“To those who’ve worried, suffered in silence, hoped, and lived in a state of fear: Welcome to a new state of health. Welcome to Covered California, the place to find quality, affordable coverage, financial help for those who need it, and no one can be denied because of a previous condition.”
So advertises a new television commercial for the state’s health insurance exchange, which formally launched on October 1. But while the debut of Covered California hasn’t been as disastrous as the Obama administration’s rollout of HeathCare.gov, the federally-run Obamacare health exchange, it has not been without failings of its own.
Indeed, on launch day, Covered California’s website stalled, with technical issues not unlike the “glitches” — to use President Obama’s description — that that have afflicted the federal government’s health insurance portal from the start.
Revisiting the Covered California website the day after its launch, the Sacramento Bee found that its technical issues remained unresolved.
“A click on the ‘start’ button leads to a page that takes several minutes to load,” the Bee reported. “When the page does load, it’s formatting appears to be faulty, and clicking through to the next step brings additional delays.” So a Bee reporter phoned Covered California’s customer support line, only to be greeted by a recording advising that the wait for service would be longer than 30 minutes.
Three weeks later, CoveredCa.com — the online “marketplace” where those worried, suffering in silence, and hoping for health insurance are supposed to be able to shop for a health plan that offers the benefits desire at the price they can afford — is still plagued with bugs.
Last weekend, the site was taken offline, Covered California officials said, to perform certain unspecified maintenance. And, just this past Wednesday, the website crashed on its own. Callers to Covered California customer support — those who managed to get through — were warned that the outage could last all day and all night.
Meanwhile, there are other major problems with the Covered California web site that deprive those shopping for health insurance of important information they need to make informed decisions.
SINCE 2010, OBAMA HAS KNOWN AMERICANS WON’T BE ABLE TO KEEP THEIR HEALTH PLANS UNDER OBAMACARE
The Obama Administration Has Known “For At Least Three Years” That Americans Who Like Their Health Insurance Won’t Be Able To Keep Their Plans Under ObamaCare. “President Obama repeatedly assured Americans that after the Affordable Care Act became law, people who liked their health insurance would be able to keep it. But millions of Americans are getting or are about to get cancellation letters for their health insurance under ObamaCare, say experts, and the Obama administration has known that for at least three years.” (Lisa Myers and Hannah Rappleye, “Obama Admin. Knew Millions Could Not Keep Their Health Insurance,” NBC News, 10/28/13)
NBC News Headline: “Obama Admin. Knew Millions Could Not Keep Their Health Insurance” (Lisa Myers and Hannah Rappleye, “Obama Admin. Knew Millions Could Not Keep Their Health Insurance,” NBC News, 10/28/13)
According To “Sources Deeply Involved In The Affordable Care Act,” 75 To 80 Percent Of Americans Who Buy Their Insurance Individually Can Expect To Receive A Cancellation Letter. “Four sources deeply involved in the Affordable Care Act tell NBC NEWS that 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. One expert predicts that number could reach as high as 80 percent. And all say that many of those forced to buy pricier new policies will experience ‘sticker shock.’” (Lisa Myers and Hannah Rappleye, “Obama Admin. Knew Millions Could Not Keep Their Health Insurance,” NBC News, 10/28/13)
“Buried In ObamaCare Regulations From July 2010” Is An Estimate That Found 40 To 67 Percent Of The Individual Insurance Market Will Not Be Able To Keep Their Plan.“Buried in ObamaCare regulations from July 2010 is an estimate that because of normal turnover in the individual insurance market, ‘40 to 67 percent’ of customers will not be able to keep their policy. And because many policies will have been changed since the key date, ‘the percentage of individual market policies losing grandfather status in a given year exceeds the 40 to 67 percent range.’” (Lisa Myers and Hannah Rappleye, “Obama Admin. Knew Millions Could Not Keep Their Health Insurance,” NBC News, 10/28/13)
“That Means The Administration Knew That More Than 40 To 67 Percent Of Those In The Individual Market Would Not Be Able To Keep Their Plans, Even If They Liked Them.” (Lisa Myers and Hannah Rappleye, “Obama Admin. Knew Millions Could Not Keep Their Health Insurance,” NBC News, 10/28/13)
