The 19th Floor

The Indestructibles

Apr 292013

The Times, like a lot of other news organizations, is discovering there’s a lot of mileage to be had reporting on the challenges of implementing the Affordable Care Act. The Times article gives particular attention to the need to convince healthy young people to purchase health insurance. If only sicker, older people buy coverage, costs will quickly spiral out of control and we’ll be back to where we started; health insurance will remain unaffordable to the vast majority of Americans. It’s going to take some skillful marketing to convince twentysomethings already saddled with mountains of student loan debt to buy something they might not regard as necessary. But without the millennials, this whole endeavor could collapse under its own weight.

A Cry For Help

Miscellaneous No Responses »

Apr 262013

This weekend will be a mix of work and play, so I’d better commence with the play. Once the legislative session is over, I might indulge in some truly inadvisable recreational activities. You may want to start planning the intervention now before I’m too far gone.

Scientific Literacy

Science No Responses »

Apr 252013

I took this science quiz and apparently scored better than 93% of participants. The questions weren’t particularly difficult, which makes me wonder how we Americans are able to maintain our position as one of the world’s more technically advanced societies. If this trend continues, our descendants will be computer-worshipping simpletons straight out of a lesser Star Trek episode.

They Do Things Differently In Arkansas

Health Care No Responses »

Apr 242013

Legislators can get some curious ideas when drafting legislation, particularly legislators who reluctantly decide to participate in the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. When Arkansas passed a law authorizing its Medicaid expansion, they included language that does its best to make damn sure beneficiaries understand that this ain’t no entitlement. The language reads:

(i) An eligible individual enrolled in the program shall affirmatively acknowledge that:
(1) The program is not a perpetual federal or state right or a guaranteed entitlement;
(2) The program is subject to cancellation upon appropriate notice; and
(3) The program is not an entitlement program.

This provision only applies to adults enrolling in the expansion, so we can assume that children and people with disabilities aren’t required to comply with this empty gesture. I’m not sure the courts or the feds would allow Arkansas to use this language as a future escape clause from the expansion. The strained legal reasoning of local conservative lawmakers doesn’t change the fact that Medicaid is an entitlement.

The Procrastinating Reader

Books No Responses »

Apr 232013

I’m in a desperate race to finish my book club selection before Thursday, so you’ll have to excuse the abbreviated post. If you’re looking for something to read, you could do much worse than Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood. I’ll give a brief review in a few days. But first, the text awaits.

Please Remain Seated

Disability 2 Responses »

Apr 222013

I’m hoping to travel to San Francisco sometime this year to visit my brother. And while I’m looking forward to seeing him and exploring the Bay Area again, I don’t look forward to flying again. For us gimps, flying can be an uncomfortable hassle that forces us to abandon our wheelchairs and sit in seats that are not designed to accommodate our unique anatomies. Then there’s the added stress of wondering whether our wheelchairs will arrive intact once we reach our destination. It’s enough to make someone start a petition to require airlines to allow wheelchairs in the passenger sections of airplanes. On-line petitions probably don’t carry much weight, but I signed it anyway because I’d someday like to fly without choreographing the whole endeavor.

Solo Vs. Chewie

Geeking Out No Responses »

Apr 192013

I’ll leave it others to blog about the grim news unfolding in suburban Boston. Instead, here’s an amusing clip of Harrison Ford and Chewbacca airing things out on the Jimmy Kimmel show. Because sometimes humor is the only way to cope with the insanity.

Of course, I’d like to see Ford in the next Star Wars movie. And I’m guessing he feels the same way.

A Dream Of Spring

Science No Responses »

Apr 182013

I try to avoid blogging about the weather, but today’s spring snowstorm has me thinking more about melting Arctic sea ice and global weirding. According to some climate scientists, disappearing Arctic ice may result in more harsh, snowy winters like this one. And if our summers are also trending warmer (which they seem to be), I may be spending a good deal more time indoors during the entire year. This isn’t exactly the future I was hoping for.

Preparing For The Worst

Health Care, Wonkery No Responses »

Apr 172013

In what may be a sign of things to come, Senator Max Baucus delivered a stern warning to Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius for not doing enough to educate people about what the Affordable Care Act means for them. He has a legitimate point; the feds need to step up their public relations efforts soon if they hope to get people enrolled in health coverage beginning in the fall. But Baucus should be more concerned about the implementation of the federal exchange that will be serving over thirty states. The success of health care reform hinges upon the work of anonymous programmers and web designers who must construct a website that is stable and functional on a massive scale from day one. Getting the word out is important, but it won’t matter much if the exchange website is overwhelmed or difficult to use.

The feds are certainly capable of pulling this off, but I wonder if elected officials really understand how much technical wizardry is necessary to make health care reform a reality. And I wonder how many other Democrats will start predicting failure as a means of political damage control.

The Fall Of Don

Pop Culture No Responses »

Apr 162013

While I’ve been fighting this cold, my reading quota has fallen sharply. I hope to begin correcting that soon. But first, the latest episode of Mad Men calls. That Don Draper is a right bastard, isn’t he? I’m expecting epic fallout once Megan takes the blinders off. Don’t disappoint me, Matt Weiner.

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