Like Mr. T., I pity the fool. I thus give Annette Bosworth a little more attention before the Stace for Senate campaign sucks all the remaining air from hubristic hubby Chad Haber's limp balloon. Bosworth skips another day of practicing medicine at her Sioux Falls clinic to journey out to Pierre and pretend to policy expertise:
Repealing, defunding or otherwise revoking the Affordable Care Act has become her defining issue, mainly because health care is her realm of expertise and the lens she views the world through, she said.
Bosworth has come to detest the measure as an independent practice owner. She said from her experience it will destroy patients’ freedom to choose their own health options and cause physicians to have to report confidential health information to an unseemly number of regulatory boards, including the Internal Revenue Service.
“How have I become an expert on Obamacare? I’ve tried to implement it for the last year and a half,” she said [David Rookhuyzen, "Bosworth Confident in Senate Run, Defeat of Health Care Law," Pierre Capital Journal, updated 2013.08.13].
Oh really? asks fellow physician Kevin Weiland (yes, brother of Democratic Senate candidate Rick Weiland, who right now should be the least of Bosworth's worries):
Question? What part of the ACA did she try to implement? As a primary care physician, I was given an incentive check as a result of the ACA for caring for Medicare patients. Did she have a problem cashing the check? Did she have a problem with the additional funding for Primary Care through Medicaid as the reimbursement rates are equal to Medicare? Really….what did she have a problem with implementation with that makes her an expert? Perhaps it’s the free lunches and the reporting of gifts by the Drug Reps that visit her as required by law as a result of the ACA [Kevin Weiland, Facebook note, 2013.08.13].
Bosworth has certainly had no problem implementing electronic health records, another key part of President Obama's health care agenda. Bosworth herself says she couldn't have implemented EHRs as well as she has without the services and incentives provided by the Obama Administration. I'd shout warnings from the rooftops that voters should not fall for Bosworth's health care hucksterism. But I shouldn't have to strain my voice: between her own vague assertions and the crush of more knowledgeable candidates, the Bosworth campaign will fizzle on its own before it ever takes out a nominating petition. And if she keeps traipsing off to campaign instead of taking care of her patients and staff, her medical practice may fizzle as well.
I would not say shouting from the rooftops, I would say laughing from them. Bos is really a kind of lame joke of a candidate and reminds me a lot of Sister Sarah, her kindred spirit. Bos will pick up some votes though as the ballot will have multiple choice on it.
Regarding her assertion of trying to implement Obamacare. If she has not succeeded in doing so, she should be brought up for malpractice. Where the healthcare reform is right now, allows preventive care for free, so if she did not do that, she has failed her patients. I am so glad that I am not one of those. I would sooner see an old horse doctor.
This seems to be the GOP playbook for the ACA: quietly - very quietly - shovel every dime you can from the ACA into your pocket while loudly berating it in non-specific fear mongering catch phrases that allows the continuation of denial of coverage to others.