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Subscribe to RSSApplying for benefits under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul could be as daunting as doing your taxes.
The government's draft application runs 15 pages for a three-person family. An outline of the online version has 21 steps, some with additional questions.
Seven months before the Oct. 1 start of enrollment season for millions of uninsured Americans, the idea that getting health insurance could be as easy as shopping online at Amazon or Travelocity is starting to look like wishful thinking.
At least three major federal agencies, including the IRS, will scrutinize your application. Checking your identity, income and citizenship is supposed to happen in real time, if you apply online.
That's just the first part of the process, which lets you know if you qualify for financial help. The government asks to see what you're making because Obama's Affordable Care Act is means-tested, with lower-income people getting the most generous help to pay premiums.
Once you're finished with the money part, actually picking a health plan will require additional steps, plus a basic understanding of insurance jargon.
And it's a mandate, not a suggestion. The law says virtually all Americans must carry health insurance starting next year, although most will just keep the coverage they now have through their jobs, Medicare or Medicaid.
Some are concerned that a lot of uninsured people will be overwhelmed and simply give up.
"This lengthy draft application will take a considerable amount of time to fill out and will be difficult for many people to be able to complete," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, an advocacy group supporting the health care law. "It does not get you to the selection of a plan."
"When you combine those two processes, it is enormously time consuming and complex," added Pollack. He's calling for the government to simplify the form and, more important, for an army of counselors to help uninsured people navigate the new system. It's unclear who would pay for these navigators.
Drafts of the paper application and a 60-page description of the online version were quietly posted online by the Health and Human Services Department, seeking feedback from industry and consumer groups. Those materials, along with a recent HHS presentation to insurers, run counter to the vision of simplicity promoted by administration officials.
"We are not just signing up for a dating service here," said Sam Karp, a vice president of the California HealthCare Foundation, who nonetheless gives the administration high marks for distilling it all into a workable form. Karp was part of an independent group that separately designed a model application.
The government estimates its online application will take a half hour to complete, on average. If you need a break, or have to gather supporting documents, you can save your work and come back later. The paper application is estimated to take an average of 45 minutes.
The new coverage starts next Jan. 1. Uninsured people will apply through new state-based markets, also called exchanges.
Middle-class people will be eligible for tax credits to help pay for private insurance plans, while low-income people will be steered to safety-net programs like Medicaid.
Because of opposition to the health care law in some states, the federal government will run the new insurance markets in about half the states. And states that reject the law's Medicaid expansion will be left with large numbers of poor people uninsured.
HHS estimates it will receive more than 4.3 million applications for financial assistance in 2014, with online applications accounting for about 80 percent of them. Because families can apply together, the government estimates 16 million people will be served.
Here are some pros and cons on how the system is shaping up:
— Pro: If you apply online, you're supposed to be able to get near-instantaneous verification of your identity, income, and citizenship or immigration status. An online government clearinghouse called the Data Services Hub will ping Social Security for birth records, IRS for income data and Homeland Security for immigration status. "That is a brand new thing in the world," said Karp.
— Con: If your household income has changed in the past year or so and you want help paying your premiums, be prepared to do some extra work. You're applying for help based on your expected income in 2014. But the latest tax return the IRS would have is for 2012. If you landed a better-paying job, got laid off, or your spouse went back to work, you'll have to provide added documentation.
— Pro: Even with all the complexity, the new system could still end up being simpler than what some people go through now to buy their own insurance. You won't have to fill out a medical questionnaire, although you do have to answer whether you have a disability. Even if you are disabled, you can still get coverage for the same premium a healthy person of your age would pay.
—Con: If anyone in your household is offered health insurance on the job but does not take it, be prepared for some particularly head-scratching questions. For example: "What's the name of the lowest cost self-only health plan the employee listed above could enroll in at this job?"
HHS spokeswoman Erin Shields Britt said in a statement the application is a work in progress, "being refined thanks to public input."
It will "help people make apples-to-apples comparisons of costs and coverage between health insurance plans and learn whether they can get a break in costs," she added.
But what if you just want to buy health insurance in your state's exchange, and you're not interested in getting any help from the government?
