2.5 million Americans have lost their individual medical insurance policies sinc

[Spider-Dan]

Again, Reuters has their opposition number higher than the poll cited by CBS (WaPo/ABC), so I'm not sure what the point is.  CBS claims it's a "spike" but provides no evidence to back that assertion.

[CF DolFan]

I saw this earlier in reference to price changes. It's an article in reference to a lady who Obama used as a success story. Obvioulsy it's turned into a nightmare or I wouldn't be posting it but it shows how much prices can fluctuate. In my experience for every Buddha story I hear or see there are many more of these from people who actually supported Obama.


7 hours ago
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/19/woman-cited-by-president-as-obamacare-success-story-frustrated-by-sign-up-process/?hpt=hp_t2

Woman cited by President as Obamacare success story frustrated by sign up process
Posted by
CNN Senior White House Correspondent Jim Acosta
Updated 1:20 a.m. ET, 11/19/2013 – This is updated from an earlier version, adding more details.

(CNN)– Washington state resident Jessica Sanford was bursting with pride when President Obama mentioned her story during a Rose Garden event on health care reform last month at the White House.

"Who wouldn't?" Sanford asks. "I'm a nobody really to have him mention my story."

Back in October, Sanford had written a letter to the White House to share her good news. The 48-year-old single mother of a teenage son diagnosed with ADHD had just purchased what she considered to be affordable insurance on the Washington state exchange.

"I was ecstatic. I couldn't wait to call the doctor for an appointment on January 2nd," Sanford told CNN about the feeling she had when she first enrolled.

Her heartfelt letter made it to the President's hands and then into his October 21 speech.

"'I was crying the other day when I signed up. So much stress lifted.'" Obama said, reading from Sanford's letter.

The president said Sanford's story was proof, despite the technical problems with the healthcare.gov website, that the Affordable Care Act was working.

"That's what the Affordable Care Act is all about. The point is, the essence of the law - the health insurance that's available to people - is working just fine," Obama said.

But then, after Obama mentioned her story, Sanford started having problems. Sanford said she received another letter informing her the Washington state health exchange had miscalculated her eligibility for a tax credit.

In other words, her monthly insurance bill had shot up from $198 a month (she had initially said $169 a month to the White House but she switched plans) to $280 a month for the same "gold" plan offered by the state exchange.

Sanford said she was frustrated with the state's error. But she decided to purchase the new plan and thought everything was fine.

It wasn't fine. Last week, Sanford received another letter from the Washington state exchange, stating there had been another problem, a "system error" that resulted in some "applicants to qualify for higher than allowed health insurance premium tax credits."

The letter said the state exchange was "disappointed to have discovered this issue" and apologized.

The result was a higher quote, which Sanford said was for $390 per month for a "silver" plan with a higher deductible. Still too expensive

A cheaper "bronze" plan, Sanford said, came in at $324 per month, but also with a high deductible - also not in her budget.

Then another letter from the state exchange with even worse news.

"Your household has been determined eligible for a Federal Tax Credit of $0.00 to help cover the cost of your monthly health insurance premium payments," the latest letter said.

"I had a good cry," Sanford said about her reaction to the latest news from the state.

As a self-employed court reporter, the new quote was simply out of her range.

"This is it. I'm not getting insurance," Sanford told CNN. "That's where it stands right now unless they fix it."

Sanford, an Obama supporter who voted for the president twice, is careful to say she blames the state of Washington's online marketplace for the mixed signals and not the White House.

She is sorry Obama mentioned her during the October 21 speech.

"I feel awful about it. I support (the Affordable Care Act)," Sanford said.

But the messy rollout in the other Washington, the nation's capital, was not far from her mind.

"What the hell? Why is it the same story as the federal government?" Sanford says in disgust with the Washington state exchange. "They didn't have it ready."

"They screwed up," she added.

Sanford reiterated her frustration in a post to the Washington HealthPlanFinder's Facebook page last Friday.

"Wow. You guys really screwed me over," Sanford wrote. "Now I have been priced out and will not be able to afford the plans you offer. But, I get to pay $95 and up for not having health insurance. I am so incredibly disappointed and saddened. You majorly screwed up."

In response, a HealthplanFinder posting tried to direct Sanford to a broker for help.

"Jessica, we are very sad and disappointed that the tax credit miscalculation affected you so heavily," the comment read, suggesting she try to find a new plan on the site. Sanford responded on Facebook the issue was affordability.

Bethany Frey, a spokeswoman for Washington HealthPlanFinder told CNN on Monday night, "I'm already looking into this with our client specialist team. I'll let you know what I hear."

[Dave Gray]

I just hope that both sides will work to honestly improve this, slowly and gradually.  I think that any attempt to throw it out and start over will be a huge step backward and likely set healthcare reform back 30 years.

