Fall Guy

The citizens are unhappy with the government; Obama's ratings are tanking; a lot of Democratic Congressmen are looking at loosing their jobs this year.. So what do they do? From The Hill:

Congressional Democrats point finger of blame at Rahm Emanuel
Democrats in Congress are holding White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel accountable for his part in the collapse of healthcare reform.

The emerging consensus among critics in both chambers is that Emanuel�s lack of Senate experience slowed President Barack Obama�s top domestic priority.

The share of the blame comes as cracks are beginning to show in Emanuel�s once-impregnable political armor. Last week he had to apologize after a report surfaced that he called liberal groups �retarded� in a private meeting.

While Emanuel has quelled that controversy by meeting with advocates for people with disabilities, on Capitol Hill he�s under fire for poor execution of the president�s healthcare agenda in the Senate.

"I think Rahm ran the play his boss called; once Obama called the play, Rahm did everything he could to pass it, scorched-earth and all that,� said a senior lawmaker, who added that Emanuel didn�t seek a broader base of Senate Republicans. �I think he did miscalculate the Senate. He did what he thought he had to do to win."

Throw Rahm under the bus. Chicago politics old-school. The healthcare plan is failing because some Congressmen and Senators are actually listening to their constituents and not just playing the progressive line. The US Citizenry is telling them that they do not want a 2,000+ page pork-laden bill, they want tort reform and the option to shop around for insurance policies. As for hospital costs, The Angry Pharmacist had the best solution I have heard:

• No trade name drugs are covered. No exceptions. Prilosec/Protonix doesn�t work for you? Tough shit. Cough with ARB? Too bad. None of the trade name medications would be covered. The government needs to eat its own dogfood (or practice what it preaches) and only does business with companies that drive down the cost of medication (ie: generic companies). That expensive chemo drug not covered? Then let the government use taxpayer dollars to buy out Amgen so they can give it out for free (why not, everyone else got bailed out).
• The plan is voluntary. If you wish to be a part of Obamacare, then you get the premiums deducted out of your gross-pay. If you wish to have private health care, then you won�t be dinged a dime for Obamacare. I�m not paying for all of your PacifiCare and Blue Cross plans (and your insurance premium dollars dont pay for my private insurance) so why should I have to pay for someones Obamacare? The chances of this happening are as likely as you buying the nice bridge I have for sale.
• You get 4 doctors visits a year with no/low copay (say, $10). Every doctors visit after that has a $25-50 copay. Yeah, it sucks for the people with chronic conditions like diabetes and stuff, but its better than nothing. Don�t get the unlimited text messaging plan and you can afford your doctors visits. Don�t order a large pizza and you can afford another doctors visit. Wait, actually becoming an active part in my health? What is this witchcraft you speak of!
• You get 1 $0 copay ER room a year. Every ER visit after that is $100 minimum. I�d like to see this figure raised to $250 or higher since ER is for��. EMERGENCIES! You know why the ER rooms are so packed? People view them as �Free�.
• Since all Rx�s will be billed to the government, if you are on a maintenance medication and you are non-compliant, guess what, your premiums just went up unless YOU (not your doctor, not your pharmacy) can submit documentation showing that you were taken off of that drug, or switched to another one due to intolerance. Whats the point of the government dumping all this cash into your doctors visits and medications if YOU are TOO LAZY to do anything about YOUR CONDITION. Not taking your medication is just pissing away money. No matter how many times I bitch, your doctor bitches if you don�t want to take your medicine then you can get dinged in the pocketbook. True this can be thwarted by people just picking up their regular drugs and not taking them, but it might make a few people think twice before asking for medication they have no intention of taking. Cue the �Waah, we don�t want the government poking its nose into our lives� as they happily promote Obamacare. Wait, are you confused?
• If your doctor kept up to the standard of care, then unless his peers can show an act of negligence, you cannot sue him/her for 1.4 zillion dollars in a huge malpractice suit. Lets face it, without your doctors care, you would have died a long time ago. We don�t need your doctor running up the bill with 400 lab tests every damn office visit out of fear of getting sued if he/she happened to miss something weird.

Works for me...