After ObamaCare Was Signed Into Law, The Obama Administration Drafted Rules That Disqualified Certain “Grandfathered” Health Plans. “None of this should come as a shock to the Obama administration. The law states that policies in effect as of March 23, 2010 will be ‘grandfathered,’ meaning consumers can keep those policies even though they don’t meet requirements of the new health care law. But the Department of Health and Human Services then wrote regulations that narrowed that provision, by saying that if any part of a policy was significantly changed since that date — the deductible, co-pay, or benefits, for example — the policy would not be grandfathered.” (Lisa Myers and Hannah Rappleye, “Obama Admin. Knew Millions Could Not Keep Their Health Insurance,” NBC News, 10/28/13)
Yesterday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney Admitted “It’s True” That Some Americans Will Not Be Able To Keep Their Existing Individual Insurance Plans Due To ObamaCare. JAY CARNEY: “Well, let’s just be clear. What the President said and what everybody said all along is that there are going to be changes brought about by the Affordable Care Act that create minimum standards of coverage … So it’s true that there are existing health care plans on the individual market that don’t meet those minimum standards and therefore do not qualify for the Affordable Care Act.” (White House Press Briefing, 10/28/13)
OBAMA HAS REPEATEDLY PROMISED AMERICANS THEY CAN KEEP THEIR OWN INSURANCE
Since July 2010, Obama Has Assured Americans – Over And Over – ObamaCare Would Allow Them To Keep Their Own Insurance
During The First 2012 Presidential Debate, Obama Promised ObamaCare Would Not Mean A “Government Take Over” And Would Allow You To “Keep Your Own Insurance.” BARACK OBAMA: “And let me tell you exactly what ‘ObamaCare’ did. Number one, if you’ve got health insurance it doesn’t mean a government take over. You keep your own insurance. You keep your own doctor. But it does say insurance companies can’t jerk you around.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks At Presidential Debate, Denver, CO,
FOX NEWS INSIDER - Fireworks erupted between New Jersey Democrat Bill Pascrell and Arkansas Republican Tim Griffin during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the ObamaCare rollout.
Pascrell shouted, “What are you going to do about the approximately 17 million children with pre-existing conditions who can no longer be denied health insurance coverage? You want to go back? You want to say you are no longer covered?”
Griffin responded, saying, “It’s a false choice to say it’s ObamaCare or nothing.” He then pointed to a proposal that he co-sponsored dealing with pre-existing conditions.
Pascrell blasted back, “Are you serious?! […] After what we have gone through in the last three and a half years? You can sit there and say that you had a legitimate alternative?! We’ve gone through 44 votes, 48 votes now of you trying to dismantle this legislation.”
Voters are evenly divided when asked whether they agree more politically with President Obama or with the average member of the Tea Party. But an enormous partisan gap colors virtually all opinions of the Tea Party.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 42% of Likely U.S. Voters think the president’s views are closest to their own when it comes to the major issues facing the country. But just as many (42%) say their views come closest to those of the average Tea Party member instead. Sixteen percent (16%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Thirty-four percent (34%) now believe their personal views are closest to those of the average member of Congress when it comes to the major issues of the day. But slightly more (36%) say their views are closest to those of the average member of the Tea Party. A sizable 30%, however, are not sure.
Opposition by Tea Party Republicans to the president’s national health care law has been blamed for the recent government shutdown, and just 30% of voters now have a favorable opinion of the Tea Party. That’s back to the level seen in January and down from a high of 44% in May after it was disclosed that the Internal Revenue Service was targeting Tea Party and other conservative groups.
Fifty percent (50%) regard the small government grass roots movement unfavorably, while 19% are undecided.
But 32% feel the Tea Party has become more influential over the past year, up from 25% in late August before the shutdown began.Twenty-eight percent (28%) say the Tea Party is less influential now.
Thirty-three percent (33%) say the group’s influence is about the same.
One-in-three voters (34%) considers the Tea Party movement good for the county, but 43% describe it as bad for America. Thirteen percent (13%) say neither is the case. These findings have changed little since early January.
“To those who’ve worried, suffered in silence, hoped, and lived in a state of fear: Welcome to a new state of health. Welcome to Covered California, the place to find quality, affordable coverage, financial help for those who need it, and no one can be denied because of a previous condition.”
