WV PEIA: Insurance That Doesn’t Insure Health—Just Delays Relief

Let’s get something straight right out of the gate:

WV PEIA does not insure health.

They insure hesitation. They insure delay. They insure the hope that if you wait long enough, you’ll either give up or learn to live with pain.

And honestly? They’re very good at it.

PEIA hates done care

Preventative care? Fine.

Routine visits? Sure.

But done care, you know, care that actually fixes a problem instead of endlessly managing it? That’s where PEIA starts clutching its pearls.

Spine surgery. Structural repair. Long-term solutions. Suddenly it’s all “Have you tried suffering longer?”

They love treatments that: Are temporary. Need to be repeated. Kick the can down the road.

Injections? Approved.

PT forever? Absolutely.

Actually fixing the problem? Whoa there, cowboy.

You’re discouraged from using the insurance you pay for. PEIA technically exists to provide coverage, but their real specialty is making you feel like you’re doing something wrong by asking for it.

Need advanced care?

You’ll be buried under: Prior authorizations. Documentation requirements. Appeals & Denials worded just politely enough to still feel like a slap.

The message is clear: “We’re not saying no… we’re just making this so difficult you stop asking.”

They make you feel guilty for being sick or injured

This one’s personal. If your condition is labeled “degenerative,” PEIA treats it like a character flaw.

Wear and tear?

Aging spine?

Long-term damage from physically demanding work or life?

Apparently that’s on you.

Never mind that:

Degeneration causes real pain Degeneration causes nerve damage Degeneration doesn’t magically stop because insurance says it’s “normal”

You’re made to feel like needing care is somehow indulgent…: as if you’re asking for luxury healthcare instead of basic function.

“Medical necessity” as a weapon. PEIA loves the phrase medical necessity the way villains love monologues.

They don’t use it to determine care. They use it to deny care.

Case in point: I was given five criteria to meet in order to appeal a denied surgery.

I met four out of five.

FOUR. OUT. OF. FIVE.

Denied anyway.

Among the criteria I did meet:

Proximity to provider. Established relationship with provider. Failed conservative care.

(And yes, failed care means PT, injections, and time. Lots of time.)

What did PEIA say? Nope. Still not good enough. So let’s be honest, this was never about criteria. It was about cost avoidance.

They charge you for “being insured” and then don’t count your payments

Here’s where it gets even more outrageous: I met my deductible 100%. I even have the receipts to prove it. Yet PEIA continued billing me, claiming I “didn’t meet my deductible.” Why? Because apparently, I was “technically in-network but out of state.”

Translation: all the money I already paid… doesn’t count.

Where did it go? Who cashed it? Certainly not toward the care I needed. Certainly not toward my deductible. Just vanished into the bureaucratic void, like some fancy magic trick.

This isn’t just incompetence, it’s a scam disguised as policy.

PEIA doesn’t insure health, they insure delay!

Here’s the truth no one wants to say out loud: PEIA’s model works best when:

People put off care. People manage pain instead of fixing it. People eventually stop trying.

They don’t measure success by recovery.

They measure it by how long they can delay paying for meaningful treatment. And for teachers, public employees, and families who depend on this coverage?

That delay isn’t abstract. It’s physical. It’s emotional. It’s exhausting.

Healthcare shouldn’t feel like a moral failing. Needing treatment shouldn’t feel like a negotiation.

And insurance shouldn’t act like it’s doing you a favor by barely showing up.

WV PEIA doesn’t protect health. It protects budgets. And the people paying the price?

They’re the ones just trying to feel normal again.

Do Not Confuse Problems With Inconveniences

Somewhere along the way, we started calling every minor disruption a problem. The coffee order was wrong? Problem. The Wi-Fi is slow? Problem. You had to wait five whole minutes? Crisis. No.

That’s not a problem. That’s an inconvenience, and your life will, in fact, continue.

A problem is something that genuinely impacts your health, safety, livelihood, or well-being. A problem changes the trajectory of your life. It demands action, adjustment, or resilience. It doesn’t disappear if you sigh loudly or complain to strangers on the internet.

An inconvenience is just life tapping you on the shoulder saying, “Hey, adapt real quick.”

Why We Get This Twisted

We live in an on-demand world. Everything is fast, instant, and customized. So when something doesn’t go exactly as planned, it feels personal. Like the universe looked at your day and chose violence.

But here’s the truth: Life isn’t attacking you. It’s just… being life.

When we treat inconveniences like problems, we waste emotional energy, patience, and perspective. We start reacting instead of responding. And suddenly, small stuff feels heavy, exhausting, and overwhelming.

That’s not strength, that’s burnout in yoga pants.