You'll still have to fill out an application, but it will be shorter.
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"Applying for Obama Plan Not Easy"...this is news?...the ACA is a train wreck in the making...this is just the beginning of the outrageous consequences of this bad law.
Obama's "shock and hah!"
Free health care is not going to be all that free. Wait and see how the government is going to pry into your private lives.
This just in ......paying for the "Obama Plan" also not easy ....
Yep, SEIU service workers at a medical facility in Washington State must be feeling the "shock" since they went on the picket line over the RISING COSTS OF OBAMACARE:
Wait a minute....all Trumpka had to do was to go through the White House Oval Office revolving door and get a "WAIVER" for these folks. Nah, Trumpka is in cloak mode and another SEIU group is thrown under the bus.
I would have voted for the Republican plan... if they had one.
If only they required this same attention for detail for food stamps & welfare !
Dennis.....they do have one....it's called pay for yourself...
Yes, let's just go back to the health industry's death panels, 15% year-over-year premium increases, and a million medical bankruptcies - of people who actually DID have insurance and made the mistake of falling ill.
People who now crawl out of the woodwork to complain about this being "bad law" are disgusting. Where were they when the law was being written and the insurance industry was lobbying to make it a 'bad law'. Why didn't they speak up then? All we could get out of them then was "let people die, health care is not a right."
So where's feisty, pigotry and their merry band of liberals when these stories surface? Yep, ignore the awful truth of what your party of spending & entitlements is bringing forth on us all
This is just the beginning of a looooong, sloooooow, train wreck. It will be repealed out of neccessity at some point once people see what a complete cluster it is
Byron lets just go right to the heart of the matter I would guess you are middle class but are you one of the 7 million middle class people the Democrats have targeted to pay the tax for the priviledge of getting ACA remember SCOTUS ruled it constitutional only by calling it a tax and now any shortfalls and the democrats will just stick a tax on it but I must be wrong democtrats never ever tax the middle class
And so it begins. Let me show you my surprised/shocked face. Why should we expect anything less from a government program, that includes everything including the kitchen sink, but yet manages to omit 34 million people from the ACA health care plan. The entire Obamacare fiasco comprises a pile of paper 7 feet high! Thats right, 7 feet of rules, regulations, restrictions, all written in legalese that no one, including those who (witch) crafted it (Nancy Pelousy) would ever be able to interpret into plain English. OH and did I mention it does nothing to control costs.
Yeah, but Obamacare lets me pay for my SON too. As long as you guys say you want to take that away again, I'll vote against you.
IF the bustards had done SINGLE PAYER right from the START, we wouldn't be having this feces flinging contest...
I am waiting for all the liberal stalwarts on this forum to try and blame the complexity on the Republicans. OH that's right, they can't because the Democrats went behind closed doors and wrote this train wreck of a law by themselves, refusing input from the Republicans. You want to blame someone for what lobbyists did to this law, blame the Democrats who let the lobbyists in the door. The Democrats had a super majority in both houses so they were able to pass this piece of garbage without any Republican votes. By the time it is all over with this law, coupled with the premium increases it is driving for those who do have health insurance, is going to result in fewer people who can afford health insurance, not more. Because of the change that insurance companies have to take people with pre-existing conditions and can not charge them more, everyone is going to see their premiums go up considerably. This is going to result in far fewer people being able to afford insurance. Even with the gov't subsidies being offered, many people will still not be able to afford insurance under Obamacare.
Dennis: I would have voted for the Republican plan... if they had one.
I wasn't aware there was a vote to be had, not one for the public anyway. Are you saying that any plan is a good one?
Dennis, you can pay for your childrens premiums all you like. They can be on your plan until they are I think the age is about 26 which at that time they should be out of school at a job and then he can pay for his own insurance.
Um, none of the stuff described in the article sounds particularly time consuming or difficult.
The IRS checks your income? Wow, it's just like a FAFSA.
You have to take time to review and choose a health plan, and be moderately familiar with insurance jargon? Wow, it's just like choosing ANY health plan offered by an employer.
So you have to fill out a 15 page form in order to get federal aid help in purchasing health insurance? OMG, what is the world coming to, one might actually have to spend an hour, A WHOLE HOUR, going through the form and actually THINKING about some things in the process.
