December 26, 2007

'Twas the night before Christmas,
When all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring,
Not even a mouse.

Yeah, well forget the house; inside the Beltway, the politicians are making a g*dd*m racket, and the looming election season does not bode well for the triumph of peace and quiet. So you think that SCHIP and Medicare and Medicaid and the VA and the other health-care machinations that show up on the front page are enough to keep the elves busy on Capitol Hill? Guess again. In the last year, even a quick review reveals the following attempts at health-care meddling, in various stages of completion in the legislative oven:

---Minority Health Improvement and Health Disparity Elimination Act.
---Health Equity and Accountability Act.
---Healthy Places Act.
---Environmental Justice Act.
---Telehealth and Medically Underserved and Advancement Act.
---Indian health Care Improvement Act Amendments.
---Indian Youth Telemental Health Demonstration Project Act.
---Tribal Health Promotion and Tribal Colleges and Universities Advancement Act.
---Communities of Color Teen Prevention and Pregnancy Act.
---Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Reauthorization Act.
---Legal Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act.
---Border Health Security Act.
---Office of Men's Health Act.
---Mental Health Services for Veterans with Limited English Proficiency Act.
---Minority Diabetes Initiative Act.
---Diabetes Prevention Access and Care Act.

'Nuff said? Maybe; but always bear in mind that politics is the art of wealth redistribution, and when Congress "acts," no outcome is possible other than ever-greater politicization of the health care system. Precisely where do the patients and their needs fit into this framework? Good question.

Posted by Benjamin Zycher at December 26, 2007 12:57 PM

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