The Pieces of the Affordable Care Act
It's funny. When I talk to people playing for Team Republican, they are all more likely than not to be in favor of each of the pieces of the Affordable Care Act:
Making it more difficult for Congress to bust the budget and overrule CMS's attempts to improve quality of care and reduce costs? Yep.
Take more control over Medicare payments to doctors away from specialists? Yep.
Fund the useful computerization of medical records? Yep.
Try once again to support a business model by which you make money by providing people with good, cheap health care? Yep.
Tax employer-provided high-cost health insurance plans? Yep.
Level the playing field so that small businesses and individuals can see and choose the health insurance options that those with large-organization benefits departments have? Yep.
Yet, somehow--because they are playing for Team Republican--none of them can admit today that they like more than half of it, and that it is a good thing.
Makes you wonder how the world would be different if Mitt Romney had had the cojones in September 2009 to say that Obama had adopted his--Republican--health care plan, that he approved of it, and that the takeaway message was that Obama was a smart enough person to realize that the Republicans like him had the right approach on health care.
I have the feeling that in that world a lot of people playing for Team Republican who are right now very sad as they see the gulf between themselves and technocratic reality growing wider and wider would be somewhat happier...
