(hey doc, my heart starts pounding whenever i watch the news. what should i do?)
Oh, the drama! Oh, the angst! The health care broohaha is keeping me on the edge. In fact, my primary care physician, the self-serve blood pressure machine at WalMart, has given me a stern warning to consult a real physician if my readings continue to rise. Then it printed out an advertisement for Lipitor and a coupon for $1 off a bag of dog food. Which is what I will end up eating if I start doing silly things like consulting real physicians.
Anyway.
Today will be another exciting episode in ... (dramatic soap opera music) ... The Edge Of Health Reform. Will Massachusetts vote for a Democrat (Coakley) to fill Ted Kennedy's Senate seat? Or will it be an upset by the Republican (Brown) who is suddenly, dramatically leading in the polls?
Here's my prediction: Brown will win.
And here's why: Massachusetts health care sucks.
As you may know, Massachusetts passed health reform several years ago. They call it RomneyCare, because Mitt Romney was Governor at the time. Yes, a Republican came up with this brilliant plan.
RomneyCare mandates that everyone must buy insurance or pay a fine. It provides subsidies for lower-income people. It specifies minimum standards for policies. But oopsie, it forgot to include cost controls, so Massachusettsians are now burdened with some of the highest medical and insurance costs in the country.
This all sounds familiar. Where have we heard these ideas before? Hmm...
Today's vote will be an indication of how people feel about ObamaCare. It will be a clear message, sent by people who know exactly what it's like to choose between Lipitor and dog food.
Don't get me wrong. The message is not "keep your hands off my health care." The message is "get this right." Stop compromising away all of the reform ideas that will make a real difference. Make the insurance companies cut costs and compete in a meaningful way, or get rid of them altogether. Give us health CARE, not health insurance.
I hope somebody in Washington will be listening.
~~~
I absolutely LOVE posts like this. I wish my sense of humor was half as good.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty fed up with the reform efforts as well. The whole entire point of having reform in the first place was to reduce and control health care costs so the government and its citizens would stop going broke trying to pay for it. Now it seems that our representatives have totally lost sight of that goal. I don't know what's going on up there on Capitol Hill, but I bet it has something to do with having too many sticky fingers trying to get more than their fair share of the pie. Still waiting for Obama to kick out the lobbyists!
They are buying into the lies and deceit the mainstream media (FOX NEWS) is feeding them ... it's as simple as that.
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna go off on a lot of issues just like you have been doing lately ... so maybe you and me will end up on a "watch list" or "hit list" from the lunatic fringe right.
Sanctum's Muse: Glad you liked it! I'm totally frustrated by the whole health reform thing. Like you said, whatever happened to controlling costs?
ReplyDeleteJim: That's awesome - rant away! I'm probably on their lists already.
ReplyDeleteLesley, I will say it again ... SHAME ON MASSACHUSETTS!
ReplyDelete