Want to know how pathetic the Republicans are when it comes to the Affordable Care Act? Their big "policy wonk" on "repeal and replace" is Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.
Never mind the fact that the GOP has been screaming "repeal," with no details on what would "replace," for four years now. (What's taking you guys so long? And why don't you get asked about that?) It is simply laughable that Jindal presumes to roll out an alleged ACA alternative when healthcare-wise, he presides over one of the most disastrous states in the union.
Here are just a few fun facts about the Pelican State:
Louisiana has record-setting high rates of poverty, low median income levels, and nearly one million people without health insurance. Yet Jindal refuses to accept free money from the federal government and expand Medicaid.
Louisiana has one of America's highest rates of cancer mortality, with approximately 160 people dying from the disease each week. If you're a Louisianan with cancer, you have a 30-percent-better chance of dying from it than many other Americans do.
America's Health Rankings dings Louisiana for its high infant-mortality rate and its 34.7 percent rate of adult obesity, a huge contributor to diabetes. Louisiana also is above the national norm in core measures such as smoking, binge drinking and disparity in health status.
Among other statistics, the Trust for America's Health reports that Louisiana has a 31.5 percent immunization gap among children age 19 to 35 months. And more than 38 percent of adults in Louisiana suffer from hypertension.
We cats could go on and on like this. But given the positive coverage that the Affordable Care Act is getting right now — and how tone-deaf Jindal and the Republicans have proven to be — we're wondering if this rollout will cause Bobby's silly wonk-for-President campaign to implode. It will — if journalists have the guts to ask him why, with so many of his constituents suffering and unhealthy, he has any credibility on the subject.
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