The Cost of Confusing the Two

When every inconvenience is labeled a problem: Stress levels skyrocket. Gratitude quietly exits the building. Perspective gets replaced by frustration. Real problems don’t get the attention they deserve.

You can’t solve real issues when you’re emotionally drained by things that don’t matter tomorrow…. like not getting your party of eight sat immediately at the restaurant during peak hours!

Reframing the Moment

Next time something goes sideways, ask yourself: Will this matter next week? Does this require a solution or just patience? Is this uncomfortable… or actually harmful?

If the answer is patience, congratulations, you’re not facing a problem. You’re being asked to grow up emotionally for about 10 minutes.

Real Problems Deserve Real Focus

Save your energy for the things that truly matter: Your health. Your relationships. Your integrity. Your future. Those are worth the stress, the planning, and the fight.

The rest? That’s just life being mildly annoying. And honestly… it’s kind of good practice.

Because if you can stay calm through inconveniences, you’ll be unstoppable when real problems show up.

Where Did Public Etiquette Go?

I was sitting in a doctor’s office the other day. Large waiting room. Nearly 30 empty seats. Three people total, including myself.

Two more people walked in. They saw me. They had to pass me to check in.

While waiting, a woman across the room dropped her papers. She was in a wheelchair, so I got up to help her, because that’s what decent humans do.

I turned around to return to my seat and… it was gone.

The two new arrivals had taken it.

Not because there was no other option.

Not because the room was full.

But because awareness and basic courtesy seem to be optional these days.

I didn’t say anything. I sat elsewhere. But I wanted to say, I wasn’t aware we were playing musical chairs!

But the woman I helped made eye contact with me, shook her head, and said everything without saying a word.

Public spaces used to come with unspoken rules…. awareness, patience, respect for others. Somewhere along the way, those rules were replaced with entitlement and tunnel vision.

Kindness shouldn’t cost you your seat.

And decency shouldn’t be this rare.

When “Not a Good Fit” Really Means “I Didn’t Want to Work”

Owning a business means hearing the same story on repeat.

“Why’d you leave your last job?”

“It wasn’t a good fit.” “The environment was toxic.” “Management wasn’t great.”

Funny how everyone worked in a nightmare… yet somehow those businesses are still open.

Meanwhile, I look around at my own place and watch my dad, my sister, and myself doing jobs that, anywhere else would be the employee’s responsibility. Cleaning. Stocking. Fixing. Resetting. Closing gaps. Picking up slack.

Not here though. Here, we just do it all.

Why? Because we bought into that dangerous little saying: “If you want it done right, do it yourself.”

We didn’t start this way. We trained. And trained again. We wrote memos. We made checklists.

We re-trained, re-explained, re-reminded. And what do we get?

A few people standing around chatting.

Scrolling phones.

Waiting to be told.

Waiting for someone else to care.

I suppose if we actually held people accountable, if we made everyone do their job, our place wouldn’t be “a good fit” either. Maybe it would suddenly become “toxic” too.

And here’s the uncomfortable truth:

This problem exists because we allow it. Not because we’re bad people. Not because we don’t care. But because somewhere along the way, we confused being understanding with being responsible for everything.

So now the real question isn’t about them. It’s this: How long can we sustain the long hours, the constant coverage, doing other people’s jobs and trying to run the business?

How long before burnout becomes the business model?

Only time will tell.

And right now… I’m not convinced it has good news.

The Importance of Taking (and Passing) the ASVAB — Even If You’re Not Joining the Military

The ASVAB, Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, often gets dismissed as “that military test.” You know, the one you only take if you plan on wearing a uniform and waking up before the sun on purpose.

But let’s be honest, based on what many of us see daily in the civilian workforce, maybe more people should take it.

Because if you’ve ever watched someone struggle to determine which end of a screwdriver actually does the screwing or how to work a tv remote … this conversation is for you.

What the ASVAB Actually Measures (And Why That Matters)

Contrary to popular belief, the ASVAB isn’t asking you to memorize fighter jet schematics or identify enemy aircraft from 30,000 feet. It measures basic, functional life skills:

Arithmetic reasoning – The ability to do math without staring at the ceiling like the numbers betrayed you. Word knowledge & paragraph comprehension – Understanding written instructions. Yes, the entire sentence. Mechanical comprehension – How things work. Or at minimum, which end of the screwdriver you should be holding. General science & technical reasoning – The ability to learn new systems without needing a tutorial video… every time.

None of this is military-exclusive. It’s adult-exclusive.

The Service Industry Reality Check

The service industry doesn’t need more “hard workers.”

It needs thinkers.

Because working a shift isn’t just carrying plates or pouring drinks…. it’s:

Making change without short-circuiting. Reading a ticket correctly the first time. Understanding that “medium rare” and “medium well” are not interchangeable concepts. Troubleshooting equipment without immediately declaring, “It’s broken,” five seconds in.

