This Can't Be Real

The Dallas Morning News has a story on how Texas has the highest percentage of people without health insurance. For some reason they asked a John McCain health care policy advisor, John Goodman, what he thought about this...

You don't need a master's degree in Healthcare Administration to be shocked by what he said:

But the numbers are misleading, said John Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a right-leaning Dallas-based think tank. Mr. Goodman, who helped craft Sen. John McCain's health care policy, said anyone with access to an emergency room effectively has insurance, albeit the government acts as the payer of last resort. (Hospital emergency rooms by law cannot turn away a patient in need of immediate care.)

"So I have a solution. And it will cost not one thin dime," Mr. Goodman said. "The next president of the United States should sign an executive order requiring the Census Bureau to cease and desist from describing any American – even illegal aliens – as uninsured. Instead, the bureau should categorize people according to the likely source of payment should they need care.

"So, there you have it. Voila! Problem solved."

Mr. Goodman's analysis drew a sharp response from the Center for Public Policy Priorities, an Austin-based think tank focusing on poverty issues. "That is not the same thing as having health insurance," said Eva Deluna, a budget analyst for the center. People without insurance are less likely to seek care, and when they do, the cost to the health system is greater, she said.

The idea that he doesn't know the basic tenants of the EMTALA laws is a little frightening. The laws only provide ER care to patients with an emergency medical condition...what that exactly means is left to the hospital to decide. A badly sprained ankle probably wouldn't be covered. A severe flu may not be treated. Furthermore, the level of care that must be provided is to "stabilize" the person or transfer them. If a person has a heart attack, the ER would only be required to treat the blockage and stabilize...no rehabilitation care would be required by law. This is not an insurance plan.

Gomez -- Emergency Surgery
From the Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline album.

Stereolab -- The Emergency Kisses
From the Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milkey Night.

Beck -- Emergency Exit
From the Guero album.

Mogwai -- Emergency Trap
From the Mr. Beast album.

999 -- Emergency
From The Best Punk Album in the World collection.

Not Missing Seattle #2: 20 Cents Per Bag

I recycle, I don't like throwing away things I shouldn't, I would never own a Hummer, and when I lived in Seattle I recycled everything King County told me to...but for me they really have gone too far now. Customers are to now be charged 20 cents for each bag they use in stores. The thing about it though is that plastic bags are recyclable in Seattle and paper bags are used fundamentally for holding the recycling [at least in my house]. Even though the bags I take from stores in the end will be recycled and have zero effect on the environment [except the creation expense I guess], I would still have to pay the fee. To bad I'll miss it I guess.

Oh wait...hold on a second...my fiance told me plastic bags get into the ocean and turtles try to eat them and they choke on them and they die...I am now doing a full reversal on that earlier paragraph...I now believe that we need a full ban of plastic bags!

Gomez -- Shitbag

Gomez -- Shitbag 9
From the Abandoned Shopping Trolly Hotline album.

The Stereophonics -- Handbags and Gladrags
From the Handbags and Gladrags EP.