/gasp
{if there is a way to streamline the forms, I'm all for it. Who wouldn't be, but they open this article with "it might be as difficult as filing your taxes." Dude, filing your freaking taxes is RIDICULOUSLY EASY outside of strange investment stuff. Filling out a 1040 with your W2 takes like 30 minutes tops.}
or go to the emergency room and skip the bill, thereby passing that cost onto OTHER consumers increasing THEIR healthcare premiums.
Which is, of course, exactly what was/is happening in the absence of Obamacare...
Actually, Dennis you are wrong. It makes us pay for your son.
no it doesn't. Last I checked, a "family plan" carries a higher premium than a "individual plan."
So the complaint is that it might take 30-45 minutes to fill out a form? Really? You're getting health insurance. And possibly extra money to help pay for it. Suck it up and spend a few minutes away from the TV and focus on something for longer than 3 minutes. Is this really what this country has come to?
Means-testing - GOOD
Proof of citizenship - GOOD
Proof of Identity - GOOD
More people with insurance means less people getting medical care on everyone else's dime. And maybe even a healthier nation. I still fail to see what the big problem is.
First off, it used to be 24. Obamacare makes it 26. And it used to be that beyond 18 they had to be in school. Mine is not. Because of Obamacare, he now has insurance on my plan for the next couple of years. better than nothing. Much better.
I don't see your check to help me with my increased premiums. How does my having the right to pay extra to have my son covered under MY plan cost anyone but ME?
Oregon is ready. We are having a volunteer push now to enroll our state's heroin addicts in the new health plan which is really Medicaid. There is an estimated 15 to 20 thousand heroin addicts in our state. This will be the first time a lot of them ever had health insurance. The thinking here is if they have good insurance they might want to get off the heroin or other drugs.
Another bright spot is for our METH addicts in Oregon. Under the new insurance plan they will be eligible for two free dental cleanings each year. That will go a long way in making them feel human.
http://www.katu.com/living/health/Novick-backs-needle-exchange-as-path-to-new-Medicaid-patients-197128301.html
...Those facts carry large implications. The faster Oregon’s Medicaid system expands and the more new patients come into the system, the more pressure gets put on the state to do it right and prove that Oregon health care providers can deliver more efficient care without sacrificing quality. The pressure builds further if a significant number of those new patients are inherently challenging and expensive, as IV drug users often are.
In fact, one of the biggest priorities for the 15 Coordinated Care Organizations across Oregon that are scrambling to prepare for 2014 is something called “hot-spotting:” identifying the individual patients who use up the most health care resources, and trying to work with them to improve their health without relying on emergency room visits and other costly events.
Novick knows about this subject as well. He is thinking of trying something similar to “hot-spotting” to bring down health insurance costs for city employees. It’s an approach that has worked with casino workers in New Jersey and is being implemented with transit drivers in Lane County.
After listening to Outside In’s leadership and offering his own suggestions, Novick walked over to meet Haven Wheelock, the staffer who runs the needle exchange program. He didn’t just ask her about the program; he asked her what she thought about the War on Drugs in general and the funding for the Police Bureau’s Drugs and Vice division in particular.
Offered a platform to speak on a subject dear to her heart in the presence of a City Commissioner, two journalists and her bosses, Wheelock took it.
She described the War on Drugs as “racist” and “wasteful” and lamented, “We waste a lot of money fighting the War on Drugs when we could be spending money on treatment.”
Drowning and Boscoe,
Good to hear that things are perfect with the implementation so far. I expect things to continue to run precisely on schedule right up to the part where we reduce the deficit by exactly $100 billion dollars that Obamacare has promised. This is all going to be be much more enjoyable than going on vacation. Hip-hip hooray!! LOLLOLOLOLOL
Obamacare is going to be the "law to nowhere". Just another mucked up entitlement program that is broken before it starts. What a joke.
Dennis, shouldn't you be asking why your 24-26 year old son doesn't have his own method of supporting himself along with an employer provided healthcare plan instead of being reliant on his parents?
