Is it covered under Obamacare? - Cartoon Contest Winner

[Brian, ASN, RN]

There's been some crazy things said about Obamacare. Yes, some of what has been said is true while a lot has been just fear mongering.

Add your dollars' worth of Obamacare facts below ... good or bad ... funny or out of this world is also ok. Let's keep it funny...

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[GrumpyRN, NP]

In our area (in Scotland) we get a lot of American students and tourists, so inevitably they will have accidents and attend our ED. As part of my welcoming speech to try to break the ice and make them feel more comfortable I always say "so you have Obamacare coming and thought you would try out the NHS/socialised medicine to see what it is all about." I said this to one lady on vacation recently and I thought she was going to hit me, turns out she was from one of the southern states and did not find this funny. She was examined, x-rayed, diagnosed, treated, given painkillers and a copy of her notes and x-ray to take home to her own physician and was not charged a penny - emergency care is free in UK. A couple of weeks later I had a similar situation with a student who was much more appreciative of my humour and laughed. When I related my story of the lady on vacation he said the yes there was a north south divide.

I am not wanting to get into a discussion about Obamacare, I am only giving a personal anecdote. I don't understand the ins and outs of Obamacare but is there really a north south divide? One word answers would be fine as this is not the place for a debate.

[PamelaK691]

No. I am from the North and I think it is funny. And would love to know more about Scotland and their NHS/socialized medicine.

[Amnesty]

PamelaK691 said:

No. I am from the North and I think it is funny. And would love to know more about Scotland and their NHS/socialized medicine.

That actually proves her point xP. Yes, there is a north/south divide. I don't know many non-nursing staff who live here in the South who are for Obama care. You have to remember, most Southern people hate Obama and have all along. They didn't vote for him in either election, and they don't like anything he does.

Oh and to clarify, I did vote for him, I do mostly support Obama Care, and I probably would have laughed :3.

[lamazeteacher]

The north-south divide has no geographical recognized line on any map and is known historically as the "Mason-Dixon" line. However I think it's mostly in the heads of those who were brought up in families that actually think there's nothing wrong with slavery!

Since I moved to the USA 50 years ago, much culture shock occurred for me! First there was all the bally-hoo associated with elections here. Then the unbelievable tax advantages enjoyed only by the very rich...

When I was the Nurse Supervisor in a Home Health agency in southern VA, I received a call from my supervisor from another city more south of mine. She told/demanded of me that I notify one of our best nurses' aides that she was not to go to any of her patients that day! No reason for that was forthcoming, and no other aides were available to give care to the patients, since most of their families went out around the time they expected the aide, to get other things done.

These patients were all bed-bound and could do nothing for themselves...... Flabbergasted, i inquired why this was happening, and was told that it always was done when the agency was being audited by the administrators from its central office. This very pleasant nurse explained that the aide's certification as that, had been lost in one of the many recent changes in ownership it had experienced! We would be closed down, she said, if it was discovered in the personnel files. I asked if anyone had called the school where the certification had been given, and was told that it was probably closed long ago.

I called the Nurses' Aide, one of the best we had, and asked her what school had bestowed her certification, found that she had gone to one at an existing prestigious hospital nearby, and called to see if another copy of that document was available. The result was that it certainly was, for no cost. So I asked Mary (not her name) to go to that school for it, have our office make 10 copies of it, and told her to keep 5 of them in a very safe place, in case she ever needed them again.

Mary told me that this had happened every year for the past 10 years, and the loss of income and result of her patients having no care was considerable. It didn't even occur to me that these events might have happened due to her and her patients African American heritage! I am rather color blind.

However that became a distinct possibility when I reported the way I'd handled the situation

to my supervisor. She snapped at me, " Now she and all her kind will want more money"! After I'd changed my employment, I saw one of the office workers from that agency years later, who told me that Mary was indeed making more money...... She went to school to become an LPN, and having obtained that, was thinking of going back to school to have more education to become a R.N.! I was delighted too, to know that she no longer looks at her feet when someone of a higher position talks to her.....

Those who would like to know more about circumstances in the south of the USA (still there to some extent), would benefit from seeing the movie or reading "The Help", by Katherine Stockett.

[mamagui]

I live in South Carolina and can attest that there is a definite divide between north and south. This is the state where the first shots of the civil war were fired. There is a LOT of racism. Interestingly, among the white folks there are few people that admit to being racist, however they say things like "I'm not racists, but black people in the south are lazy," and "All those Mexicans are taking our jobs, but I am not racist." There are a lot of black folks with a false sense of entitlement as well, but that is to be expected given the history of the area. I think there is a general dissatisfaction within the white majority at having an African American president. It is sad, really, the way the general culture seems to be so stuck in the past.

[cherryames1949]

I moved south 20 years ago and it still has me shaking my head! People here will vote against their own self interest. Obama care is only the beginning of reform. It will take many years to catch up with Western Europe.

[twinkletoes53]

I live in the South and love Obamacare.

I don't know if it's b/c I have relatives in England, & have visited it 4 times. So I have seen socialized medicine @ work.

You are right. Lots of fearmongers here in U.S.

[twinkletoes53]

I voted for Obama. I have had pre-existing medical conditions for 30 years. I was tired of being turned down for health insurance b/c I had arthritis. Or b/ c I had (and beat) breast cancer. I have tried to obtain long-term care insurance since I was 35. And have been turned down many, many times.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

GrumpyRN said:

In our area (in Scotland) we get a lot of American students and tourists, so inevitably they will have accidents and attend our ED. As part of my welcoming speech to try to break the ice and make them feel more comfortable I always say "so you have Obamacare coming and thought you would try out the NHS/socialised medicine to see what it is all about." I said this to one lady on vacation recently and I thought she was going to hit me, turns out she was from one of the southern states and did not find this funny. She was examined, x-rayed, diagnosed, treated, given painkillers and a copy of her notes and x-ray to take home to her own physician and was not charged a penny - emergency care is free in UK. A couple of weeks later I had a similar situation with a student who was much more appreciative of my humour and laughed. When I related my story of the lady on vacation he said the yes there was a north south divide.

I am not wanting to get into a discussion about Obamacare, I am only giving a personal anecdote. I don't understand the ins and outs of Obamacare but is there really a north south divide? One word answers would be fine as this is not the place for a debate.

I just spit my coffee all over my computer.....That is a funny story!!

[softrbreeze]

I lived in the North for 23 yrs and in the South for the last 19 yrs. From my personal experience, there was a lot more prejudice up North. It may have just been the area where I grew up (inner city Baltimore, which is predominantly Black), but there was a LOT of racial tension BOTH ways. My political views have not changed btw- I voted Republican since I was old enough to vote (even coming from a democratic family). I'm not against socialized healthcare per se, but I don't believe American government is capable of running the show without breaking the bank. They have showed little expertise in running any kind of social program to date. I would love to see everyone have easy access to free or low cost medicine, I just don't think it's going to be the wonderful blessing so many democrats think it will. I know several people whose health insurance premiums have doubled since this shebang started, including my own.

[o0fefe0o]

Here in Texas, I still have friends convinced that there will be "death panels" (groups of people who decide who is worth treating or not) which is obviously a complete lie. Personally, I'm disappointed with the Affordable Care Act in that it doesn't do enough. I would love a more socialized healthcare system like the UK and Canada, but I am happy that the US has finally taken that first step in taking some of the profit being squeezed out of human lives. Just like all federal social programs, the transition period is going to be hectic, but I think that the general outcome will be one for the better. :)