Today is an election day here in Columbia. In my neighborhood/district, I get to choose between Todd Walter and Leona Plaugh. Both of them reflect the majority of my views, so that's not too big of a deal.
As for the mayoral race, I'm not really fired up about either candidate. However, when in doubt, vote for the person who you think will spend your money like it was their own.
Around Columbia and South Carolina, here are the other headlines I'm seeing:
1. Former Gamecock Kenny Miles was shot in what appears to be a robbery. Update: Apparently, it's not a robbery.
2. Some SC State Senators are working on a plan to "nullify" Obamacare. Look, I don't like the ACA anymore than anyone else, but let's knock it off with the "nullification" stuff. It's just silly.
3. On the same note, the ACA has even more fun waiting for us. Insurance cancellation for millions is just the start. The real fun will be when the doctor shortage hits. I feel really bad for the Canadians. Where are they going to go, now?
4. To end on a positive note, could Mike Davis be a 2014 Heisman hopeful? I think so.
The doctor shortage. Yep, that's going to be fun. It's already started around here where there used to be more doctors than one could shake a stick at. Also, one large hospital has already closed, another is looking iffy -- and the big kick in the rear to the poor on Medicaid or uninsured is that the publicly run charity hospital just went private.
ReplyDeleteSo far, my husband's and my insurance is unaffected except for a not unexpected and minimal increase in premium, but we are already feeling a bit of a pinch in the availability of doctors and now have no choice but to drive across town for some hospital services.
And don't even get me started on how the care we receive is being changed by our doctors trying the best they can to implement electronic medical records. While it took a minute or two for the doc to flip through a chart to reference lab reports or notes from a previous visit, it now seems they can't find those notes at all and are relying on the patient's memory. This morning, when we asked for a refill prescription, the doc glanced at the computer, then looked at me and asked what the previous dosage/frequency was. While I'm personally flattered that he trusted me and my notebook, it really isn't reassuring.
The only good thing I see recently is that it's easier to share digital images of some tests along with a specialist's interpretation of them. I don't think the ACA was needed for that to happen.