Why hasn't your beloved president ensured all the graduating students have jobs?
And if he's still in college, just about every single one has a health insurance plan that they can easily get and pay for with a fraction of what they earn if they even only work 20 hours a week on minimum wage campus jobs.
Voter,
I thought Obama did promise all graduating students a job???? After all, he promised everything to everybody else with the exception of the evil "millionaires and billionaires". Oops!! Correction--if you fell into the "millionaire and billionaire (you know, all of those that make over $250K per year)" category you were promised to be demoggauoged. That is one promise (probably the only one) that he did keep.
LOL
This is for all the Obama and ACA haters: The healthcare system in the US has been broken for the last 20+ years. My ins. premiums were $1k/mo with a $2k deductible that I couldn't afford and the GOP plan was to give a voucher out?
This may come as a surprise to you but you are already paying for all the people without ins. (with outrageous premiums and medical costs).
The ACA may not be perfect but it is a BIG step in the right direction. Improving the care and reducing the costs is the goal. The GOP has nothing.
Nobody said the goal was wrong, but I think we all know what is going to (well already are) happen to costs. Obamacare is the wrong way to do it and the American people know it. That is why it is so brutally un-popular and the majority of Americans do not support it.
This is a train wreck in the making folks. Anything that has to describe itself in a literal seven foot pile of documents is destined for failure.
Byron, you are really expecting too much from this.
The ACA does nothing to regulate the insurance industry prior authorization process which makes up the insurance industry death panels
Medical bankruptcies will continue as they have under RomneyCare in MA. Health insurance and healthcare are completely different things. On some of theses plans the combination of premiums, deductibles and co-pays will still be unaffordable to many people.
Because after his stint in the Army, he returned without any skills that can be directly translated into civilian life. So he works two part time jobs to pay his bills.
Because your beloved Republicans won't pass a jobs bill, insisting on more government layoffs instead. They won't get off the idea that by cutting more government jobs, they can stimulate the economy. Create more demand by creating more unemployed people. Stimulating the economy by furloghing massive numbers of people, reducing their incomes so they will spend more. It all makes perfect sense, right?
Dennis,
If what you said were going to be one of the results of the bipartisan sequester, then you would have a valid point.
However, those were Obama's talking points two weeks ago when clearly he scared the crap out of you with a bunch of lies. That is, none of what you described is going to happen.
Boehner and McConnel waxed the floor with him on the Sequester.
BTW, the Repubs will pass a jobs bill. They just won't pass Obama's job bill. You have clearly converted to Obama thinking as in his mind a person is an obstructionist if they do not to what he says. Having a difference of opinion with that guy might put you on the drone list....
Geez-grow up.
No disrespect, Dennis-
If your son cannot find a fulltime job after serving his country because his skillsets cannot be directly transferred to civilian life is a crock of @!$%#. He isn't trying hard enough. EVERY job that the U.S. Military offers has direct and indirect applications in civilian life. If he so chooses NOT TO take those jobs, that's on him.
You can't put it all on the Republicans. POTUS Barry was able to get an $800 billion stimulus bill passed that he signed into law that was supposed to get America back to work. Instead, it raised the deficit and unemployment was continuously at 8% for four years.
You were saying?
:-/
Ouch
The fact that the sequester will lead to people losing work is not in dispute. Since we have the sequester, you can watch it unfold yourself. No need to argue when the facts are in front of you.
The stimulas helped stop the fall, but if you only take your bullet points from the right, you will never accept that without it, the US would have been in much worse shape. So no point in aruing that one.
As for my son, it seems as though his limited skillset does have real world applications, however there are a great number of better qualified former Army people already taking those jobs.
I spent 10 years in the Navy, practicing the launch of nuclear weapons. Working with 1960's era computers. After 10 years in the Navy there were about 6 jobs in the US I was qualified for from my work directly. So don't get to uppity about how you think the services train people. Every job I have had since the Navy had more to do with my hobby (software development) than it did my Navy job (launching nuclear weapons).
