Hits & Misses – 2009/5/13
All that remains. "The LifeGem is a certified, high-quality diamond created from the carbon of your loved one as a memorial to their unique life." (H.T. to Tyler Cowen.)
Well baby delivery. Total charge: $36,625; negotiated rate: $17,300; cost at other hospitals: $6,898.
Study: Workers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own are twice as likely to report a new ailment. Difference holds even if they find a new job quickly.
How exeactly do you get your “loved one” reduced to carbon? Do you put out a contract? Is she stalked? I hope the end is painless.
I’m not surprised at the baby delivery numbers. When there is no price competition, charges are going to be all over the map.
I’m sure there’s a good reason LifeGem doesn’t describe the process in detail on its web site. Bleah.
I think LifeGem is offering the possiblility of a totally different kind of relationship.
The LifeGem link immediately brought up some questions:
1)By increasing the amount of diamonds available, will this decrease the demand in the diamond market?
2)By increasing the amount of diamonds, probably, in the hands of older people (who are supposedly recently single) will this increase the rate of marriages in retirement homes?
3) One from a friend- If your “loved one” is obese can you get a bigger diamond (Yes this is morbid, but still a valid question). The answer I found, yes, but it is fiscally absurd to do. A one carat (actually a tad less than that) blue diamond is about $20,000 and it sounds like that can be made out of little more than a handful of hair. In fact, LifeGem is making a diamond from a lock of hair from Ludwig Beethoven (I assume not much hair left anymore). So, if your loved one is obese and they are really your “loved, loved, loved one”, and therefore you are willing to spend everything for this afterlife reminder bauble, then sure go for it.
Thing is, the diamond can’t nag, or argue or complain. It can only sit there and brighten your day.
What’s that worth? It’s priceless.
The well baby article states, “Even people without insurance often get sharp discounts from list prices on their hospital bills.”
The article could have said that only people without insurance pay the $36,625 and people with insurance pay less than half that.
The media says that the uninsured don’t pay their bills when the truth is the uninsured pay double.