It's Census Time - Great, More Paperwork to Send to the Feds

We’re three days into healthcare reform, but I still haven’t seen any changes in my practice. Guess I have to be patient, as opposed to the Feds who mailed me my 2010 census form that I received about a week ago. I received a letter, even before I received the census, reminding me to fill it out ASAP and return it. So after it sat on my coffee table for a week, I decided I’d take the few minutes to make them happy. Actually, I did it only after I received yet another mailing urging me to get to it, do it, send it back, or I might face some stiff penalties.

It was supposed to be easy to fill out, certainly much easier than FMLA paperwork. Don’t you docs just hate the question, “If the patient is not disabled now, when will they be and for how long?” So here was census question number one: “How many people were living or staying in this house, apartment, or mobile home on April 1, 2010?”

I searched all over for a due date but couldn’t find one. I mean, I had a week to go until April 1. How do I know what might happen? Maybe my daughters would suddenly become homeless and have to move in with me. Who knows what might happen before April 1? Maybe I wouldn’t make it until April 1 (and to think I gave them my phone number so they could ask ME questions about MY answers). I found some stats that there’s a birth about every seven seconds, a death every 14 seconds, and an immigrant every 30 seconds, for a net gain of one person about every 10 seconds in the US. So, if everyone filled out his or her census forms before Census Day, April 1, wouldn’t the 2010 Census be grossly incorrect? Shouldn’t we wait until AFTER April 1 to fill them out and send them in? April 1 is also April Fool’s Day.

Figures.