News broke yesterday that the Department of Health and Human Services hopes to enlist the NFL as a partner in expanding enrollment in health insurance plans through state exchanges.
There’s probably no better, more apt partner for Obamacare than the NFL, a league which is certainly familiar with health care:
- Despite an obvious injury, Redskins coach Mike Shanahan played quarterback Robert Griffin III through the second half of a playoff game last year. Shanahan’s goals were apparently two-fold: win the game, and try to recreate the most famous play by any Redskins quarterback.
- While other sports take a hard line against potentially dangerous performance enhancing drugs, the NFL slaps offenders on the wrist.
- Injured players are sometimes cut after signing a health waiver, absolving teams of medical responsibilities. On a recent installment of ESPN radio’s morning show, Mike Golic shared his experience of signing such a waiver before his release from the Dolphins.
- Players suffer a lifetime of pain and disability after their playing careers. Some are suing the league for ignoring the effects of concussions.
Will Obamacare offer a system that will take care of you the way the NFL takes care of its players? Kathleen Sebelius might want to re-think the optics of that partnership.
Jim Eltringham 