Charles P. Pierce - No, You Will Not Be President, Either

[n2doc]

The "deep bench" the Republicans were bragging about as regards the 2016 presidential campaign seems to be a very long bench, indeed. The problem is that it comes to an end right at the edge of a cliff.

Look out below.

Hospital officials last week announced a November closure for Baton Rouge General's Mid-City emergency room. That was before the state swooped in with an unexpected cash infusion of $7.2 million, which, when coupled with a federal match, means $18 million. The state saved the day -- for now. The emergency room is hemorrhaging $1 million per month, due to an average increase of 400 patients. All of the new patients are uninsured, driven there by the administration's decision to close down the nearby Earl K. Long Medical Center as part of the governor's hospital privatization plan. Other once-public hospitals around the state are now being privately managed, but the situation in Baton Rouge could pave the way for more unintended cash infusions if the long-term solution of diverting patients elsewhere flatlines.

Has there ever been a moment since he came to national quasi-prominence in which "Bobby" Jindal wasn't a hopeless fk-up? He's not in legal trouble, like Christie and Walker and McDonnell, and his companion governors there on the "deep bench." But from his debut on national television, to his leap aboard the Goodhair Bandwagon in 2012, to his return to his day job, in which he spends most of his time icing his nuts because another court has kicked him there, there has not been a mistake out there that he's avoided making. Granted, he has to wait in line behind Marco Rubio to step on a rake, but he's a patient fellow.

Whap.

But if we were to triage all of the administration's health care-related woes, the privatization of Louisiana's public hospitals would move to the front of the line. The final decision from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on the state's revamped hospital privatization plan, which was initially rejected earlier this year, was expected last month. But the feds have "stopped the clock" as they seek more information on the financial structure of the deals struck with the private managers. As the feds dig deeper, the arrangement for the now-private hospitals in Shreveport and Monroe is being sullied by a $25 million overdue payment. LSU contends the Biomedical Research Foundation owes the cash, while the foundation is accusing the university of mismanaging the clinics before the transfer took place, with irregular scheduling practices being alleged...It also makes the wonk-wonder appeal of Jindal, a self-professed health care expert, vulnerable to attacks on the presidential campaign circuit.

Indeed it does.

No, pal. Not you, either. Cancel the trip to Iowa.

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/Bobby_Jindal_Will_Not_Be_President

[sabrina 1]

1. HC should be nationalized period. It should be viewed as a Civil Right. Privatization of all

services that mean the difference between life and death should be against the law.

[joeybee12]

2. Proof that Repukes of every race, creed and color...

Are major douchebag phuck-ups...knr

[VA_Jill]

3. Bench? What bench?

Booby Jindal ain't on it either.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. This is a most worrisome trend.

One I was not aware of, except for a few stories about Britain changing over the National Health care system.

We really need a giant push for national health care, and get the insurers out of the picture.