There is a very peculiar “delicacy” found in the northern parts of Sweden called surströmming which is sometimes called sour herring. Which is a euphemism for fermented herring, which is a euphemism for rotten fish. Herring are tossed in a can with a little yeast and, after a while in the dark, the gasses put out by the rotting fish turn the can into something more closely resembling a softball. Popping the seal on these babies creates recoil, both from the escaping gasses and from the punch-to-the-face odor. It is even more foul than you are thinking.
The Senate’s “Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017” is the surströmming of health care. It is a euphemism for rotten health care, taking the dead fish of the House AHCA bill, adding some McConnell yeast, and leaving it in the dark for a while. And, when cracked open today, I recoiled from its putrefaction.
The “Better Care Act” doesn’t simply roll back Obamacare, it makes life for the poor and disabled worse than before Obamacare. Much of the ALS community depends on Medicaid for equipment, nursing home care and medications, and all of these services will be more costly, even for people making less than $13,000 per year. Medicaid recipients will have to pay up to 16.7% of their income in premiums even before paying for services.
Let me be clear. I know people who will die faster if this rotten fish of a bill passes. If you support this bill, I will be happy to put you in touch with their families so you can tell them why.