Affordable Care Act Clean-Up Bills Are An Uphill Battle

The Disease Management Care Blog spent the day navigating the halls of Congress.  The DMCB discerned a preference for black-toned suits and dresses among many of the staffers, making it think in was either in a "Men In Black" movie or that the depths of D.C.'s doldrums worse than even it imagined.

As further evidence of the dysfunction, the DMCB was told that the "clean-up" bills that typically follow every major piece of legislation are unlikely to get anywhere anytime soon.  The inevitable additions, deletions and clarifications that are usually necessary to align any newly minted U.S. law with its original legislative intent are typically tackled over the following years, but not for the Affordable Care Act.  Cleaning up the ACA is being stymied by the Republicans, whose only solution to any problem in the law is to repeal it, as well as the Democrats, who are reluctant to introduce any bill that could open a Pandora's Box of crippling reforms.  That 'no-go' approach has also spilled onto other unrelated health care legislation.

And speaking of no-go, it also took the DMCB twice as long to get out of downtown DC thanks to traffic that was stuck somewhere between paralyzed and gridlock. 

Funeral garb. Legislative brainlock.  Automotive immobility. Merely a coincidence?  You be the judge.

Image from Wikipedia