"Then who does benefit?" asked the Rabbit.
"Well, this bill is being promoted by the Women's Foundation of California and the Tara Health Foundation. And even they say it would cost $14 million, money that should be used for education, tuition relief, work-study programs, etc. And--" She paused.
"And--?" said the Rabbit and the Hatter.
"Well, there's an anonymous donor that's provided tens of millions of dollars for this initiative and the bill."
"Very good, my dear," said the Hatter. "And who is the donor?"
Alice sighed. "I tried, but I haven't found out yet. But I see a few possible beneficiaries. One, a large scale healthcare organization which wants to move into college health. Imagine adding a million relatively healthy lives in your HMO or health plan. Sure helps your profit margin. Even though student fees would go up by at least a power of ten. They can market not only one of their 'see your doctor for 3 minutes' treadmill outpatient clinics, but offer after hours call and ER care. But again, students will lose, because college health is the best bargain in town, and gives students the attention and time they need. On the other hand, maybe the Universities don't want to pay for health services anymore and would welcome off-loading that function to a corporation."
"Or," encouraged the Hatter. "You have another idea?"
"Yes. Why would someone donate anonymously to this initiative?
"To avoid having protesters on their back?" Rabbit suggested.
"Very possibly. But the Women's Foundation wants this to be a national movement and has actually said that California leads the way for the rest of the country. But instead of partnering with Planned Parenthood or other providers active in this field across the US, they are aiming for a weak target, without the resources to implement or resist this specialty care. So I thought up a conspiracy scenario, Hatter, in your honor."
The Mad Hatter beamed.
"What if a female candidate for the presidency and her team decided to support a visible ostensibly pro-women movement--"
"Me, too?" the Rabbit jumped in.
"Well, beyond that," continued Alice. "She gets her foundation to provide an anonymous donation. Then, if the bill is shoved through, she comes out of the clos--the donor closet, and takes credit for launching a national movement on behalf of women. She looks like a progressive, plays to youth and diversity, stands up to the Christianist Taliban, and rolls her way into the 2020 nomination. See?" Alice gave them a self-satisfied smile.
"I don't know," the Hatter finally responded. "Nice try, but that sounds a bit too over the top--even for me."
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
