Well, the Republican health care bill — CyniCare® — has failed to spawn in the House, but you would still be wise to get your ducks in a row in case they quickly animate a new legislative zombie, say, UnSurance®. Either way, they’re determined that something on the order of 24 million people have to lose their coverage. Are you one of them?
Well, if you voted for Trump, odds are pretty good that you’ll find yourself behind the health care eight ball. Way to go. If you voted for Gary Johnson or Jill Stein, you were already sick. How sad that you didn’t get care in time.
But who needs health insurance when it’s just as easy to save your money, then waltz into an ER when you’re sick or injured? It’s efficient. The medical staff will hate your guts and treat you like a barnyard animal, but hey — you outsmarted the system, bro! Boo-yah. Now, it’s possible that your local medical center will transfer you to the nearest state or city hospital, which will resemble scenes from Les Misérables, but that’s okay because you won’t be there very long. In n’ out, dead or alive.
Here are a few things you can do to avoid illness and injury in the meantime. It’s just a fact that hospitals are full of sick people, so it’s best to stay away from them if at all possible.
• Eat only leafy green vegetables. A lot of this is actually free for the picking in area parks and along highways and city streets. Dandelion greens are tasty substitutes for food. Grass is considered a delicacy — by dogs — and it’s plentiful. Sometimes the stuff that comes up between sidewalk slabs can make a nice garnish.
• Before going out, dress in a suit made of bubble wrap. This will soften the blow of getting hit by cars as you stumble across the street, or some guy throwing a punch because you look like the Michelin man. A bike helmet completes the picture.
• Steer clear of alcohol, tobacco, and drinks with high-fructose corn syrup, such as — all of them. Yes, the alcohol would have made it easier to eat nothing but leafy green vegetables, but you’d only be negating all your hard work. Smoking might actually be okay, now that I think about it, since tobacco was at one time a leafy green vegetable.
• Exercise vigorously at all times.
• Try hard not to get diabetes.
• Maintain a calm demeanor, since stress is a risk factor for all kinds of lethal conditions. Try not to think about the fact that you have no health insurance.
• When engaging in risky behavior like rock climbing and watching Fox News, always have someone there to spot you.
• Finally, go ahead and pay whatever it takes to get any crappy kind of health insurance you can, because it’s worth up to $30K a year in premiums and copays to be able to eat red meat, have a goddamn beer, and climb an effing mountain every now and then.
More helpful life advice from What The Hell.
Satire at its best.
Thank you for the laugh ( but sorry it’s at the people of the USA’s expense)
Thanks, Roger! Actually, thanks to the legislative failure, things are stable for the moment. The future is iffy, though.
I had a reply to one of my posts from a gentleman who clearly and concisely explained to me his reasoning in not supporting an NHS system as we have in the UK.
I was grateful as this explanation being shorn of political dogma and economics gave me a genuine insight into a person’s genuine opinion. I did not agree, but I could understand.
Maybe the US is just too big and diverse to have one system. Maybe there should be local systems, I don’t know.
One thing I am certain of very rich people should not pontificate on the matter, it should be best decided by folk on the ground (I know I’m wishing for dreams to take on reality).
And we, here, still have Brexit, and one day someone will come up with a coherent explainable strategy as to how that is supposed to work (sorry I wandered off topic a bit there)
Just. Don’t. Get. Sick.
Friday was a happy day for me. I almost danced all the way home after I heard the bill had been pulled. Now it’s back to work since there’s no rest for the devil (especially one who tweets as much as he does) …
Yes, it was fab for a while. But we can never let our guard down with this crowd. Like the climate change regulations today. WTF?!
I know … and it sounds like the GOP are regrouping to repeal the ACA. Have these people no soul?