[Spider-Dan]

Remember that chart I just posted?


By design, there's going to be ~9 million people who are paying more under the new system.  That's 9 million potential examples of outrage and disappointment, so these news stories will be around for as long as the media feels like reporting them.

But there's also going to be about 9 million people who get better coverage for a similar price, and about 42 million people who were uninsured (and/or uninsurable) who will now gain access to affordable healthcare.

As was said earlier, there's no law in the history of America that made everyone better off.  But making things better for 97% of Americans is a pretty good shot.

[pondwater]

I just hope that both sides will work to honestly improve this, slowly and gradually.  I think that any attempt to throw it out and start over will be a huge step backward and likely set healthcare reform back 30 years.

Working honestly would be it the upcoming supreme court case ruling that the ACA is unconstitutional over the issue of origination of a tax in the senate instead of the house. The whole reason why Obama and the democrats fought so hard to define it a penalty instead of a tax. Justice Roberts left the barn door wide open on the origination clause.

[Spider-Dan]

The bill did not originate in the Senate.  It originated in the House: H.R. 3590.

Furthermore, Field vs. Clark (1892) provides that if Congress says that a bill originates in a specific house of Congress (which is indicated, in this case, by H.R. 3590; i.e. the House of Representatives), the Court will not challenge that statement.  It is worth mentioning that many other bills have been created and passed the same way; of recent note is the 2008 TARP bill.

It is also worth mentioning that this line of argument (origination) was on the table when the SCOTUS originally ruled on Obamacare, and was rejected.  Not sure why Roberts is going to change his mind from last year to now, particularly since he's the one that made the tax argument.  Did he simply forget about the origination clause when he ruled it a tax?

[pondwater]

Obamacare may need a taxpayer bailout? DO WHAT? Why does this not surprise me.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101210207

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., along with a half-dozen other Republican senators, introduced the "ObamaCare Taxpayer Bailout Prevention Act" on Tuesday. It would strip a provision in the Affordable Care Act pertaining to so-called "risk corridors," which could allow the government to pay insurance companies to offset financial losses. "The idea that the federal government should be bailing out insurance companies in order to make ObamaCare work, that's not something a lot of people are aware of," Rubio told Fox News. "And I haven't taken a poll on it, but I guarantee you it would be hugely unpopular."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/11/20/senators-push-bill-to-prevent-insurance-industry-bailout-over-obamacare/

[Landshark]

^^^^^

2008 all over again? 

[Spider-Dan]

If insurance company costs come in over a certain threshold, the gov't will cut them a check.
If they come in under a certain threshold, they are required to cut the gov't a check.

So basically, the GOP can already start printing up two sets of flyers:  one that says "Obamacare is a government bailout of the insurance companies!" and another that says "Obamacare forces private companies to hand over money to the government if they make Too Much profit!"  Either way, you have your talking points ready to go.

For the record, I see no problem in bailouts if potential profits are also socialized (see: USPS).  The moral hazard of bailouts is privatized profit+socialized losses.  Socialized profits+socialized losses (or privatized profits+privatized losses) is 100% fine.

[masterfins]

The Federal Government's rollout of the website, etc has been horrendous, and probably will continue to be for months to come.  However, I think a lot of blame has to go to the individual states that refused to setup their own exchanges, they have failed the residents of their states.  The states that embraced the law from the beginning and setup their own exchanges are doing fairly well.  I'm from NY and I don't hear any of the complaints that you have been hearing from around the country.  From what I hear rates have fallen or stabilized this year, and some lower income individuals are seeing greatly reduced premiums when taking into account the tax credit.

[Spider-Dan]

Funny how all of the adminstrations and legislatures that DIDN'T set up exchanges are also the same ones that espouse the importance of the 10th amendment, how states are better at making solutions targeted to their own particular needs, etc.

I wonder why they decided to let the federal government do this for them?

[pondwater]

DC insurance commissioner fired a day after criticizing Obamacare steps
By Kristen Welker and Ali Weinberg, NBC News

Washington, D.C.'s insurance commissioner confirmed Sunday that he was fired after questioning President Barack Obama's proposed fixes to his troubled health-care law.

William White told NBC News that Mayor Vincent Gray's office didn't explicitly link his dismissal to his comments. But he strongly suggested it wasn't a coincidence.

"Anyone who looks at this can draw their own conclusions. My statement came out on Thursday, and by Friday at 4:15 I was out," he said.

[pondwater]

Obamacare

- written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it.
- passed by a Senate that hasn't read it, but exempts themselves from it.
- signed by a President who also hasn't read it, and smokes.
- administered by a Treasury Chief who didn't pay his taxes.
- overseen by a Surgeon General who is obese.
- and financed by a country that's broke.

All facts.

What could possibly go wrong?