The "Affordable" Care Act

[Pressing-On]

Forbes: Obamacare website troubles are meant to weed out healthy middle class

An HHS spokesperson recently told The Wall Street Journal that implementation of a feature enabling users with the option to preview premiums was delayed as a way to filter users.

“An HHS spokeswoman said the agency wanted to ensure that users were aware of their eligibility for subsidies that could help pay for coverage, before they started seeing the prices of policies,” wrote the publication.

The agency was worried that the spike in healthcare premiums under the new system would scare prospective buyers away, concluded Forbes writer Avik Roy.

The reasoning behind this, said Roy, was because Obamacare was not designed to help healthy people with average incomes.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/10/15/fo...#ixzz2hnmgezHe

[n david]

Bummercare is a dumpster fire. And the ridiculous thing is the obama admin lit it on fire on purpose, then threw gas on it for good measure.

From Forbes:

Obamacare's Website Is Crashing Because It Doesn't Want You To Know How Costly Its Plans Are

A growing consensus of IT experts, outside and inside the government, have figured out a principal reason why the website for Obamacare’s federally-sponsored insurance exchange is crashing. Healthcare.gov forces you to create an account and enter detailed personal information before you can start shopping. This, in turn, creates a massive traffic bottleneck, as the government verifies your information and decides whether or not you’re eligible for subsidies. HHS bureaucrats knew this would make the website run more slowly. But they were more afraid that letting people see the underlying cost of Obamacare’s insurance plans would scare people away.

“Healthcare.gov was initially going to include an option to browse before registering,” report Christopher Weaver and Louise Radnofsky in the Wall Street Journal. “But that tool was delayed, people familiar with the situation said.” Why was it delayed? “An HHS spokeswoman said the agency wanted to ensure that users were aware of their eligibility for subsidies that could help pay for coverage, before they started seeing the prices of policies.”

As you know if you’ve been following this space, Obamacare’s bevy of mandates, regulations, taxes, and fees drives up the cost of the insurance plans that are offered under the law’s public exchanges. A Manhattan Institute analysis I helped conduct found that, on average, the cheapest plan offered in a given state, under Obamacare, will be 99 percent more expensive for men, and 62 percent more expensive for women, than the cheapest plan offered under the old system. And those disparities are even wider for healthy people.

If 50 million people are uninsured today, mainly because insurance is too expensive, why is it better to make coverage even costlier? The answer is that Obamacare wasn’t designed to help healthy people with average incomes get health insurance. It was designed to force those people to pay more for coverage, in order to subsidize insurance for people with incomes near the poverty line, and those with chronic or costly medical conditions.

Source Link

[n david]

A person on another forum posted the transcript of a 40-minute "chat" with an Obamacare Navigator...

[08:32:10 am]: Thanks for contacting Health Insurance Marketplace Live Chat. Please wait while we connect you to someone who can help.

[08:32:13 am]: Please be patient while we're helping other people.

[08:32:19 am]: Welcome! You're now connected to Health Insurance Marketplace Live Chat. Thanks for contacting us. My name is Loretta. To protect your privacy, please don't provide any personal information, like Social Security Number, or any other sensitive medical or personal information.

[08:33:17 am]: X
Loretta, I've been trying every day for 2 weeks to sign up for health insurance. Finally I got my account created yesterday with all of my family's data entered. However, now your system says my identity can't be verified.
[08:33:27 am]: X
I sent a copy of my driver's license. Did you receive this?

[08:35:18 am]: Loretta
Because the Marketplace recently opened for the first time, we are processing a lot of new applications. But don't worry; we'll have your application processed in time for your coverage to start on January 1.

[08:37:31 am]: X
Is there a way I can at least look at the various plans/premiums?
[08:38:03 am]: X
How do I know that you received a copy of my driver's license? Is there no confirmation available?
[08:38:57 am]: X
Hello?

[08:39:21 am]: Loretta
Did you upload the information or did you mail it in.

[08:39:41 am]: X
I uploaded it.

[08:40:21 am]: Loretta
Did you receive an confirmation that the upload was successful?

