Medicare publishes a list of what Original Medicare does not cover. It includes “Eye exams (for prescription eyeglasses),” “Cosmetic surgery,” “Massage therapy,” “Routine physical exams,” “Hearing aids and exams for fitting them” and “Most dental care.”
For these, the site says, “you’ll have to pay for them yourself” unless other coverage pays.
Since August 17, 2024, an American real estate agent who belongs to a multiple listing service and works with a home buyer must sign a written agreement with the buyer before touring a home. The rule came from the settlement of lawsuits over broker commissions.
The agent’s pay must be stated: “The amount of compensation must be objectively ascertainable and may not be open-ended.” The National Association of Realtors advises: “Agreements should clearly articulate the services the MLS Participant will provide buyer.”
In Five Easy Pieces (1970), Jack Nicholson asks for a side of wheat toast in a roadside diner. The waitress refuses: “No substitutions.” “Only what’s on the menu.” “We don’t have any side orders of toast.” “I don’t make the rules.”
He then orders a chicken salad sandwich on wheat toast, without butter, lettuce, mayonnaise or chicken. The waitress: “You want me to hold the chicken, huh?”
In 2012 Delta Air Lines became the first U.S. airline to introduce a basic economy fare. United and American followed in February 2017.
The new fares came with a list of what they did not include. Buyers could not pick a seat when they bought the ticket, they boarded in the last group, and they could carry on only a small item that fit under the seat.
In California, a home improvement contract must describe the project and the significant materials and equipment. By law, it must also contain a section headed “Note About Extra Work and Change Orders.”
That section must state that extra work and change orders “become part of the contract once the order is prepared in writing and signed by the parties.” A change order “must describe the scope of the extra work or change, the cost to be added or subtracted from the contract.”
Since March 4, 2002, New York has required lawyers to give most clients a written letter of engagement “before commencing the representation,” or within a reasonable time afterward where that is impracticable or the scope is not yet known. It must contain an “explanation of the scope of the legal services to be provided,” and an explanation of fees, expenses and billing practices.
When the scope or fee changes significantly, “an updated letter of engagement shall be provided to the client.”
Under the American model rules for lawyers, “A lawyer may limit the scope of the representation if the limitation is reasonable under the circumstances and the client gives informed consent.”
The commentary gives examples. A lawyer hired by an insurer may limit the work to “matters related to the insurance coverage.” A lawyer and client may also agree “that the lawyer’s services will be limited to a brief telephone consultation.”
The American Medical Association’s Code of Medical Ethics addresses fees for “missed appointments or appointments not cancelled in advance in keeping with the published policy of the practice.” Physicians should base such fees on reasonable costs and “clearly notify patients in advance.”
The fee covers appointments missed or not canceled in advance.
Near the end of an American construction project, the contractor prepares a punch list of the items still to be finished or corrected. Contracts usually allow the owner to hold back the final payment until the list is done. One explanation of the name is that a hole was punched next to each item when it was completed.
In everyday speech, a punch list is any list of the last small tasks before a job is finished.
For years, Domino’s promised to deliver a pizza within 30 minutes. By 1986, a late pizza cost the customer $3 less.
Then came the lawsuits. After one crash, a jury in St. Louis awarded a woman $78 million in punitive damages, although she later settled for less. In 1993 Domino’s dropped the 30-minute guarantee in its company-owned stores.