And yet, here we are… watching people aggressively attack the buttons on a remote control like it owes them money.

The ASVAB highlights whether someone can: Process information. Recognize patterns. Solve problems under pressure. Learn without being spoon-fed every step.

Which is wild, because those are the exact skills required to survive a Friday night rush.

Taking the Test vs. Passing the Test

Taking the ASVAB means you showed up. Passing it means you demonstrated baseline competence, the ability to learn, adapt, and function without supervision every 12 seconds.

No one’s asking for genius-level scores. We’re just trying to confirm that:

You can follow directions. You can problem-solve. You won’t attempt to fix equipment by hitting it and hoping for the best. (Although… that does work sometimes. But still.)

Why This Should Matter to Civilians

We trust civilians, especially in service industries, to: Handle money. Operate equipment. Represent businesses. Interact with the public.

Yet we act shocked when basic reasoning skills are missing.

The ASVAB doesn’t judge intelligence, it reveals readiness. And readiness is everything.

The ASVAB shouldn’t be viewed as a military gatekeeper. It’s a reality check.

If a test designed to place people in submarines, aircraft, and high-risk environments values comprehension, reasoning, and mechanical understanding… maybe civilian workplaces should stop pretending those skills are optional.

Because confidence is great…. but knowing which end of the screwdriver to use is better.

When Everybody’s Here But Nobody’s All In

Today, if employees show up for a shift, owners call it a win. But winning the attendance lottery isn’t the same as having a crew that actually works.

Restaurants are short-handed everywhere, and that used to mean one thing: more money for the people who showed up ready to hustle. Now? “Short-handed” too often equals “one-dimensional” employees.

Example: no dishwasher tonight. A line cook jumps in to wash dishes, great… except now they’re unavailable to run the line. The kitchen stops being a machine and becomes a series of improvisations. ONE DIMENSIONAL.

If everyone understood teamwork, really understood “get-shit-done” and helped each other, the kitchen would hum. But I’ve watched us try to teach teamwork for more than a decade. I’m past “train more.” We’ve trained. We’ve written memos. We’ve spoken one-on-one. We’ve followed up. Some of these folks have been here 11 years and came from corporate gigs where micromanaging was normal operation. This is not ignorance.

So what is it? Defiance? Laziness? A refusal to care? I don’t know. What I do know is this: I can control me. I can control expectations and consequences. I can’t control someone else’s choices … but I can decide whether those choices keep a job.

This business will survive. We’ll be short for a season, we’ll hire, and we’ll rebuild standards. But there has to be accountability. We need to implement a demerit system: three documented failures to perform essential tasks and you’re out. No drama, no opinion, just standards, enforced.

If you care about your job, show it. Restock the line. Put the next shift in a better position than you found it. Teamwork isn’t a warm, fuzzy idea, it’s the difference between a smooth service and chaos at 7 p.m.

We can keep doing the same thing and expect different results. I’m not that hopeful, or insane. I’m that done. Time for consequences.

Stop Judging, Start Living

The Villain in the Mirror

Nothing has changed. I’m still a nonbeliever…. in God, religion, all of it. What I do believe is that someone sat down, wrote a book called The Bible, and poured in some pretty solid advice.

But let’s be honest… it’s still a campfire story that millions of people decided to hitch their wagon to. And you know what? I get it. People need to believe in something.

Here’s the kicker though, if you’ve ever read the Bible, whether as a believer or just for curiosity’s sake, you’ve probably seen Matthew 7:1

“Do not judge, or you too shall be judged.”

Now, THAT’S a verse worth tattooing across society’s forehead. Before you bash someone, talk behind their back, or start some petty rumor… stop. Take a second to look in the mirror. And don’t just see the shiny version of yourself you want to believe in. Look hard enough to see the flaws, the shadows, the villain you don’t admit you are.

Because here’s the truth: if we spent half as much time lifting people up as we do tearing them down, we’d live in a completely different world. Better neighborhoods. Stronger communities. Happier humans.

And newsflash, different isn’t bad. People come from every walk of life. Different beliefs. Different styles. Different looks. Even identical twins aren’t carbon copies.

I’m not pretending I’m some influencer with millions of readers. Most of you won’t even see this. But if even one person does, and decides to stop judging and start helping, then the ripple begins. Positivity spreads the same way negativity does… but only if we let it.

So here’s my challenge: stop worrying about who doesn’t act like you, think like you, or live like you. That doesn’t give you the right to drag them down.

Be better. Be kinder. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll find you’re actually living a happier life.