And as for the Sequester, I am actually relieved it is here. We did need some cuts, and because Congress failed to come up with anything better, at least we got some. Yes, they could have done a better job. But again, they did NOT. So we got what we got. And now Republicansw are screaming that the President is making them worse than they need to be. I call bull. They are mandated accross the board cuts to everything. They were designed to hurt. You shouldn't be suprised when they do. Maybe next time we can do a better job.
Dennis-
I served in the Air Force doing some special stuff and after ten years I said thanks for the memories. I am now a defense contractor performing a multitude of different activities in direct support and sometimes indirect support of the U.S. Military or some OGAs for these past 12 years.
Even as a key turner you were able to locate a job. I would argue that as anal as a key turner had to be you can locate a job that requires that finite amount of instruction. They perhaps are not going to be in the most cush of locations. Sometimes you have to relocate to get that job. Instead of opting for that type of job, YOU CHOSE to go with your hobby instead.
As for your son who served in the Army, I cannot think of any job they have that would prevent your son from getting a job as a civilian...I still call bull@!$%# on that. What was it that he did while serving?
You forget, the sequestor was POTUS Barry's idea in the first place. The sequestor took place because on 31 December 2012, POTUS and Congress made an 11th hour drug deal that gave him his tax increase if after two months later to defer said sequestration. Since POTUS did not come up with a plan to make smart choiced budget cuts (part of the drug deal) then he was forced to commit to the Sequestration he originally signed off on previous before December...This could have all been fixed if POTUS submitted a budget- something he JUST did after almost five years being in office.
I ask you:
How does the release of thousands of illegal immigrants save money?
How does suspending tuition assistance for the military and increasing tuition assistance for illegal immigrants save money?
How does TSA stop inspecting/confiscating knives save money?
How does perpetuating unemployment save money or even get this country back to work?
Can you deny that the hype that POTUS and his Administration echoed was an attempt to scare the public to contact their congressman/congresswoman to change their ways?
Do you deny that the report that went out about the Border Patrol was going to have to furlough its employees was a scare tactic? Everyone knows that the BP was going to stagger the unpaid days off to ensure there was some coverage...
Most of the damage due to the sequestration is coming from this Administration who were given orders to make this sequestration hurt as much as possible on the public. If there were sensible, logical cuts done when they were supposed to we would NOT be where we are today. I am more of a Libertarian than a Republican. I don't need the government telling me what I can and cannot do. So long as I am not breaking any laws, leave me alone and stay out of my life. I don't need a government telling me I can't drink a large cup of soda, I don't need a government telling me I am not allowed to own this gun or that rifle, I do not need a government getting into my personal life.
The Consitution was written to limit the Government, NOT THE PEOPLE. The Government is out of control and needs to deflate a
little. CORRECTION: The Government is out of control and needs to deflate A LOT.He tried to get a defence contractor position based on his MOS. Not enough time in rate. But enough about that.
This wasn't a sequestor discussion. This was a discussion about Health Care Reform. Screw the sequestor. It's here. Deal with it.
Health care Reform as originally written by Mitt Romney is a GOOD idea. It was adapted nationally by Obama. Still a good idea. Getting more people off the handout feed and onto health insurance plans is at the very least a good start. The Republicans only ever seems to tout repeal and never offered anything on the replace side that got people covered by health insurance.
Where does that come from?
Where does that come from?
That's not a budget thing, that's common sense and oh gee, a little FREEDOM coming back.
Why doesn't Congress pass a Jobs Bill?
I can not. He certainly did use scare tactics. I found it disgusting.
Not sure. The cuts were designed to be blanket cuts. Everything is getting a haircut, wastefull institutions will be rewarded, as they can simply cut the waste. Efficient institutions will be hammered, as they have no leeway.
The BP? Oh, the Border Patrol... yes, staggered days off. Not an issue as far as security goes. But a 20% pay cut for the officers. 20% less for them to spend in the economy. Good for growth, right?
That's NOT what the stimulus was for, that's NOT what POTUS promised/assured the public it was going to be used for. You are trying to defend POTUS for a lackluster effort. IT was supposed to get America back to work rebuilding our infrastructure to sustain new growth for a better future. Instead it sustained the unemployment rate at about 8% for four years. Where is the growth? If you are looking at the DOW as your index, you should remember it is an index that is NOT adjusted whatsoever for inflation. The country's employed population are anywhere from 10-30% poorer than they were four years ago.
