McConnell Needs Magic to Repeal and Replace Obamacare

To this observer of the political scene, it does not quite seem that the Repeal & Replace effort has yet been clinched. I have already opined on the House of Representative’s passage of their repeal legislation, which was passed for reasons unrelated to healthcare. Remember, how smoothly that process went? I wonder what ‘techniques’ were utilized to convince a few wavering House reps to choose wisely? Hopefully, these methods do not constitute torture, at least as defined by the Army Field Manual.

The world’s most deliberate body, The United States Senate, has not distinguished itself with the same task these past few weeks. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was attempting to defy gravity by promising passage, let alone a vote, on a horrendous bill that was rejected by factions within his own party. Hence, he delayed the vote until after the July 4^th recess hoping that there will be a providential act in the coming days that will cause the legislative lions to lie down the lambs. In other words, prayer may be McConnell’s only recourse and hope for success. So far, the Almighty has remained silent.

Can McConnell Pull a Rabbit Out of a Hat?

It’s hard to fathom how the calculus could change over the coming days and weeks. It’s a tough math problem when he has only a bare GOP majority to rely on. If he seduces a Republican moderate by changing a punctuation mark in the bill, then he may lose a conservative who demands that the semicolon be reinstated. What a fun time to be the leader!

The fundamental failing is that the House and Senate bills fail the country. While many GOP politicians disagree with me, I don’t measure success by the mere passage of a bill. Shouldn’t the content of the bill determine its value and not simply its passage? Most of our legislators and most of us do not believe that these bills would deliver on their promises of better health care, increased access and lower costs.

As readers know, I have penned at least a dozen posts opposing Obamacare. I wondered then, and still surmise, that its true purpose was to transition us to a single payer system – a model that the Sanderites and Warrenites now unabashedly champion. Many folks want ‘Medicare-for-All’ where the government controls all. I have more faith and confidence with the private market playing a role, admitting that much reform of the system is still needed. Which business model and performance do you admire more, Google or the Division of Motor Vehicles?

Can McConnell pull a rabbit out of a hat next week? Or, will he shift blame elsewhere? Will his threat to bring in a few Democrats into the process spook wavering GOP senators into submission?

Or, should we repeal the repeal effort and start over?

Comments

When Should Doctors Retire?

I am asked with some regularity whether I am aiming to retire in the near term. Years ago, I never received such inquiries. Why now? Might it be because my coiffure and goatee – although finely-manicured – has long entered the gray area? Could it be because many other even younger physicians have given up their stethoscopes for lives of leisure? (Hopefully, my inquiring patients are not suspecting me of professional performance lapses!) Interestingly, a nurse in my office recently approached me and asked me sotto voce that she heard I was retiring. “Interesting,” I remarked. Since I was unaware of this retirement news, I asked her when would be my last day at work. I have no idea where this erroneous rumor originated from. I requested that my nurse-friend contact her flawed intel source and set him or her straight. Retirement might seem tempting to me as I have so many other interests. Indeed, reading and studying, two longstanding personal pleasures, could be ext

Should Doctors Wear White Coats?

Many professions can be easily identified by their uniforms or state of dress. Consider how easy it is for us to identify a policeman, a judge, a baseball player, a housekeeper, a chef, or a soldier. There must be a reason why so many professions require a uniform. Presumably, it is to create team spirit among colleagues and to communicate a message to the clientele. It certainly doesn’t enhance professional performance. For instance, do we think if a judge ditches the robe and is wearing jeans and a T-shirt, that he or she cannot issue sage rulings? If members of a baseball team showed up dressed in comfortable street clothes, would they commit more errors or achieve fewer hits? The medical profession for most of its existence has had its own uniform. Male doctors donned a shirt and tie and all doctors wore the iconic white coat. The stated reason was that this created an aura of professionalism that inspired confidence in patients and their families. Indeed, even today

The VIP Syndrome Threatens Doctors' Health

Over the years, I have treated various medical professionals from physicians to nurses to veterinarians to optometrists and to occasional medical residents in training. Are these folks different from other patients? Are there specific challenges treating folks who have a deep knowledge of the medical profession? Are their unique risks to be wary of when the patient is a medical professional? First, it’s still a running joke in the profession that if a medical student develops an ordinary symptom, then he worries that he has a horrible disease. This is because the student’s experience in the hospital and the required reading are predominantly devoted to serious illnesses. So, if the student develops some constipation, for example, he may fear that he has a bowel blockage, similar to one of his patients on the ward.. More experienced medical professionals may also bring above average anxiety to the office visit. Physicians, after all, are members of the human species. A pulmon

MD Whistleblower

Search This Blog