One of the revelations that comes with the distinction of being an “Elder”… is how little control Man actually has over his own destiny. Figuratively… (“Man” as Mankind) and literally… (Man” as the Individual.) I am 1000% FOR affordable, quality, Healthcare for all. Many of my Friends, (and you know who you are) happen to be die-hard supporters of the Affordable Healthcare Act. And I applaud them (seriously) for their Good Intentions, and their loyal, albeit misguided “Faith” that regardless of the disappointing rollout… the “Government” will somehow “FIX” it! But I’m a pragmatist, I don’t believe the Government is capable of “FIXING” it… anymore than it is capable of “Fixing” the National Debt. The Nature of Government is “Status Quo”… that’s why Guantanamo Bay is still open. That’s why “Gun Control” changes are still in limbo. That’s why the Post Office continues to operate, year after year, in the “Red”. “Congress prefers Status Quo”, except when it comes to passing grandiose programs, designed to save the World… then Politicians are always anxious to create a new Bureaucracy. However those NEW Grand Ideas, (up until they’re passed, and then, until they’re implemented) are still “abstract”… still, only known in their “IDEAL” form, untried, untested, in practicality… still a beautiful, glorious, Dream. Easy, in their “Pie-in-the-Sky” form, to rally the populace behind! But alas, inevitably, once they’re implemented, time and time again, Program after Government Program, they are finally EXPOSED for the chaotic Bureaucratic MESS they actually are, warts & all. And then… the true Nature of Government kicks in. “STATUS QUO!” Once a program is up and running, no matter how dysfunctionally, Politicians are loathe to put themselves at risk, and do anything to change it! Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, are prime examples. They all had rough starts. They’ve all been “diagnosed” with “terminal” problems. Everyone knows (including most of the American population) what needs to happen, to make them solvent. Yet, true to their “Status Quo” nature, the Politicians, year after year, decade after decade, kick the proverbial “can” down the road. Why? Because they haven’t got the balls (or the INCLINATION) to dare to even TOUCH… let alone, CHANGE or FIX, one of these “Third-Rail”, Utopian, Beneficent, “Entitlements”! From the moment of their election, Politicians in Washington are solely concerned with one thing, and one thing only… their RE-ELECTION. And so, the years (and the Debt) tick by with nothing being done to improve the Programs. “Status Quo!” Oh, occasionally, Congress will pass a high-profile, bilateral, universally agreed upon, feel-good, but miniscule, relatively ineffectual, amendment to one of these “tinderbox” Programs… just for show! But, any real fixes, never go beyond “Radical Proposals” made by “Partisan Extremists”! (Again, even the Politicians making these “Proposals” never expect them to be enacted, and are really just making them, for “show”!) Aside from the Big 3 examples I just listed, there is one glaring example no one is talking about. And that’s the actual, practical, “experiment”, of Free Government Healthcare, for Native Americans on the Reservations. With the “Indian Removal Act” of 1830, the US Government began allocating land (and relocating “Indians” to those lands) which was the inception of the Reservation Policy. Then, with the end of the “Indian Wars” during the second half of the 19th Century (and the beginning of the Broken Treaties with the “Hang-Around-the-Fort” Indians) the US Government began the Treaty promises to provide Food, Clothing, and “all other needs” including Medical, for the “Indian People”! So, essentially, for more than 150 years, the US Federal Government, has been providing “Government Run Free Healthcare” to the Native American People. One hundred and fifty plus years to implement, work the “kinks” out, and perfect, Government Run Healthcare. Today, “Healthcare” on the Reservations is pathetic. Every horror story you have ever heard, about Government Run Healthcare in some other Country, pales in comparison to Rez Healthcare. And this is after the Government has had over a Century to “Fix” it! Actually, if you evaluate the whole 150+ years of the Indian Reservation, Federal “Nanny-State”, WELFARE, experiment… (essentially what the Treaties provide) the result is pretty dismal. The Rez is home to some of the highest poverty rates in America. But that’s another debate… back to the Government’s failure