0 The ACA SCOTUS Legal Lexicon

As it navigated the miasma of the Supreme Court hearings on the constitutionality of the Affordable  Care Act (ACA), the Disease Management Care Blog struggled with a host of unfamiliar acronyms, catch phrases, nostrums, euphemisms and tweetisms. Since the DMCB cannot let any novel verbiage go unexamined, it is pleased to offer readers this ACA legal lexicon. The DMCB plans on using each of these terms once a day in the coming days so that its colleagues and enemies alike recognize its health orm chops.

Now you can too:

"Boatload" - a description by one Justice of the amount of cash available to the states, assuming that they go along with the Washingtons expansion of Medicaid eligibility. It seems a "bloodbath" is what the states fear if coming shortfalls prompt future administrations to cut budgets while simultaneously insisting that the eligibility rules remain.  Also see "unfunded mandate."

"Cruel and unusual" - the specter of the Supreme Court Justics and clerks having to do what most of Congress never did: read all of the ACA. This was brought up during arguments over "severability" and how to invalidate various provisions. See "crimes against humanity" caused by having to read all the regulations that are currently being promulgated under the ACA.

"SCOTUS" - stands for the Supreme Court of the United States.  Two other US examples include "POTUS" (President of the United States) and "DMCBSOTUS" (Disease Management Care Blog Spouse of the United States).

"Train wreck" - a television reporters initial assessment of the Administrations efforts to defend the the ACA before SCOTUS.  While one U.S. Senator thought the term was extreme, the DMCB says Mr. Reid should be of good cheer: it could have been worse.

"Bipartisan" - a remarkable rebranding of the ACA by a Presidential spokesperson after the term "train wreck" (see above) was widely quoted in the mainstream media.

"Burial insurance" - a foil used by one Justice to neutralize the debate over whether the government can compel citizens to buy broccoli. Everyone will use health care and everyone will also die, so is it both "necessary and proper" for the Feds to mandate burial insurance?

"Salvage job or a wrecking operation" - the two broad alternatives for SCOTUS as they grappled with the ACA. For another example of "salvage job," see "bipartisan" above; for an example of the latter, see Fox News.

Happy Friday!

Image from Wikipedia

0 Wecome to the Family ACA

All big families go through this sooner or later. 

The upending of a familiar rhythm of behaviors, traditions, relationships and unspoken social rules by the unpleasant intrusion of one who is eumphemistically termed "a significant other." The disagreeable dolt who sleeps in.  The rude boyfriend who wont close his mouth when he chews. The unpleasant uncle who knows it all. In hushed whispers in the kitchen, the regulars wonder: just what in the world does she see in him?

Yet, even as families hope against hope that theyll break up, things settle into a new equilibrium. Loyalties evolve, the relatives adapt, newcomers behave and the traditions evolve. Yes, those were the good old days and he may be a horses ass, but now hes our horses ass.

Enter the Affordable Care Act. Whether we like it or not, the Supremes see something in this fat boy sitting in our living room and it looks like hes for keeps. The ACA may be unwieldly, expensive and prone to mischief, but it looks like he aint going anywhere. Absent an unlikely Republican trifecta involving the Presidency, House and Senate (and that has to be filibuster proof) in the November elections, it looks like hell be part of the family for years to come. 

Welcome to the family, ACA.