 2024

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/boy-given-1pt-chance-of-survival-walks-5k-for-hospital-that-saved-him-after-air-rifle-shot-to-head/

Boy Given 1% Chance of Survival Walks 5k for Hospital That Saved Him–After Air Rifle Shot to the Head as Baby
By Good News Network – Sep 8, 202

*** begin quote ***

Harry Studley was just 18-months-old when a 24-year-old neighbor was cleaning his air rifle in 2016 and aimed it at the crying toddler, saying he thought it was unloaded. The pellet lodged in Harry’s brain causing a displaced skull fracture, as well as swelling and bleeding on the brain.

Harry was given a one percent chance of survival, but pulled through. He was left with serious conditions, though, and still suffers epilepsy, partial blindness, weakness, and some cognitive issues.

*** end quote ***

Why, in Heaven’s name, would you ever aim a gun at a toddler  —  FOR ANY REASON?

The fact that this occurred in the “gun control” UK is astonishing.

First rule of gun safety is that they are ALWAYS to be pointed in a safe direction.  Second, they are always treated as if they are loaded and ready to fire.

Growing up, (mostly) boys brought guns to school as part of a shooting team.  Guess in the name of “gun control”, now children don’t learn about these tools and the safety rules.

Argh!

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ENCOURAGING: 4-year-old Girl Uses Alexa to summon help

Friday, September 20, 2024

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/quick-thinking-4-year-old-girl-uses-alexa-to-call-for-help-as-mom-suffers-epileptic-seizure/

Quick-thinking 4-year-old Girl Uses Alexa to Call for Help as Mom Suffers Epileptic Seizure
By Andy Corbley – Sep 5, 2024 

*** begin quote ***

When Lyla Leathem saw her mom collapse into an epileptic seizure, she remained calm and knew just what to do.

She knew she was supposed to call her great-grandmother—but her mom Leah’s phone was locked. The four-year-old ran upstairs and asked Amazon Alexa to make the call instead.

Mother Leah Bigg had fallen unwell at her home in Somerset on August 25th. Family members had previously shown Lyla how to use Alexa for phone calls as her mom often suffers from seizures at night which can be life-threatening. But they had no idea the youngster had listened—until she was called into action.

*** end quote ***

Sharp that a four year old could take action; most wouldn’t have the capability of finding an alternative.

One can question the living arrangements that made this necessary, but that doesn’t detract from a resourceful child’s action in a crisis.

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GOLD: Pot of Gold found; testament to its eternal value

Saturday, August 24, 2024

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/archaeologists-find-literal-pot-of-gold-but-its-not-in-ireland/

Archaeologists Find Literal Pot of Gold, but it’s Not in Ireland
By Andy Corbley – Aug 8, 202

*** begin quote ***

It’s one of the best things an archaeologist can hope to find: a hoard of gold coins. One was dug up recently in a terracotta pot, meaning that, if one sustains the pun, they found a pot of gold.

They didn’t find it at the end of a rainbow, however, but it was at the ‘end’ of something—Asia—as the Ancient Greeks would have considered it.

Excavations among the ruins of Notion, an ancient city-state in modern-day Turkey, turned up the foundations of a house dating to the Achaemenid Persian Empire buried under another house built from the Hellenistic Period, or about 180 years later.

“The coins were buried in a corner of the older building,” Dr. Christopher Ratté, lead archaeologist on the project, told the New York Times. “We weren’t actually looking for a pot of gold.”

The coins are known as darics, which stems from the name of the Emperor Darius I, or from ‘dari-‘ the root word for gold in the Persian language. Dating to the 5th century BCE, it was a time of great upheaval as Greek city-states fought against each other, against Persia, and sometimes on behalf of Persia against other Greeks, when mercenary soldiers made up key components of many major armies in Asia Minor.

The running hypothesis as to the coins’ provenance is that they were buried with the full intention of recovering them later. They probably represented savings, as each daric would be around one month’s pay. However, the fact that they were never dug up from their little hole in the corner of the house suggests the worst.

*** end quote ***

For a number of reasons, I loved this story.  Sad for the original owner who never was able to retrieve his stash.  Wondering about any reward for the discoverers.  Curious how much they are worth.

Mine aren’t buried, but could be if need arises. 

There is something practical about having stashes and caches in turbulent times.

As usual, the politicians and bureaucrats of the Gooferment want everything they can steal so stash and cache are two prudent strategies for dealing with the modern day equivalent of pirates.

Argh!

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INTERESTING: New use for K9 — reverse tracking

Sunday, August 4, 2024

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/after-rescuing-non-verbal-child-k9-officer-follows-the-boys-scent-in-reserve-to-find-his-home/

K9 Officer Rescues Lost Non-Verbal Child by Following the Boy’s Scent in Reverse to Find His Home
By Andy Corbley –  Jul 25, 202

*** begin quote ***

In North Carolina, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office received a call that a child was wandering alone on the road on July 7th.

Dispatching an officer to the Waxhaw Indian Trail Road, the child was located and secured, but being autistic and non-verbal, the officer had no idea where the boy had wandered away from.

Being that the responder was a K-9 Unit, and was working alongside his trusty 1-year-old bloodhound Remi, Deputy B. Belk utilized the dog’s incredible sense of smell to “reverse” the normal scent tracking process to find the boy’s home.

“Normally, [scent dogs] track from where a person left to try to find where that person is currently. This time we were doing it reverse,” said Lieutenant Public Information Officer James Maye to CNN.

*** and ***

Lieutenet Maye explained the technique of reverse tracking would now be implemented in the training curriculum for K-9 officers.

*** end quote ***

Excellent work.

I can almost hear the dog’s thoughts now  — “Yeah, I smell the scent and the person is right over there now.  What exactly do you want me to find?  Him?  He’s over there.”

I don’t know how they communicated to the dog they wanted him to back track.

As a fellow with a six year old, I can COMPLETELY understand how a child can “disappear” in a heartbeat.  Just recently I had mine “disappear” into the basement.  Argh!  

I can recommend Angel Sense tracking device as a service to make sure you know where the child is.

https://www.angelsense.com/

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