The Fishy Health-Care Logo

There's been some discussion about the health-care logo. Emails were sent to Congressman Tim Bishop and The White House today that asked what the symbols represent.

Graphic images convey subtle -- some might suggest "subliminal" -- messages that need explanation. The thirteen stars in the Betsy Ross Flag, for instance, represented the thirteen colonies.

One wonders what the three stars in the health-care logo represent. Could it be the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of our government? Could it stand for the Father, Son and Holy Ghost? Maybe the Taoist concept of Good Fortune (Fu), Prosperity (Lu), and Longevity! How about Larry, Moe and Curly? Mexico, the US and Canada? How about the military or hotel designations from 0 to five with three being mediocre? There's a purpose for those three stars.

And what's that circle with the three red stripes? The eye is immediately drawn to it. Does the circle stand for Obama or Oprah? Is it merely a container for the stripes that seem to want to wander out of sight? Reminds me of Mexico, the US and Canada or Communist China, Cuba and Venezuela. But, surely, there must be another meaning. Anyone want to offer a guess?

See those faint light rays emanating upward from the circle and stripes that cover the upper globe? Does that signify that the program will eventually cover the earth with the United States as the foundation for the more that 1 trillion dollars needed to kick off the project?

The people seem to be on the US map and also on a distant horizon symbolizing world-wide coverage in the program.

"ORGANIZING" is what the President did in Chicago, right? Who's doing the organizing now -- is it the Legislative or Executive branches or both? Judging from the 1,000 plus pages of the complex bill and people like Congressman Conyers who can't understand it, maybe someone else is working behind the scenes. Who will be revealed if Toto pulls the curtain aside -- another wizard?

Then there's the "HEALTH CARE". Notice the bold type: it seems to signify that the organizing is temporary and the result is permanent -- or "cast in stone". Three words are missing: accountability, affordability and evaluation. Who is responsible for this, how will it be paid for and how will we know if it works?


According to the bill approved by the House of Representatives on July 14, 2009, it looks like whatever funds were asked for, an additional $38,800,000,000 will be required between 2010 and 2019 for Community Health Centers (Subtitle H -Miscellaneous, Division c - Public Health and Workforce Development, Title I - Community Health Centers, Sec. 2101, Increased Funding). Who comes up with figures like these? Neither John Conyers, Nancy Pelosi or most Americans can dream up figures like these. Someone must have had too much Kool Aid when they developed this puzzle.

There's more. Near the end of the Bill in Part 3 -- Advisory Committee on Health Workforce Evaluation and Assessment - reports will be made to Congress by a 15 member Advisory Committee that will serve without pay under the Secretary and Assistant Secretary of Health. Of course, the members will receive travel expenses and a per diem. Will someone please pull the curtain aside and reveal the true costs of this part? Will someone please tell the American public how these 15 people who will volunteer their time will adequately evaluate a plan as complex as this?

Something's fishy with the logo and the plan. It's not too much to expect Congress and the President to explain what all this means.