[08:40:59 am]: X
Yes, but when I logged on today to see if my identity had been reviewed, the system is asking me to input all of my data again.
[08:41:25 am]: X
Does someone have to physically look at my driver's license to confirm my identity?

[08:43:13 am]: Loretta
Can you give me one minute while I research that information for you?

[08:43:23 am]: X
Sure. Thank you.

[08:50:24 am]: Loretta
Due to the nature of your question, I am going to refer your issue to an Advanced Resolution Center specialist, who will research it and call you back within two business days. Can you please provide me with a good contact number and the best time to reach you.

[08:51:44 am]: X
XXX-XXX-XXXX
[08:52:16 am]: X
Is there a way I can at least take a peek at the plans/prices, so that when we get all of the identity thing firmed up, I can sign up?

[08:57:08 am]: Loretta
You can go onto Healthcare.gov and review the quick answer tool. It may provide you with some of the answers to your questions.
[08:57:08 am]: Loretta
When is the best time to reach you by phone?

[08:57:36 am]: X
Any time - I will try to answer it. Do you have a call-back number in case I miss it?
[08:57:55 am]: X
Is there a way I could look at the plans/pricing while we wait for the identity issue to be cleared up?

[09:00:52 am]: Loretta
The easiest way to find out prices and coverage options for you and your family is to fill out a Marketplace application. By completing the application, you'll receive a personalized report that tells you all the options you qualify for, including private insurance plans and free or low-cost coverage through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, also known as CHIP. We can also tell you if you qualify for lower costs on your monthly premiums and out-of-pocket expenses like deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance. If you have your information ready, we can help you fill out the application by calling 1-800-318-2596

[09:02:13 am]: X
I did that already. The problem is, I can't look at the prices because my identity "cannot be verified." Why do you need to verify my identity in order for me to just look at the plans?
[09:03:41 am]: X
I can understand (perhaps) needing to verify my identity before coverage is bound, but why must it be verified for me to take a look around the store?
[09:04:20 am]: X
Do you have any idea when your specialist might be calling? Is there a call-back number in case I miss him/her?

[09:06:50 am]: Loretta
Due to the nature of your question, I am going to refer your issue to an Advanced Resolution Center specialist, who will research it and call you back within two business days. Can you please provide me with a good contact number and the best time to reach you.
[09:08:50 am]: Loretta
Within two business days and they need to know when is the best time to call you. When they attempt to contact you if you are unavailable they will leave a contact number for you to return their call.

[09:09:18 am]: X
ANY TIME.
[09:09:38 am]: X
Is there a way I can at least look at the plans/prices in the meantime?

[09:10:57 am]: Loretta
You can call 1-800-318-2596 and request to speak to someone regarding the prices and plans.

[09:11:17 am]: X
OK. Might I make a suggestion?

[09:11:13 am]: Loretta
Sure, we value all of our consumers opinions.

[09:11:55 am]: X
The title of this chat window is "Chat with someone who can help."
[09:12:19 am]: X
I have now spent 40 minutes of time trying to get the most basic of questions answered, and it wasn't answered.
[09:12:45 am]: X
I would suggest that "Chat with someone who can help" be changed to "Chat with someone who likely can't help."
[09:12:56 am]: X
Best wishes to you.

[09:14:31 am]: Loretta
Due to the nature of your question, I am going to refer your issue to an Advanced Resolution Center specialist, who will research it and call you back within two business days. Can you please provide me with a good contact number and the best time to reach you.

[Pressing-On]

Deacon, Have you seen this Obamacare parody? LOL!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVRTHmrYHlQ#t=72

[canam]

Try 12,000 dollar deductibles for families,no one will collect, stupid

[Pressing-On]

Obamacare Website Violates Licensing Agreement for Copyrighted Software
Company to pursue action against HHS for using copyrighted web scrript

The latest indication of the haphazard way in which Healthcare.gov was developed is the uncredited use of a copyrighted web script for a data function used by the site, a violation of the licensing agreement for the software.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/...re_763666.html