New Credit Card Laws

[Clodfobble]

So what's the reason that a "Target Red Card" gets me a 5% discount on every Target purchase, and the cashiers push them so damn hard every time I check out? It's just a regular credit card as far as I can tell, overseen by either Visa or Mastercard. Is there some kind of complicated mechanism whereby it's actually a debit card, and that's saving them the merchant fees?

[Lamplighter]

I realize this is thread-drift, but it actually is in the same vein of thought.

NY Times
ANDREW POLLACK
12/29/13

Roughed Up by an Orca? There’s a Code for That

Next fall, a transformation is coming to the arcane world of medical billing.

Overnight, virtually the entire health care system — Medicare, Medicaid,
private insurers, hospitals, doctors and various middlemen —
will switch to a new set of computerized codes used for determining
what ailments patients have and how much they and their insurers
should pay for a specific treatment.

The changes are unrelated to the Obama administration’s new health care law.

I.C.D.-10, with codes containing up to seven digits or letters,
will have about 68,000 for diagnoses and 87,000 for procedures.

While I.C.D.-9 had a single code for certain repairs to blood vessels in the head and neck,
I.C.D.-10 allows specification of the particular vein or artery and the particular procedure used.
Extra codes allow recording of whether a patient was visiting the doctor
for the first time or a subsequent time for a particular problem,
and whether broken arms and some other injuries occur on the left or right side of the body.

My daughter has been involved in this transition for the past year.
Her hospital has and entire office staff devoted to reviewing the ICD-10 codes entered by the MD's,
but then changing them to whatever codes are "appropriate" but will generate the highest billing.

Then there is this... and garbage in - garbage out is still true.

[xoxoxoBruce]

As long as we're drifting...

IRS Says Restaurants Can't Add Gratuity Onto Large Group Checks Anymore; Unless...
... it's taxed like regular wages.
Attention: All Servers, bartenders, waiters/waitresses, owners and bar & restaurant accountants. Did you know? As of January 1, 2014 the IRS will classify automatic gratuities as taxable service charges, just like regular wages, and are subject to payroll tax withholding.

It’s a huge new years resolution for the IRS affecting tens of thousands of people in the service industry.

link

It appears no tips would be distributed until payday.

[tw]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

Roughed Up by an Orca? There’s a Code for That

Is that a code for kidnapped by aliens? Is treatment for that tax deductible?

[classicman]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

So what's the reason that a "Target Red Card" gets me a 5% discount on every Target purchase...

Thats a little different. Bottom line is that most people are not like you and will run that baby to the limit and pay tons of interest for years. That makes Target more money. Similar to other lending institutions - they want you to mess up, the fees and penalties are where a TON of money is made.

[tw]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

It's just a regular credit card as far as I can tell, overseen by either Visa or Mastercard.

It operates on the Visa or Mastercard system. A network created and operated by the individual member banks. Target collects obscenely profitable fees otherwise collected by a bank that issued your Visa or MasterCard.

Ironically, Walmart tried to do this about a decade ago. The banks were so powerful and so easily bought politicians back then that Walmart stopped trying. At the same time, Visa and MasterCard also continued to keep the smart card out of North America. Since that would have also eliminated profits by providing customers with a superior transaction tool.