You're right. We should just forget about it. Truer words were never spoken from you or POTUS.
Right here from www.msnbc.com ...Do some simple research...
My last two cents: If your son is going to have a defeatist attitude after one attempt at securing a defense contracting position and if you are going to defend his meager attempt, then THAT is exactly what is wrong with this generation...Instead of defending your son's position, give him what he needs: A swift kick in the ass to get him back into the fray and keep trying. If you want to keep enabling your son and paying his way, God bless you. He's your son and your burden. NOT MY BURDEN. I can only imagine why your son didn't bother staying in for at least ten years to gain some sort of skillset but then again I have hired 'kids' that served only four years and are much more successful. The difference is they were go-getters with ambition and were willing to do the gruntwork to ensure they can work their way up the corporate ladder. Oh BTW, THEY PAID FOR THEIR OWN HEALTHCARE. Keep enabling him and when Obamacare isn't there for him any more then what are you going to do? That's right, you and everyone of us will have to shoulder YOUR BURDEN because you didn't do your job of kicking him in the ass.
PS: Before I joined the military, I was once a ditch-digger and laying cable for the rich people...Then I joined the military...Now I am a contractor doing quite well for my talents. Sometimes in life you need to take a step backwards in order to take two steps forward...Explain that to your son if you can. We need more productive citizens in this country rather than ones that take advantage of the situation...Not saying he is, but he sure as hell sounds like a defeatist to me...
:-\
I haven't been to msnbc.com since they became NBCNews.com.
You have dome distinct ideas about how people's lives should go. All I can say is that my son is doing the best he can, and he is starting to climb up the ladder. However health care insurance is not in the cards for now through any employer he has a line on. His departure from the military was premature. That's all I am going to say about it. He's starting over.
And I do not consider my son to be a burden. I consider the ability to make sure he has health insurance a gift. The plain and simple truth is, if it were not for Obamacare, he would not have insurance at all. Period. Vowing to repeal that gift angered me, and it was probably 80% of why I chose to vote for the Democrat for the second time in my life.
www.msnbc.com and www.nbcnews.com: Still the same slanted to the left news. Your choice if you choose to look up those articles or not.
I figured as much about your son. @!$%# happens. Take a bite and move on.
Good luck.
The site has never been as slanted as the cable channel. I prefer CNN, but I can't post there from where I am. I avoid Fox for the same reason I don't watch MSNBC. I prefer facts with my news. I get tired of talking heads repeating talking points very quickly. When all eslse fails, I look at how something applies to me, right here, right now. For this moment, the ACA gave me a right. The right to purchase health insurance covering my son. That's it. That one simple thing is important to me, right here, right now.
Amen! This debacle will bankrupt our country and provide less care for people in need. Already people who supported this healthcare mess are realizing just how detrimental it is. And who can forget Nancy Pelosi's immortal statement that you have to pass the bill in order to know what's in it???
Obamacare is a mess and it's only going to get worse.
Perhaps it might "bankrupt our country," but it's still cheaper than the alternative which was doing nothing.
So does this mean that when the illegal immigrants apply they will be approved? Didn't answer that question did it.
Uh, you didn't read very well. The article stated that people will have their citizenship status verified by DHS.
Not to mention, the check with the IRS. How many illegals actually file taxes?
It said check and verified it did not say, deported if found to be illegal did it? You did not read and comprehend the question did you? It also did not say they would get Obamanation care did it? It also does not say illegal immigrants have to have health care does it? Only U.S. Citizens and those holding valid immigration status. So if your an illegal immigrant your not going to apply, what happens if you go to get treated and you don't have health care, do you get turned away or reported and deported, or will Obama and the Dems need more votes?
MrLight rail and Janet Incompetaino thinks that the border is secure so does that answer your question as to if illegal criminaliens wil be getting healtch care
It's 15 pages in English. 30 pages overall. Se Habla?
so IF we can force the laws to change so that the uninsured can't just walk up to a hospital and get treatment, that might solve this problem
You'd be surprised how many file under "borrowed" SSN numbers (of both living and deceased).
