Coincidence, I'm Sure

If at first you don't succeed in repealing, delaying or defunding the ACA, why not have a go at making it inaccessible? Seems like we've seen this movie before, only it featured schools, prisons, unions, turnpikes,………voting booths.

"……… Healthcare.gov – the federal site that's gotten the most attention, and had the most problems – wasn't even supposed to be the main portal into buying coverage. The overloading of that site is due almost entirely to the intransigence of Republican state legislators who punted on the development of their own exchanges.

Reporters who giddily write up their personal trials in signing up on Healthcare.gov are representative in one very real way: most of the other people visiting Healthcare.gov are also not seriously in the market for health insurance. A Pew poll found that only 29% of the visitors to the federal portal were actually uninsured, and only 32% were in fact shopping for coverage."

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/23/obamacare-website-glitches-not-iraq-war

"The Obama administration bears the ultimate blame for the faulty rollout. However, the concerted effort of Republican governors to sabotage Obamacare must be considered the genesis. The expectation was that each state would run their exchanges. When most Republican governors whose states were capable, neglected their duties, additional burdens were placed on the design of healthcare.gov."

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/10/24/healthcare-gov-glitchy-launch/

Battling The Spin Zone

Getting tired of of friends and relatives...especially those of Republican persuasion....whine that "they have not heard anything about Obamacare" and all they spout is FOX talking points? Or maybe Rush Limbaugh who touted the other day that NO ONE even called BC/BS in California on the exchange. They just know it's going to ruin this country and lead us to socialism......just like Social Security and Medicare, am I right?

Here is a primer to help, but getting them to accept it won't be easy. Nothing is free, as they claim. There are no "death panels." Everyone has "skin in the game." And you're not denied healthcare services according to your political party.

 THE EDITOR: Cutting through the confusion 

• OVERVIEW: Finding your way through the Health Insurance Marketplace
• CLEARING IT UP: Top 10 myths on the federal health law
• ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS: The Fact Squad responds
• WHO IS THE FACT SQUAD?: Meet the panel of experts
• CLARK HOWARD: What consumers can expect with Affordable Care Act
• PROTECTING YOURSELF: How to shield yourselves from ACA-related scam
• DIFFERENCES BY GROUP: Health care changes impact ages differently
• WATCHING YOUR HEALTH: Preventative health plays big role in reforms
• GLOSSARY: ABCs of the Affordable Care Act: a glossary for consumers
• 
  

Even more information is available, such as...

• Q: How can small business owners enroll in the exchange?
• Q: How do I know if I qualify for the exchange?
• Q: Can I buy health insurance on the exchange if I already have insurance through an employer?
• Q: How do I sign up?
• Q: How much will I have to spend to buy coverage on the exchange?
• Q: What kind of coverage options can I expect to find on the exchange?
• Q: Will I be eligible for any other cost savings on the exchange?
• Q: As a small business owner, will I be eligible for a subsidy if I buy insurance for my employees on the exchange?
• Q: Does the exchange have a Spanish-language version?
• Q: What if my income is too low to qualify for the exchange?
• 
  
• http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/data/news/affordable-care-act/
• 
  

There is a ton of information on this site (it is for Ohio, but the stats remain the same.) Print the whole thing out and pass it around if you need to. Some 15 per cent  of Americans do NOT use computers. Some folks will not like it no matter what you say....but there is NO excuse for being ignorant of the facts.

UPDATE:
Now even the Romney gang has something to say about it: 

FEHRNSTROM: The governor believes that what we put in place in Massachusetts was a penalty and he disagrees with the court's ruling that the mandate was a tax.

TODD: But he agrees with the president that it is not -- and he believes that you should not call the tax penalty a tax, you should call it a penalty or a fee or a fine.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/02/eric-fehrnstrom-mitt-romney-individual-mandate-tax_n_1642951.html

Or more succinctly: 
The mandate functions in much the same way. It arises from Congress' ability to tax, but is not in and of itself a tax.

Daggone That Obamacare

Sometimes it takes everything you've got to push the facts out there. We all know the Repubs are like a well-oiled machine in spewing half-truths and misinformation. And some are more successful than others...

"Pay For Your Own Birth Control....

vasectomies, eye surgeries, maternity care, flu shots, hernia operations, emergency room visits, knee surgeries, back surgeries, pediatric visits, tonsillectomies, torn ACL treatments, broken bones, allergy treatments, mental health visits, carpal tunnel surgery, Viagra, antibiotics, Cialis, Lyrica, Lipitor, Restasis, Vesicare.......anything advertised on television "you should ask your doctor about." After all, I have NO USE for these particular healthcare services, therefore I am under no social, moral, or "religious" obligation to pay any of MY hard-earned money to provide them for YOU. "

If you've heard as much of that lately as I have, you are about ready to scream!

What has happened to us as a compassionate, caring, understanding, sensible country? When has it become acceptable to demean and humiliate on national television or radio, a private citizen/student simply stating her views on a highly debated "political subject"........one that is being thrown about simply to stir the pot anyway? And THEN to keep on with this same denigrating tone for three days, just to get ratings I assume. When did it become OK for MEN, usually of the old white variety, to make decisions on a personal female reproductive matter, since this matter is NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS, and settled years before anyway?

"Let everybody pay for their own healthcare needs or wants" seems to be the mantra these days. That's the ONE thing the Right seems to agree on as a "freedom" for everybody else. Sounds good in theory to them. EXCEPT for the fact that being in an insurance pool, whether through an employer or HEALTHCARE EXCHANGE brings the cost down for EVERYBODY. (I'm sure the insurance companies, drug companies, medical facilities, and third party administrators aren't happily anticipating this either.) If those with good comprehensive insurance had any idea of what the services for THEMSELVES really cost, they couldn't probably afford it either! NOBODY will TOTALLY pay for another's insurance....everyone will pay according to their ability/need...but by spreading the anticipated costs among a larger number of people, the costs are easier for everyone to bear. Especially if those before-mentioned companies have to play by the rules set up for them in the market place. (Well, hopefully, better than Wall Street.)

But back to the fake "religious controversy" being played out today...it's simply one more example of the Extreme Right's rhetoric that alienates one more of group......a very LARGE  group.....of today's voters. (But it does bother me that no Republican women have voiced any opinion on this...) The talking-in-circles about such matters tells me that the GOP has NO clue what they are doing, and really do not care what we think, either. It's all lies and bluster, a puffing of chests, finger pointing, behind the scenes maneuvering, and one-up-man-ship to practice for the BIG DAY: the presidential campaign this fall......when they can "get that guy out of OUR White House."
 UPDATE: In addition, the Republican party’s increasingly hostile stance towards contraception and women’s health drew a response from the National Federation of Republican Women, who urged Republicans to move the debate back into a “legitimate discussion” and reaffirmed, “The NFRW is not opposed to contraception.”

So, until then......plug your ears, take your BP meds, and make friends with the manager of your neighborhood wine and spirits store.