Healthcare and a non-existent time.
Before we begin, poor John McCain.
Not only is he recovering from $76-thousand cancer surgery for which the American taxpayer happily paid (you’re welcome, senator) but now that Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of Kansas have said they will vote NO on the Republican healthcare replacement plan — called the Better Care Reconciliation Act (oh, quit laughing) — the bill has been pulled, which means we will be spared McCain’s rise from his hospital bed in Arizona, the landing of the chopper in D.C., the motorcade, the lifting him into the wheelchair as he’s pushed onto the senate chamber to thunderous applause — Andrea Mitchell and Chris Matthews will remind us of his service to the nation, perhaps adding an amusing anecdote or two about his temper or wit — so he can bravely add his voice to gut the healthcare of at least 23-million Americans.
And how about Senator Marco Rubio’s timing on this too, huh?
Princes both.
What is it with Republicans?
It’s a good thing they’re just cynical and ruthless — not cynical, ruthless and bright, for that would be a problem.
Ah, 2007, though. The GOP remembers it well.
A time before Obama was president, remember, and $5 medical office visits that were always punctual. A time when insurance companies never raised premiums exponentially or denied coverage callously, and always provided customer service professionally, paid their CEOs modestly, and adjudicate disputes fairly. Great days, weren’t they, when doctors, carrying black bags and lollipops, regularly made housecalls — sometimes arriving on horseback — and took chickens and pot roasts in lieu of payment, and always spent whatever time necessary with you or your sick loved one — sometimes sitting downstairs and playing Parcheesi with the young’uns until little Timmy’s fever broke?
Remember those days?
Sure you do.
My doctor had to get rid of his mare because of his malpractice insurance.
And nurses can no longer wear the white caps because of government regulation.
Thanks Obama.
Oh, and that application above, that’s the actual ACA form Americans have to fill out. Do we smoke? How dare the government intrude like that? It’s not like private insurance companies pry into your medical history.
So, now with this GOP plan dead, it should be time to celebrate, yes?
Yes?
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday abandoned efforts to pass a broad Republican-only replacement of Obamacare, saying late Monday he will instead seek a vote on a simple repeal — but delayed by two years to give lawmakers time to seek a replacement
… or until after the 2018 election. Turtle meet fox.
Actually, this repeal, whenever it comes — and you have to imagine this simple repeal is as dead as the Trumps’ marriage — will only be a problem if you have previously received treatment for any of the following:
Acromegaly
Addison disease
Adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
AIDS
ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)
Amyloidosis
Anemia
Iron deficiency
B12 and folate deficiency
Aplastic
myelopthisic
Thalassemia
Sickle Cell
Hemolytic — RH factor
Spherocytosis
Aneurysms
Ankylosing spondylitis (HLA B27)
Arteritis
Giant cell
Polyarteritis nodosa
Takayasu
Hypersensitivity
Arthritis
Rheumatic
Infectious (GC #1)
Degenerative (osteo)
Asthma
Atherosclerosis
Autoimmune disease
SLE
Sjögren syndrome
Dermatomyositis
Scleroderma
Bleeding disorders
Hemophilia
von Willebrand disease
Thrombocytopenia
Henoch-Schοnlein purpura
Brain edema and herniation
Breast diseases
Fibrocystic change
Fibroadenoma
Mastitis
Bronchiectasis
Calcium-phosphate homeostasis
Cardiomyopathy
Celiac disease
Cholecystitis/lithiasis
Cirrhosis
Congenital heart disease
COPD
Emphysema
Chronic bronchitis
Pneumoconioses
Bronchiolitis obliterans (BOOP)
Coronary Heart Disease
Angina
CHF
MI
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Crohn disease
Cushing syndrome
Cystic fibrosis
Dementia
Alzheimer
Ischemic(multi-infarct)
Pick
Dermatitis
Bullous
Idiopathic
Infectious
Immune mediated
Dermatomycoses
Diabetes insipidus
Diabetes mellitus
Diarrhea
Viral
Bacterial
Parasitic
Disseminated intravascular coagulation
(DIC)
Diverticular disease of G.I. tract
Drddis1.doc
Dyslipoproteinemia
Familial hypercholesterolemia
Dysphagia
Achalasia
Barrett esophagus
Eczema
Encephalitis
Endocarditis
Rheumatic
Infectious
Libbman-Sacks
Enterocolitis
Epilepsy
Erythema multiforme
Esophagitis
Fungal infection
Candidiasis
Aspergillosis
Histoplasmosis
Cryptococcosis
Coccidioidomycosis
Glaucoma
Glomerulonephritis
Gout
Graves disease
Growth abnormalities
Dwarfism
Gigantism
Guillain-Barre Syndrome
Hemochromatosis
Hepatitis, acute and chronic
Viral (A,B,C,D)
Drug-induced
autoimmune
Hodgkin disease
Hydrocephalus
Hypertension
Hypogonadism
Turner syndrome
Klinefelter syndrome
Immune diseases of liver
Autoimmune hepatitis
PBC
PSC
Infectious mononucleosis
Infertility
Male
Female
Intracranial hemorrhage
Kidney diseases
Immune
Infectious
Circulatory
Leukemia
Lyme disease
Lymphoma
Malabsorption syndromes
Malaria
Meningitis
Multiple myeloma
Multiple sclerosis
Muscular dystrophy
Myasthenia gravis
Myeloproliferative disorders
Myocarditis
Myositis
Dermatomyositis
Polymyositis
Infectious myositis
Nephropathy, peripheral
Obstructive
Interstitial
Amyloid related
Infectious
Neuroblastoma
Neuropathy
Viral
Immune
Toxic
Metabolic
Obesity
Osteoarthritis
Otitis media
Ovarian dysfunction
Cysts
POS
Premature ovarian failure
Paget disease of bone
Drddis1.doc
Pancreatitis
Acute
Chronic
Pseudocyst
Parathyroid
hyperfunction
hypofunction
Parkinson disease
Pericarditis, acute/chronic
Pericardial tamponade
Pharyngitis
Pheochromocytoma
Pituitary
hypo/hyper function
Platelet disorders
Thrombocytopenia
Thrombasthenia
TTP
Pleural diseases
Pleuritis
Empyema
Pneumothorax
Mesothelioma
Pneumonia
Bacterial
Viral
Tb
Fungal
Polycystic kidney disease
Potassium homeostasis disorders
Psoriasis
Pyelonephritis
Renal failure
Acute
Chronic
Retinal diseases
Retinoblastoma
Rheumatic fever
Rheumatoid arthritis
Sarcoidosis
Sepsis
Sexually transmitted diseases
Shock
Hypovolemic
Neurogenic
Septic
Sodium homeostasis diseases
Spinal cord disease
Trauma
Demyelinating diseases
Polyomyelitis
Spongiform encephalopathies
Stones
Biliary
Urinary
Syphilis
Systemic lupus erythematosus
Systemic sclerosis (scleroderma)
Thrombosis
Embolism
Thyroid
Hypo/hyper function
Thyroiditis
Toxic shock syndrome
Tranfusion complications
Transplantation
Tuberculosis
M. tuberculosis
MAI
Tumors
By organ system
Ulcer, peptic
Ulcerative colitis
Urinary tract infection
Urinary tract obstruction
Urticaria
Vasculitis
Vertigo
Viral exanthemas of childhood
Vitamin deficiency/toxicity
*Life.
(*I may have made up that last one.)