USPS going down

[Amati]

Re: USPS going down

If that “automated” ship date happens to fall on a Friday, Saturday delivery will be needed — particularly for diabetic medications which must be shipped with a cold-pack which obviously means it can’t “sit” at the U.S. Post Office over the weekend. Duh, Amati!

OK, I"ll bite. Your scenerio implies that the diabetic will not have enough forethought to order in advance of running out. Yes, that could be a problem, but then again, maybe they just need to think ahead a day or so further in advance? Use a calendar? Have a sticky-note on their coffee mug? Enlist a friend or family to help with a reminder?
As for the pharmacy knowing that there is no Saturday delivery, yet sending out a medication that will sit in a Post Office over the weekend, I think they'll be able to figure out the appropriate mailing timeline.
I think the "Duh" factor here is actually your assumption that patients and pharmacies are a bunch of dummies who cannot figure out how to work out a reasonable mailing schedule.

However, I do have a "Duh" factor for myself that I will readily admit to. I've got to remember to sign in so that my "ignore list" feature is functioning! Remembering that will definitely affect my further responses on this thread.

[TuNnL]

Re: USPS going down

As for things like medications, many (if not all) mail order pharmacies put repeat drugs on an auto-refill schedule, so that they are sent out ahead of time (so the patient does not run out). Mine schedules 7 days in advance. Meaning, for a 30 day supply, they sent out a fefill order on the 23rd day of each cycle. It would not matter if they cancelled Saturday deliveries, things don't arrive on that 30th day, they come in a few days in advance.

Unfortunately, mail order pharmacies legally cannot “put repeat drugs on an auto-refill schedule” without express permission from their customers. Having worked in the industry, I can tell you by and large most patients out there prefer not to opt in to automated delivery. This is for a variety of reasons such as their doctor altering the strength of their medication over time, seniors who forget to take their medication thus building a stockpile of unused meds, and the prospect of not knowing when their credit card will be charged, as “automatic” programs also tend to require “automatic” payments — in advance.

Regardless of all of this, it simply doesn’t matter if their medication is scheduled to get a patient’s home well before he or she runs out. If that “automated” ship date happens to fall on a Friday, Saturday delivery will be needed — particularly for diabetic medications which must be shipped with a cold-pack which obviously means it can’t “sit” at the U.S. Post Office over the weekend. Duh, Amati!

[Amati]

Re: USPS going down

Name two. Why can't things scheduled for Saturday delivery be delivered on Friday instead?

Yes, that seems workable. As for things like medications, many (if not all) mail order pharmacies put repeat drugs on an auto-refill schedule, so that they are sent out ahead of time (so the patient does not run out). Mine schedules 7 days in advance. Meaning, for a 30 day supply, they sent out a fefill order on the 23rd day of each cycle. It would not matter if they cancelled Saturday deliveries, things don't arrive on that 30th day, they come in a few days in advance.

[GregLee]

Re: USPS going down

There are some critical items that must be delivered on Saturday.

Name two. Why can't things scheduled for Saturday delivery be delivered on Friday instead?

[TuNnL]

Re: USPS going down

To me, USPS needs more drastic changes than these. All they are going to do is end the delivery of first class and bulk items. If POs will remain open and Priority Mail still delivered on Saturdays, will they really save that much money?

I'd rather see them stop all Sat delivery, stay closed on Sat, and outsource weekend deliveries to FedEx and UPS.

The problem with this solution is that many (and when I say many, we are talking millions) of our seniors get their medication by U.S. Mail. Are we going to ask millions on a fixed income who can barely afford to pay their co-pays and drug plan premiums to now fork over the cost of FedEx, simply because their medicine was mailed on Friday, and therefore could only be delivered by FedEx/UPS the following day?

There are some critical items that must be delivered on Saturday. That is why completely eliminating Saturday delivery, while saving USPS money, would unfairly increase the cost to other companies and individuals who simply don’t have the means to pay those costs. We can’t let them go without their meds just because of that.

