Twitter has helped the isolated feel like part of a community. And the wonky among us who can find humor in the minutiae of medical regulatory matters are no exception.
On a day when the rest of the comedy world was mourning the loss of television pioneer Sid Caesar, this group was sending out tweets with the hashtag #HealthPolicyValentines.
Along with journalists and bureaucrats, some folks with well-known names tried their hand at finding 140-character gold. Many may not have been worth repeating, but here are some that were:
“Your love is an essential health benefit in my state,” tweeted Dr. Seth Trueger.
Health policy grad student Adrianna McIntryre tweeted her sweetie, “I want you in my risk pool.”
Former CMS Center for Innovation official turned consultant Andrew Shin let his valentine know “All the employer mandate delays in the world could never delay my love for you.”
The American Medical Association tweeted (and AMA President-elect Dr. Robert Wah retweeted) this message of love: My dearest ICD-10 coder: Cupid has pierced my heart with his arrow (code W45.8XXA).
Tweeter Thomas Novak sent his valentine multiple messages, including, “Hey girl, you're like a model that rewards quality and performance” and “Two midnights isn't enough to spend together with you.”
CMS spokeswoman Emma Sandoe stated her case with the tweets “Let's make like Arkansas and do the private option” and “Medicaid and my love have no deadlines for enrollment.”
Rob Lazerow, practice manager at the Advisory Board, insured he'd be noticed by tweeting “Let's make this relationship exclusive and form the narrowest of networks” and “Maybe the next CMMI pilot will figure out how to bundle our love.”
PwC Partner Will Falk told his Valentine via twitter that “You are my pre-existing condition.”
The tenacity with which primary-care physicians are now using any platform to promote their specialty was reflected in Dr. Urmimala Sarkar's tweet: “My love for you endures over time and encompasses every aspect of you, like #primarycare.”
Dr. Atul Grover, chief public policy officer at the Association of American Medical Colleges, tweeted the Valentine message: “My love for you will always be longer than 2 Midnights. (Unlike that floozy @CMSGov )”
“If you like me, you can keep me,” tweeted law student and “policy junkie” Billy Freeland, while tweeter Sebastian Passanisi told his Valentine: “Breaking up with you is my 'never event,'” and cardiovascular researcher, epidemiologist and PhD candidate Misti Paude simply declared that “Our love is cost effective.”
But it was Austin Frakt, a Veterans Affairs Department health economist, who seemed to have the most fun. He tweeted several memorable #HealthPolicyValentines, including these:
“It's not that I have less love, just less love hours. Read the damn CBO report!”
“Roses are red, violets are bl ... {}\]{}..{!~ ... [834 transmission error].”
and
“Our love is on a sustainable growth rate.”
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. We're here all next week.
Follow Andis Robeznieks on Twitter: @MHARobeznieks
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