Know how (nominally) “free market” conservatives are always saying America’s private healthcare system is better because Canadians have to wait for hip replacements? Vix ofThe Over-Educated Nympho indirectly points out what most serious health-care policy wonks know: ‘wingers keep bringing up the hip replacement example because that procedure is one of only a few where wait times here are shorter than wait times there.

I’m going to the gynecologist this morning.

I am pretending that I am so not completely nervous. Sure it’s been a very slow year as far as friendly visitors who’ve cum calling (always with a wrapped twinkie, of course), but there’s always that freak chance that there’s something wrong. I tried to go to the gyno four months ago but they told me my insurance only covered one exam a year. What the fuck? Dude, what if I’d had crotch rot? Would I have to wait until the year’s billing cycle was over to deal with a horrendous Itch situation?

She said it here.

Yeah, tackling general healthcare provision models is a bit outside my bailiwick but OEN expresses concern about barriers to the possible detection and treatment of socially transmittable diseases and that’s a concern of mine too. Also the other day I ran into a chain-store pharmacist who doesn’t receive health insurance benefits and I think that’s just so out of control I’m a little over-alert to the issue.