According to an article in Politico, not one of our leaders (Congress/Senate) read the Affordable Health Care bill. Neither did Mr. Obama.

The Obamacare legislation was written mainly by congressional and agency staffers (many fresh out of college) who were given different areas of the bill to address. They’d sit around a table going “how ’bout if we. . . .” and the “idea” was put into the bill. So you have a health care bill which was written by young people who never had a real job, never met a payroll and had little experience as to how the real world functions.  The bill was not read by anyone.  And now many in both parties admit it won’t work.  Unions which trumpeted the legislation five years ago now revile it and demand repeal.  Businesses are cutting back employee hours (to under 30) to avoid compliance with the bill.  Or employees are being let go.  Mr. Obama has “delayed” implementation for some businesses.  And now, the signup website doesn’t work.  According to a Forbes magazine study, the Affordable Health Care Act will cost the average family of 4 an additional $7,000+ in health care costs annually.  There are 20,212 pages in the bill.  complete with tens of thousands of new required medical codes  (which will cost doctors billions).  “Bitten” by a duck?  One code.  “Struck” by a duck?  Another code (see W6161X(A).    “Bumped” by a turkey?  Sorry – that’s a separate code.  Contact with excreta of a parrot?   Doctors must use yet another code (see http://www.icd10data.com/ICD10CM/Codes/V00-Y99/W50-W64/W61-)     Second time it’s happened?  Different codes entirely.  Nancy Pelosi so tellingly announced  “we have to pass the bill so you can know what’s in it”  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV-05TLiiLU ).  Mercy!  Do Americans deserve this? 

There have been articles about how America’s health care system is not all that bad  to begin with since everyone – even the poor – have immediate access to treatment for illness or injury. In Canada, Sweden, the UK or other socialized medicine countries, health care is rationed (in Canada doctors get in big trouble if they serve more than their strict quota of patients).  You need an MRI?  Wait for 6 months. Need a hip replacement?  18 months out.  In the UK, if you’re over 70 you may not receive kidney dialysis or certain other treatments. No wonder so many foreigners come to the U.S. for treatment. . . . . .  Sure, we need a better system.  But the optimal way to have created a health care system would be to have it crafted – carefully – by a consortium of doctors, insurance executives, lawyers, politicians (if we must), business people and laymen.   And for goodness sake people – make it simple.   Do we need separate medical codes for duck bites, turkey pecks and getting sick from parrot poop?     

We have this universe of extremely well-schooled people who are breathtakingly uneducated. Remember — never confuse schooling with education.  Most everyone in Washington is pretty well-schooled – but most are breathtakingly uneducated.   And guess who loses.