Accountability: The Line Between Pretending and Being

Accountability isn’t complicated, it’s accepting responsibility for your actions, good or bad, and owning the consequences. Yet somehow, we live in a world where people want the credit without the responsibility. Do something good? Suddenly it’s plastered all over social media with your name in bold. Screw up? Silence. Excuses. Deflection and Redirection.

But accountability doesn’t work like that. You don’t get to cherry-pick when it applies. Every action, whether you’re a police officer, a doctor, a teacher, or an attorney carries weight. If people rely on you for safety, guidance, or trust, then you don’t get to live one way at work and another in private. That’s not integrity, that’s hypocrisy.

Here’s the thing: accountability is what separates the strong from the weak, the genuine from the fake. If you can’t handle being held to the same standards you demand of others, then stop pretending to be a “good person.” You’re not fooling anyone but yourself.

Be accountable. Be decent. Be the role model you claim to be. Because at the end of the day, accountability isn’t just a word…. it’s the mirror that never lies.

Starting a Business isn’t Always What it Seems

Starting a business sounds sexy. You’ve got the vision, the ideas, the late-night “this is gonna be huge” moments.

But here’s the cold truth, ideas are cheap, execution is where most people crash and burn.

Rule #1: Don’t Dive in Head First

I don’t care how good your idea is. Slow. Down.

Do your research. Know your market. Have your finances, systems, and people ready before you open those doors.

When day one hits, you should have:

Every moving part of your business trained and ready. A clear vision everyone understands and commits to. No surprises when it comes to inventory, staffing, or operations.

Because if your business needs a team and your team isn’t on the same page, you’re already sinking.

Rule #2: Communication Is Non-Negotiable

If you have multiple managers, communication is your life line. Daytime and nighttime supervisors can’t be ships passing in the night…. they need to share what’s happening and when.

Set regular team meetings. Weekly or monthly, whatever your operation demands….. and make them count.

Review your finances. Identify what’s making money and what’s bleeding it. Ask where the team needs help.

Rule #3: Small Businesses Fail Where Big Ones Succeed

Large corporations have systems. They’ve got layers of communication and accountability.

Small businesses? Too often it’s chaos and crossed wires.

Before you even think about opening, create a vision board, your “north star.” Policies & procedures, your playbook for daily operations.

One rogue employee doing their own thing can cause a ripple that turns into a tidal wave of problems.

Rule #4: No Freelancers in the Trenches

I’m not talking about the people you hire from Indeed or Fiverr.

I’m talking about the “I know a better way” employees who ignore your systems. Even managers have to be on board with your system.

If you’ve got a set way things should be done, follow it to the letter. Deviations kill consistency, and inconsistency kills customer trust.

Rule #5: Presence Matters

Some businesses can run themselves. Most can’t.

Be there. Watch your business. Guide your team.

Team building and training aren’t optional, they’re survival skills.

Rule #6: Partners Can Make or Break You

Partnerships aren’t bad. But they require absolute compatibility, clear agreements, and constant communication.

If your partners, investors, or managers don’t share your vision, you’re not the owner anymore…. you’re just another employee with a title.

The American Dream Comes with Nightmares

Your business is your baby. It’s late nights, early mornings, and constant problem-solving.

If your team doesn’t support you, if your systems aren’t tight, if your leadership isn’t present, the dream turns into a nightmare real quick.

Success isn’t about the idea. It’s about the grind, the systems, and the people who believe in them as much as you do. Implementation of your ideas is the key to any successful business!

New World, No Grit?

Owning my own bar and restaurant has opened my eyes to a lot of things I used to take for granted.

Back in the day, when I clocked in as a bartender, the first thing I’d do? Check my inventory. What’s stocked, what’s running low? End of every shift, I’d clean, restock, and leave a detailed list of beers and liquors that needed attention. That was just standard. No one had to ask.

Now that I own the place? Half the staff strolls in like it’s their living room. No sense of urgency, no instinct to go above and beyond. Just clock in, stay in their lane, and peace out.

Did we lose something from the ’90s to now? Where’s the grit? The gusto? The pride in being a grinder? Where’s that “I’m here to crush it and make this place better” energy?

I’m not talking about working yourself to the bone, I’m talking about caring. About showing up with heart, hustle, and some damn initiative and not your own personal agenda?

It’s not that hard: look around, anticipate, and take action. That’s how you grow. That’s how you win.

But in today’s new world of workers, that mindset feels like a dying art.

And I’ll be real, I just don’t get it.

So here’s the question: Can we fix it? Is there hope?

Are there still people out there who want it, who want to learn, level up, and build something better? Are there people who believe in showing up on time, stepping up, and actually giving a damn?

Because if you’re one of them, one of the few left who takes pride in showing up and showing out, then I’m looking for you.

We used to chase shifts. Now I’m chasing people to do the shift.

If you want a gold star for doing the bare minimum, you’re in the wrong place!