How to Protect Yourself From Obamacare

[Townsend]

My bet is that no matter how many Dems come on board with a delay, and no matter how close people get to being penalized for the inability to acquire insurance through the exchanges, President Obama won't agree, because that would have avoided the 16 day shutdown in the first place, and to agree to it now would make it appear that the Republicans were right.

Insurance companies won't go for it.  They ranged their premiums with the standing rules.  The dishes are done.

[Gaspar]

Insurance companies won't go for it.  They ranged their premiums with the standing rules.  The dishes are done.

Apparently they are having trouble receiving accurate applications from the exchanges and call centers, and their quotes are not reconciling with the calculators.  In some cases they are off by as much as $300.  BCBS has set up their own websites to offer quotes and circumvent the exchange in many states. Here is the site for Kansas www.bluekc.com.  The BCBS sites give accurate quotes and calculate the available subsidies accurately.   BCBS was able to throw these up in a matter of days to capitalize on frustrated shoppers.  Other insurance companies are doing the same, therefore making the exchanges obsolete before they even have a chance to be used.  

The downside for the government is that people are less likely to SHOP options, and the IRS loses the ability to track participant data on the front end. It also focuses more scrutiny on the half a billion dollar investment made on behalf of the american people to create a functional solution.

The downside for the megga-insurance companies participating in the exchanges, is that smaller companies not affiliated with the government sponsored monopolies will be able to more effectively market products that meet minimum requirements to help people avoid penalties.   In essence, the glitch is stimulating free-market solutions, and that could be devastating to Obamacare, and shed a poor light on the administration as a whole.

It seems that President Obama was right when he said Obamacare will create more competition!  

[Gaspar]

The deadline has been delayed. . .but only for political reasons.

The White House is delaying the deadline to buy health insurance by six weeks amid growing House Democratic concerns that the ObamaCare enrollment site's botched rollout will prevent them from winning the House in 2014.

Congressional Democrats believe they have a real opportunity to bump Republicans from power because of the government shutdown, which dealt a serious blow to GOP poll numbers.

Their momentum will disappear, they say, if problems persist with HealthCare.gov, the portal where millions of people were meant to purchase healthcare coverage.

Dysfunction at HealthCare.gov has "provided cannon fodder for the opposition," said Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

"The problems could have an effect if not clipped and clipped early," he said.

"We've been through 2010, so we know that this is not good," one high-ranking Democrat said, referring to the party's loss of House control three years ago after ObamaCare was signed into law.

The change of the requirement for when people must buy insurance could give the administration more time to fix some of the problems with HealthCare.gov.


Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/330293-obamacare-sign-up-delay-amid-dem-fears-of-midterm-backlash#ixzz2if5qeaPU

[nathanm]

BCBS was able to throw these up in a matter of days to capitalize on frustrated shoppers.  

No. BCBS had their exchange plan sites, including the subsidy estimation tool, up before October 1st. Well, I should say it was on bcbsok.com before the 1st. I looked because I was curious as to how their quoted rates compared to what HHS' database said they should be.

[Gaspar]

Democrats showing front cracks.  Why they didn't use that as a headline I will never know.
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/the-democratic-crackup-98832.html?hp=t1

The great Democratic unity of 2013 held for five-and-a-half days.
For weeks leading up to the shutdown — and over the 16 days it dragged on — President Barack Obama did the unthinkable: he held every Democrat in the House and Senate together. There weren't any defectors. There wasn't even anyone running to reporters to question his strategy. The man who'd disappointed them so many times was suddenly exciting them, with his newly apparent backbone and successful resistance to Republicans. They were rushing to do whatever they could to stand by him, next to him, with him.

That's led a growing number of people on the Hill to push the White House to change its current position that it can fix the problems with the website without changing the deadlines or time frame.
"I can't honestly say that we've tried our hardest to fix things," said Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who chose Bill O'Reilly's talk show as his venue to unveil a plan to delay the individual mandate penalty for a year. "You have to give me a reason I want to buy what you want to sell me. And until they get that in their minds, they're going to have a lot of headwinds, if you will."

