Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Rolling over, lazily swatting a fly, returning to sleep

This is far too trivial a post with which to return to blogging on this blog. I have firm, fine intentions about once again putting up actual honest-to-YHWH substantive posts which merit reading, consideration, and commentary, commentary which exists at a higher intellectual level than simply pointing out that I should have said "that," not "which," in the front end of this sentence. However, the gap between intentions and actions is the fuel of all good drama, and it'd be churlish and gradgrindian to simply bridge it over so soon after introducing it. Let's all just take a moment to appreciate the gap. The gap abides.

But so anyway, in working on state health care reform, you look at what other states have done quite a lot, and there have been a few that've done pretty large-scale reforms lately. Among these is Vermont, which a couple years back set up a reasonably well-subsidized program to help lower-income folks get coverage. They unfortunately haven't had as many people enroll as they'd predicted, however. The conventional explanation for this is that the economy is bad, and uninsured people are getting squeezed in other ways so they still don't want to pick up insurance. I, however, have an alternate explanation:

The name of Vermont's program is Catamount Care.

If you are like me, you have no idea what a catamount is. Probably some region in Vermont? I dunno; see the first sentence of this paragraph.

However, if you are like me, you might know what a catamite is.

Maybe this is an implausible assertion, but given e.g. the U.K. examples of mobs going after registered paediatricians living in the neighbourhood, maybe it isn't. At any rate the association isn't pleasant: "We'll take care of you like you're the kept boy-toy of a sexual predator!", etc.

1 comment:

David McDougall said...

There is only one person who lives in Vermont and knows the definition of catamite but not what a Catamount is. I know him and he is not eligible for the program.

A catamount is a cougar, as Vermonters call it (in the same way a frappe is a milkshake in New England parlance). The catamount is the mascot of the University of Vermont.

Also, "mobs" seems a bit extreme, and implies multiple events. I have only heard of a single case of mistaken vandalism.