[Walkoff Balk]

Re: USPS going down

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-e...180645411.html

The one dollar stamp might be a little too much an increase.

[Walkoff Balk]

Re: USPS going down

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politi...0a4_story.html

Saturday delivery will continue.

[lensperson]

Re: USPS going down

It is quite likely that those who drafted this bill have never looked into an

empty pantry and thought " how am I going to feed my children?"

The fat oligarchs who strut those vaunted halls have sucked the living wages

away from the hard working and kindly people.

[Kalalau]

Re: USPS going down

The topic on Randi Rhodes' show yesterday was the post office. She said making it economically unviable was deliberate by the Republicans in Congress. The idea is twofold: 1-throw more business to private industry, 2-liquidate post office assets at bargain basement prices to campaign contributors. Assets value estimated at about $100 billion. It all fits the ideology that there is no place for a public sector, everything should be private. Making college/university education prohibitively expensive fits, students attend way over priced private schools, they graduate with gargantuan debt that really can probably never be paid off. But who cares, the wealth of campaign contributors is all that figures in the equation. Closing down pension plans fits, too. The statistic was mentioned that the average 401K has only about $19,000 in it; that obviously is not enough for a comfortable retirement unless one is planning on living only 6 months to a year after retiring. But again, who cares about retirees? Only the wealthy campaign contributors on Wall St. count. The public has voted for this, every time they voted Republican. The Democrats and yes, sensible Republicans, who created the middle class are long gone along with funded pension plans and affordable state colleges and soon, the post office. Randi noted that the post office was provided for in the Constitution. Our sainted Founding Fathers thought it was an acceptable even necessary expenditure of public money, a necessary government function, to provide for a postal service. So...give every molecule of consideration to the widest most extreme possible interpretation of the 2nd Amendment and forget the post office.

[GregLee]

Re: USPS going down

Those of us who have moved personal messages and bill paying mostly to the internet are not going to miss Saturday mail delivery, especially since Saturday package delivery will continue. Donahoe, the Postmaster General, says the main cause of the USPS current budget crisis is Congress requiring pre-funding the retirement system in only 10 years (MSNBC interview today, 2/9). The total cost of that is $100 billion of which $50 billion has already been paid, but more time is needed to pay the rest. He also said that package delivery on Sundays will soon be announced.

[Ron Whitfield]

Re: USPS going down

The PO has done the impossible and done it for over 100 years, gotten the mail to every person/household, no matter where. Who's gonna match that?

[Frankie's Market]

Re: USPS going down

Times are a-changing, like it or not. Thanks to advances of technology (e-mail, fax, etc.) mail volume is down and the postal service as we have known it for so many years is no longer sustainable.

You'll still get your boxes and parcels delivered on Saturday. But the regular mail delivery,.... well, most people I talk to in my business understand the small sacrifice that is necessary in the face of changing conditions.

The people who are whining and moaning about the loss of regular mail delivery on Saturday are the same asinine folks who would clamor for the milkman to make a comeback, if they had their way.

[joshuatree]

Re: USPS going down

To me, USPS needs more drastic changes than these. All they are going to do is end the delivery of first class and bulk items. If POs will remain open and Priority Mail still delivered on Saturdays, will they really save that much money?

I'd rather see them stop all Sat delivery, stay closed on Sat, and outsource weekend deliveries to FedEx and UPS.

Don't think it's the USPS that doesn't want to make drastic changes, it's Congress that's tying their hands behind their backs.

[Kaonohi]

Re: USPS going down

Neither rain, nor snow nor dark of night will stop these carriers from their appointed rounds, however, incompetent legislators can, and will.
�� ��

[amagab]

Re: USPS going down

To me, USPS needs more drastic changes than these. All they are going to do is end the delivery of first class and bulk items. If POs will remain open and Priority Mail still delivered on Saturdays, will they really save that much money?

I'd rather see them stop all Sat delivery, stay closed on Sat, and outsource weekend deliveries to FedEx and UPS.