[Gaspar]

No. BCBS had their exchange plan sites, including the subsidy estimation tool, up before October 1st. Well, I should say it was on bcbsok.com before the 1st. I looked because I was curious as to how their quoted rates compared to what HHS' database said they should be.

Now is your chance to make a difference.
https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/352656900

[Gaspar]

[Hoss]

I guess Gas has ODS - Obamacare Derangement Syndrome.

I've never seen anyone reply to his own posts with the frequency you do.  I think they have a word for that...

[sgrizzle]

Obama administration knew millions could not keep their health insurance
http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/29/21222195-obama-administration-knew-millions-could-not-keep-their-health-insurance?lite

50 to 75 percent of the 14 million consumers who buy their insurance individually can expect to receive a "cancellation" letter or the equivalent over the next year because their existing policies don't meet the standards mandated by the new health care law.

[Conan71]

Obama administration knew millions could not keep their health insurance
http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/29/21222195-obama-administration-knew-millions-could-not-keep-their-health-insurance?lite

As if we didn't know that at the time he made the promise.

[Hoss]

Obama administration knew millions could not keep their health insurance
http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/29/21222195-obama-administration-knew-millions-could-not-keep-their-health-insurance?lite

So did Faux News.  In 2010.  Sheesh.

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/10/29/fox-shocked-by-obamacare-facts-fox-reported-in/196647

[TulsaRufnex]

Watched the crazy chick from Tennessee act like this morning's hearing was a criminal trial and witch hunt... comedy of errors.

1.  When Republicans embrace "mandates" it's in the name of "personal responsibility" but when Democrats embrace it, it is an affront to freedom and personal liberty.

2.  Republicans are only concerned about the sorry state of the individual insurance market when it suits their political agenda to defend the freedom of individuals to "choose" CRAP INSURANCE plans that have always had very high churn rates among their customers -- so much so, that many people (like myself when I was younger) would "choose" to go uninsured rather than pay monthly for worthless insurance that effectively covered nothing-- and if you ever actually got sick and needed to be hospitalized, they could jack up your rates, AFTER you pay through the nose with a high deductible and stupidly high co-pays, of course...

3.  When Republicans talk about "choice" in the healthcare debate, they ignore the elephant in the room... most individuals have never had any REAL HONEST OPEN CHOICE in the health insurance "marketplace"-- employers have always made those choices for them-- and large employers get special deals not available to individuals.  So when individuals are "forced" to lose their current healthcare plans, it is primarily due to decisions made by their employer.  But, then again, corporations are people, isn't that right GOP?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/18/us/allure-of-self-insurance-draws-concern-over-costs.html?_r=0

http://www.freep.com/article/20131027/COL04/310270055/Obamacare-Republican-sabotage-Debbie-Stabenow

[Gaspar]

This was rather funny this morning and it came from CNN.  As madam Secretary was testifying that "The website has never crashed!", CNN split the screen and took viewers live to the website.



Come on people, they're not bugs, they're features!

[heironymouspasparagus]

This was rather funny this morning and it came from CNN.  As madam Secretary was testifying that "The website has never crashed!", CNN split the screen and took viewers live to the website.

Come on people, they're not bugs, they're features!

Yes, they are.  I bet it is Microsoft based SQL development...that's how they become features!

[Gaspar]

Gets better every day!
Turns out UnitedHealth Group owns QSSI, the company that built the Obamacare data hub, and has now been appointed the GC to fix the problem.

The EVP of UnitedHealth and QSSI is Anthony Welters. . .


You guessed it, top bundler for Obama, responsible for raising millions for his 2008 and 2012 runs, and spending even more in lobbying for Obamacare.  His wife Beatrice has also been listed as a donor and in return, President Obama appointed her as ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago.



Welters company was given $150 million taxpayer dollars to build the hub, and may make as much or more on the repairs to the website.

This thing makes it's own gravy!



Looks like the website is working perfectly!