March 26th, 2010 by BobDoherty in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Humor
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The only sure thing about healthcare reform is that it’s going to add to the country’s collective case of bad temper. How can we not feel down for having to go through weeks of listening to partisans of all stripes say anything imaginable to attack the other guys’ arguments?
For at least one day, then, let’s turn down the heat, and look to humor to put smiles back on our faces.
For even-handed skewing of all things Washington, see this link to the “Top Ten Healthcare Reform Jokes,” selected by Daniel Kurtzman from material provided by Jimmy Fallon, Craig Ferguson, Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart, and others.
My favorite: “The healthcare bill was introduced yesterday. It’s 1,990 pages long and costs $894 billion dollars. Or $2.2 million per word. That makes them the most expensive words to come out of Washington since ‘Mission Accomplished.'” – Jimmy Fallon Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty*
March 22nd, 2010 by BobDoherty in Better Health Network, Health Policy
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As part of their closing argument against health reform, Republicans argue that Democrats who vote for the bill will be ignoring the will of the American people, at their own political peril. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell accuses Democrats of wanting “to plow ahead on a partisan bill Americans don’t want.” McConnell is correct that just about every recent poll shows that majorities of Americans dislike the current legislation. But supporters of the legislation counter that it really has more public support than a simple “for it or against it” poll would yield.
The Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll finds that the country is evenly divided on the legislation, but large majorities support many of the major provisions in the bill. And when asked about the next steps for health reform:
32% said that Congress should “Move soon to pass the comprehensive legislation that has already been approved by the House and Senate.”
22% want to “Put healthcare on hold, so Congress can work on other priorities and try to deal with it later in the year.”
20% want to “Pull out a few key provisions where there is broad agreement and pass those, even though this won’t be comprehensive reform.”
19% want them to “stop working on healthcare” this year. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty*
March 5th, 2010 by BobDoherty in Announcements, Better Health Network, Health Policy
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Last week, I was honored to learn that the ACP Advocate blog was selected by voters in a national competition as the Best Health Policy/Ethics blog of 2009. Yesterday, ACP issued a news release announcing the award, in which I am quoted as saying that the blog “seeks to inform and entertain readers and to elicit thoughtful commentary from across the political spectrum, not just from ACP members but from others with an interest in health policy.”
Awards and recognition are nice, but what I enjoy most is making readers aware of interesting ideas, studies, and commentary that otherwise might not have come to your attention. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty*
February 25th, 2010 by BobDoherty in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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It looks as if President Obama’s plans for a February 25 bipartisan summit on health care will move forward, even as Republican leaders continue to express reservations.
The kicker is that the President is asking the GOP to show how it would “put a stop to insurance company abuses, extend coverage to millions of Americans, get control of skyrocketing premiums and out-of-pocket costs, and reduce the deficit” (italics added by me). Many Republicans don’t view expanding coverage as a principal goal of health care reform. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty*
February 18th, 2010 by BobDoherty in Better Health Network, Health Policy
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Tom Toles’ editorial cartoon in todays Washington Post says it all.
Washington has become a place where nothing can move, advance or happen. Having been paralyzed by a huge snowstorm over the weekend, the federal government has been closed since Monday, our roads are clogged with unplowed snow, our Metrorail system won’t run above-ground trains, the schools are closed (until June, it seems)–and to top it off, another 10-20 inches of snowfall is expected in the next 24 hours. (Yes, our trains really don’t run when we get more than a few inches of snow. You Chicagoans can stop laughing now.)
Of course, the snow and ice will eventually melt, and Washington will get back to normal. Not so the partisan gridlock that apparently will prevent anything from getting done even when the government reopens for business. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty*
