The poet William Stafford set himself the task of writing a poem a day. When someone asked him what he would do when his poem-of-the-day wasn't very good, he replied "I simply lower my standards." In order to increase output, the bar here is set at a low level - the point of this is to have some fun with current events and politics. I welcome contributions and comments. Now you can also follow Doggerelo on Twitter (@doggerelo). Because of continuing medical problems, I'm no longer able to post a poem-a-day. I'll continue to post poems, but at a reduced frequency, so please stay tuned.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Broccoli and Health Insurance

The Affordable Care Act’s mandate that everyone be required to purchase health insurance did not fare well in arguments before the Supreme Court today, it was reported.  A major issue in Justice Kennedy’s mind is whether the government would have the power to require one to purchase anything else that would impact health care costs, like buying broccoli.

The mandate got no real support,
To go by what was said,
In arguments before the court -
It might as well be dead.

The issue causing all the fuss
Is this:  Can we be made
to buy some thing that’s good for us
like brocc’li, I’m afraid?

But if you don’t buy broccoli
That’s certainly OK,
Your protest does no harm to me
In any kind of way.

But if you’re with the uninsured
And you get sick some day
Then for your treatment I’m assured  
We'll be the ones who pay. 
Posted by Doggerelo at Tuesday, March 27, 2012

3 comments:

Health Insurance Florida said...

Various benefits of health insurance policies are:
It helps you get financial help at times of illness.
You can get your treatment done from the best of medical advisers with the help of health insurance as they help you get full compensation of the cost involved in the treatment.
You should always have a health insurance as it is the most beneficial asset of your life.

March 28, 2012 at 5:22 AM
Anonymous said...

Sorry for being a little late in responding to this, as I was at the vets yesterday - apparently eating raw bread dough is not a good idea for dogs (but it tasted real good!).

I know I will be repeating Doggerelo's message, but to me it is one of the key issues in this whole debate, and merits repeating. I think Justice Kennedy's question about buying broccoli misses the point. The proper supermarket analogy would be if I loaded up my cart with groceries, and at the check out I don't have any money to pay, then the clerk will simply take my $100 purchase and add $10 to the bills of the next ten paying customers - that is not right. Directly related to the cost argument is the issue of providing insurance for those who have pre-existing conditions; it is a disgrace that in a country as great as ours that this has been refused for all these years - yet in all of the Republican outcry concern repeal and replace, I have not seen any credible suggestions on their ideas on how to replace. If this gets shot down, I will lose faith in our ability to do what is right.

-Nessie

March 29, 2012 at 10:42 AM
Doggerelo said...

Nessie, you're pretty perceptive. Did you ever think of running for Congress? At least then we'd have a dog in this fight.

March 29, 2012 at 3:13 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)