to perfect Rez Healthcare with 150 years practice. Point is if the Government can’t handle the relatively simple, homogenous, microcosm, of Healthcare for the Indian Reservations… how can it possibly handle the incredibly complex, diverse, macrocosm, of Nationwide Healthcare? I know some of you will say the ACA isn’t “Government Run Healthcare”… but frankly, I don’t believe the ACA was ever intended to be successful. There’s more to this Website debacle than simple incompetence. (I mean it’s not as though every on-line, shopping company, (Amazon, EBay) and Insurance Companies (Esurance, Geico, etc.) hasn’t already built the same site! Structured for the same amount of Data, for the same volume of Capacity, and… for far LESS money!) It’s becoming more, and more, evident the ACA was DESIGNED to fail catastrophically, so that the Government will have to step in, and “rescue” it, with a “Single Payer Program”… which IS, for all intents & purposes, “Government Run Healthcare”! And this all needs to happen quickly (hence the big rush, and the refusals to postpone) so the President can swoop in, before the end of his Presidency, and make the big “Rescue”… while, of course, simultaneously “Rescuing” his “Legacy”! But back to Native care, it gets worse! The Affordable Care Act has now changed the way Native Americans have to QUALIFY for IHS (Indian Health Services). Used to be, Natives had to be Registered with a Tribe, and have a Federal CDIB Card (Certified Degree of Indian Blood) with a Blood Quantum of at least ¼ Indian Blood. Now, the Affordable Care Act… Obamacare… says a Federal CDIB Card is no longer enough! Now the same Administration that fights “Voter IDs” tooth & nail, has ruled Indians (who have received Free Healthcare from the IHS their whole life) suddenly have to provide additional ID/paperwork to the IRS to prove their degree of “Indian-ness”! WTF!!!! So Obama & the Democrats think it’s OK for illegal aliens to vote for the President of the United States, without any “Proof of Citizenship” what-so-ever… but, have decided NATIVE AMERICANS (of all people) will now have to provide ADDITIONAL Proof of “Indianship” to get the same Healthcare they’ve BEEN GETTING since they were born? I repeat… WTF!!!! I guess the Democrats are more concerned with the rights of illegal alien voters, than the rights of Native American voters! (Power in numbers!) huffingtonpost/2013/05/15/health-care-reforms_n_3280336.html My NDN Friends might want to call IHS and verify your status, before you get the shock of your life, and find out Obamacare says you’re no longer “Indian Enough”! But back to “Fixing” the ACA. If you think the rollout of the Website has been chaotic… you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! The next phase of the Program is to have a phalanx of newly trained, IRS workers, “navigating” our Insurance Policies. Arbitrating what is and isn’t “covered” whenever we have to file a claim (God forbid)! A phonebank of inexperienced people doing a job they’ve never done before, for an Agency, which has no understanding, no expertise, and no experience… administrating the Industry it’s now in charge of! If the Website was such a nightmare, and Websites & Social Media are supposed to be something the Administration IS expert in… then the IRS running this new unknown, untried, untested, system is recipe for disaster. Not to mention (as anyone who has dealt with the IRS knows) IRS agents, (in fact Government workers in general) are not the most compassionate people to do business with! They don’t have to be. A Private Industry has an incentive to be friendly and accommodating to its clientele, because if they aren’t, the client will dump them and go to another company, and loosing clients affects the company’s bottom line, which is PROFIT! (And one glance at the National Debt proves the Government doesn’t give a shit about PROFIT! Especially when they’re the “only game in town”!) But, unfortunately, without the incentive of Profit… Waste, Fraud, Incompetence, Indifference, and Status Quo… abound. Maybe, as my Goodhearted Friends believe, the GOVERNMENT will be able to miraculously “FIX” the ACA debacle. But judging from Historical precedent, I don’t think the Government is that capable, or… once a Bill is passed… even that inclined. But then… I’m just a Pragmatist. In the “Definition of Insanity” (Doing the same thing over, & over, and expecting a different result!) JD ;{
Posted on: Wed, 13 Nov 2013 21:15:21 +0000
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