Bachmann gives me a headache

According to a story in today’s New York Times, “Representative Michele Bachmann suffers from migraine headaches so intense that she has sometimes sought emergency medical treatment, but the congresswoman said Tuesday that the condition would not preclude her from serving as president if elected.”

Well, GOP presidential hopeful Bachmann’s migraines might not “preclude her from serving as president” but they sure would preclude her from getting health insurance in the individual market.

Like 36 million other Americans with this pre-existing condition, today health insurance companies won’t write her individual coverage. So it’s a good thing that she has insurance through the Federal Employees Health Plan (subsidized by you and me). Of course, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, which Bachmann pledges to dismantle if she’s elected, come 2014 migraine patients will be eligible for insurance without being given higher rates due to the condition.

Bachmann also said yesterday that her migraines were “easily controlled with medication.”

Easily controlled but not inexpensively controlled. But again that’s no worry to Bachmann because she has very good health insurance through her employer. The rest of her fellow migrainers who can’t get insurance…well they just have to take a couple of Advil’s and stay in bed until the headaches go away.

If they can sleep, they can dream of 2014 when they will finally have access to insurance that will help them control their migraine pain and expenses. But if the dream includes a President Bachmann, the dream will be a nightmare that won’t go away.