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Saturday, July 24, 2010

Wall Chart of PPACA is so complex that no one who supported the bill could have possibly known what they supported

Go here to see the labyrinth of provisions, regulations, deadlines,subsides and cross subsidies from the hundreds of thousands of words from PPACA that will transform American medicine. Read through it and try and see who gains and who loses. I suggest the countless details defy a comprehensive analysis. It will be years before the the unintended consequences can begin to be sorted out.Did the advocates for Obama care from AMA and ACP and other medical organizations who claim a victory for "social justice" have a clue about what the bill really contained? I suggest they understood even less that some of legislators who admitted they had not even read the bill.Further, many of the operational particulars have not yet been defined.That is a work in progress by the numerous governmental agencies who are now beset upon by the various lobbying interests(known euphemistically as stakeholders ).

Perusing the chart makes me wonder why there is so so much detail,why so many elements and provisions are there ,why laws are crafted to be so long and so opaque and why are so many agencies and governmental entities are necessary to carry out any stated goal.

Angelo Codevilla's essay on the ruling class provides one answer:

"[O]ur ruling class’s standard approach to any and all matters, its solution to any and all problems, is to increase the power of the government – meaning of those who run it, meaning themselves, to profit those who pay with political support for privileged jobs, contracts, etc."

Simply put, it has to be long and detailed and governmental agencies have to empowered to make many discriminatory decisions so that the folks in power can ensure who is that profits and who it is that picks up the tab. A statute's mind-boggling length and opacity serves to obscure what is happening.

Senator Baucus apparently really knew what the health care bill was all about even though he likely could not detail exactly what all the provisions were when he said in his exuberant candor after the bill was passed:

"Too often, much of late, the last couple three years, the mal-distribution of income in America is gone up way too much, the wealthy are getting way, way too wealthy and the middle income class is left behind," he said. "Wages have not kept up with increased income of the highest income in America. This legislation will have the effect of addressing that mal-distribution of income in America."

Right, it was all about redistribution of wealth which it just so happens is Dr. Don Berwick's desire as well as regards health care in America expressed in this quote from Berwick:

"...and that any health care funding plan that is just, equitable, civilized, and humane must – must – redistribute wealth from the richer among us to the poorer and less fortunate.


H/T to the Blog We Stand Firm

4 comments:

Chris K. said...

I can't believe congress still gets away with this kind of Pork Barrel Legislation!

Andrew_M_Garland said...

The chart is six feet wide and three feet tall, according to Adobe Reader.

"Life is complicated, but we can model it completely if we have a big enough chart".

-- The motto of the Anonymous Bureaucrat.

Anonymous said...

Wow- that does look like tough sledding. But, I'll bet you could handle it. You did pass your boards, didn't you?

Nancy Pando said...

How is this one for a great comment from Dr. Berwick?
"I don’t care so much what the doctors say. I care what the patients say."