Obamacare: Go, confront the problem! Fight! Win! — Edna Mode, The Incredibles

And also, to mix my metaphors: There’s no crying in baseball.

The Democrats want you to believe it’s all over. And really, if they didn’t suck so bad, they’d have the votes. But this vote and their philosophy and their means and their actions DO suck that bad and so, still, after all these months, DO NOT HAVE THE VOTES.

If they had the votes, health care would be firmly in the hands of the government right now.

But it’s not. And until it is, it’s not over.

This whole situation reminds me of a scene from The Incredibles. It’s not a perfect analogy, for sure.

However, it is good enough. Now, imagine the American people as Elastagirl–they are afraid that they’re about to lose everything they hold dear. Their freedom, their lives, and America itself.

What America needs is an Edna Mode:

EDNA: Pull-yourself-together! “What will you do?” Is this a question? You will show him you remember that he is Mr. Incredible, and you will remind him who *you* are. Well, you know where he is. Go, confront the problem. Fight! Win!

So Americans need to remind Congress what America is and remember who THEY are….

The flip side of freedom is responsibility. Americans cannot continue to sit around and whine about the leadership we have. We have to go, confront the problem. Fight! Win!

Health care reform ain’t over. And even when it’s over, it ain’t over.

This post dedicated to Dan Riehl: The Right’s Edna Mode.

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Health Care Reform: About Doctors

My last post focused on jobs generally. Now, what about Doctors? Everyone wants to know about doctors because it’s already tough to get a doctor if you’re on Medicaid or Medicare.

According to the New England Journal of Medicine, it’s going to get worse:

Physician Support of Health Reform in General
• 62.7% of physicians feel that health reform is needed but should be implemented in a more targeted, gradual way, as opposed to the sweeping overhaul that is in legislation. [NOTE: I think this reflects the American public, too. No one is saying to do nothing. This bill is just not the "something" that needs to be done.]
• 28.7% of physicians are in favor of a public option.
• 3.6% of physicians prefer the “status quo” and feel that the U.S. health care system is best “as is.

Health Reform and Primary Care Physicians
• 46.3% of primary care physicians (family medicine and internal medicine) feel that the passing of health reform will either force them out of medicine or make them want to leave medicine.

Health Reform, Public Option, and Practice Revenue/Physician Income
• 41% of physicians feel that income and practice revenue will “decline or worsen dramatically” with a public option.
• 30% feel income will “decline or worsen somewhat” with a public option.
• 9% feel income will “improve somewhat” with a public option, and 0.8% feel income will “improve dramatically” with a public option.

Health Reform, Public Option, and Physician Supply
• 72% of physicians feel that a public option would have a negative impact on physician supply, with 45% feeling it will “decline or worsen dramatically” and 27% predicting it will “decline or worsen somewhat. [NOTE: This is the part that is most concerning. What will then happen is that the United States will recruit less-qualified drones to fill the jobs. As the role of physician becomes commoditized, the person seeking that job will change.]
• 24% of physicians think they will try to retire early if a public option is implemented.
• 21% of physicians would try to leave medicine if a public option is implemented, even if not near retirement age at the time.

Health Reform and Recommending Medicine to Others as a Career
• 36% of physicians would not recommend medicine as a career, regardless of health reform.
• 27% would recommend medicine as a career but not if health reform passes.
• 25% of physicians would recommend medicine as a career regardless of health reform.
• 12% would not recommend medicine as a career now but feel that they would recommend it as a career if health reform passes

Source: The Medicus Firm “Physician Survey: Health Reform’s Impact on Physician Supply and Quality of Medical Care,”
The Medicus Firm, www.TheMedicusFirm.com

This does NOT bode well for the future of American medicine. More importantly, it harms the care Americans will receive.

By the way, Democrats know this. This bill is NOT about health care. It’s about transitioning costs away from the unions and the ballooning aging Boomer population to the younger, healthier people.

Health care reform is a tax plan.

Posted in Barack Obama, Body, Economy | No Comments »

Megan McArdle On Health Care Through Reconciliation: Why They Still Try

Megan McArdle posits:

It’s far from clear that Democrats have the votes to pass anything close to this bill, even through reconciliation. Pro-life Democrats in the House may not go along with the Senate bill, which has more liberal language on abortion.

But even if they eventually go along, Speaker Pelosi could still be short of the votes she needs, thanks to attrition. To pass the Senate bill, she will probably need to flip a significant number of “no” voters into the “yes” column. Since most of the “no” voters come from relatively conservative districts, this is tantamount to asking them to commit political suicide.

I would submit that President Obama and the House and Senate leaders have been asking their members to commit political suicide from the beginning; for the cause. This is not a new development.

Yet here we are in late February watching the Democrats dance this insulting health care jig. Why? Because this is everything. They don’t care about losing their jobs. Passing this structure would be for the greater good.

This drum is one I keep on beating because I don’t think people on our side can fully comprehend the degree to which health care in the hands of the government matters to leftists.

Health care is the conduit with which to control every citizen’s life. It is core to a socialist’s world-view. It means survival for the unions.

This battle ain’t over ’til it’s over. And the Congress leaders on the left and President Obama know November will be a bloodbath anyway. They want something to show for it. Don’t underestimate their determination.

Posted in Body, Democrats | 1 Comment »