Merlin tweets:

@Gormogons Rx – Thoughts? http://t.co/XjAZ4spZ9v
— Merlin (@NKYAggie) October 30, 2013

Specifically, the great wizard is curious about Dr. J.’s thoughts regarding his latest post on Obamacare and insurance premiums.

Mr. Merlin’s post is spot on. Premiums are more expensive a the law now require all insurance plans to have a very high bar for minimum coverage.

You can’t have a burger and fries, you have to have to buy a three course meal. If you have a five course meal with white truffle and wagyu beef and wine pairings, there’s a hefty tax, but everyone HAS to have at least a three course meal. No soup and salad, a three course meal.

Because everyone now has to have a three course meal, the kitchen (which isn’t increasing its staff, but actually cutting a busboy and instead of a hostess, you seat yourself) is busier, and your wait for your food will be longer.

You pretty much nailed it, big guy.

But in addition to your musings, future prospects for fine young doctors to take care of us when we get older are in danger.

Eventually we’ll all be replaced with holograms…

Michael Lofti, a graduate of Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee wrote this polemic which has gotten some buzz. This young man planned on a career in medicine, but changed his mind after the passage of Obamacare. Dog bites man? Sure, but still a decent read. Reading between the lines, it sounds like he turned down a ROTC scholarship:

We studied medical legislation for an entire semester. It’s no secret that the federal government has over-burdened the healthcare market, which has manifested astronomical costs to consumers. However, in 2010, democrats forced through the partisan Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), which was later funded by both democrats and republicans. 

Since the passage of Obamacare everything has changed. When I started college I never intended to work for the government. I never thought I’d have a government bureaucrat dictate what I was worth to the market, and I certainly never imagined those same bureaucrats (who have absolutely no medical training) telling me how to treat my patients. 

…

Your legislation has caused countless doctors to go into retirement early, opt for cash-only practices, and has discouraged bright, young minds from entering the field. 

With student loans reaching $300k, incalculable opportunity costs and 8 years lost to school, students seeking medical degrees give their lives to the practice. Starting our careers at 30 while dictating to us how much money we can make is nothing short of destroying all incentive to enter the field. 

It’s only going to get worse unless it gets fixed.

Dr. J.