Today the Republicans
finally gave up the ghost on the repeal-and-replace of Obamacare, an especially
craven capitulation, even by political standards. After all, they did vote a
straight repeal many times before they had the power to carry through. I guess
the thought of 20,000,000 people losing health insurance had them more concerned
with their political health than with revealing their punk-ass propensities.
Although my wife
(I’m insured by Medicare) is one of those people who’s seen their premiums rise
by 50% over the past two years, I’m happy for all those Americans who got
access to health care for the first time through the Affordable Care Act. Now
they get to keep it… unless, of course, the Republicans settle for quietly
sabotaging Obamacare. But that won’t happen, right? The Republicans can’t be
that spiteful, that mean-spirited? Right? Right?
Funny, but I
fail to hear an echoing chorus here.
Anyway, I’m
going to close with a really depressing thought, but one that won’t stop
running through whatever neurons still survive in my forebrain. The United States
isn’t the only country struggling with the ever-increasing cost of providing
health care to its citizens. Every industrialized nation on the planet
struggles with the same problem, despite almost all spending less, as a
percentage of their GDP, than we do. This reality leads - inexorably, in my
opinion - to a question that must be asked. Is it possible that modern medicine
is reaching the point where it can provide more healthcare than human beings
can afford?
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