And there is one of the big secrets.... all that money goes into the till, and quietly fades into the budget, never to be seen again.
What a surprise!
All your complaints about how hard, how it's going to bankrupt this country, blah, blah, blah.....are we stupid and incapable of handling a long form - compared to the rest of the industrialized world? I think not. We can do this...it's the right thing...yes, it will probably need to be tweaked...but it is the right thing to do...so let's put on our big boy/girl pants and git-er-done!!!!
Oh please, spare me. It will just be a matter of time before some lib starts squawking "this is too hard to fill out, I'm going to sue for my "free" health care."
MEGA you sound just like Obama. Sure it is the right thing to do, no matter how much it cost the american people or how much more profit is brought in tp the system that already is as corrupt as it can get.
Maga .....Get ready ....The only thing that will be "tweaked" is your pocketbook...
maga, so what attorney are you going to hire to help you interpret the application?
I still don't understand this new health plan. If the government wants to help those that do not have health
insurance than cover those people and leave the rest of us alone. Why is it costing, if it is, 6 trillion dollars to implement his plan?
maga and dont forget to write that extra tax check to pay for it all starting in 2014 if you are one of the lucky 7 million middle class tax payers who get to pay the fine the democrats imposed on the middle class they care for so much
Dear Friends, how much do you think it costs the American people to take care of those that contribute nothing to have healthcare but need medications and visits to doctors and hospitals. Prior to the housing crisis more than half of bankruptcies were because of overwhelming medical bills that middle class American's couldn't pay.
Tiger - I think I can handle the form without an attorney - if you can't, message me and I'll send you some names.
Ted, I have hopes that over time it will become a one payer system...an expansion of Medicare, which we already pay into.
yo smartass - the FINE will be for "cadillac health insurance"
maga, for sure it will expand, just like every government program. And you and all of us will pay, and pay, and pay.
As has been said, if you think healthcare is expensive now, just wait until it's free.
Except Obamacare isn't a "program". It's a set of rights for most of us. An obligation for a few, and a helping hand for many. Stop looking ar Republican blogs for a while and look at what is really happening for people. Look at how many people now have the right to purchase health insurance now. Look at the number of people, 6.6 million I think, who are young adults that are now on their parent's policies because they don't have anything else. If that's what it takes to "ruin" our nation, they we don't have a very good one to start with.
That tax you are going to be hit with is less than one month's premium for independant health insurance. It doesn't start to offset the cost of uninsured freeloaders bilking the system.
all this bitching all the time over what? millions have been using ER's to seek medical treatment with no insurance and they walked away without paying but SOMEBODY paid regardless. this is not even fully up and running and everybody is screaming the sky is falling, its not calm down. health care coverage is a good thing
maga, I agree with you. I'm unemployed, after having been laid off by a law firm no less, no unemployment and no medical. I have over 200K in medical expenses after having broke my foot a couple years ago.
The statement from the hospital was amazing (I also used to work in a medical records department) -- $10 per aspirin and the like.
Because I have no children, I do not qualify for Medicaid. I read the whole Act. Although I whole-heartedly believe in an affordable care act, I believe the biggest problem is going to be finding providers that will accept it, and I'm hearing fringes of that already.
Maga, People will need to have ID's right? But not use them to vote?
and what happens to the wet backs and the left overs from the
no child left behind group that made it through school without
being able to read or right?
Any friggin idea of how many inner city black youth can't read
a McDonald's menu and the form is 15 pages?
Now this is funny..........
Actually, if you want voter ID laws, NOW is the time to get it done. Not two months before the election.
And if it was too easy, that would open up the door to fraud.
Republicans always want to have it both ways.
"Open the door to fraud"...? You speak of it like the concept was novel. That door has been opened for decades, and people exploit it to the fullest extent.
Yet, no one seems to really want to call out the fact that healthcare fraud is a major factor which drives up the cost for everyone.
Now excuse me, while I go file my medical claim following a vicious velociraptor attack.
Are you actually claiming that fraud cannot be curtailed? Are you an anarchist?
Wait, Republicans want it both ways? Are you high? The Democrats are the ones who pushed through this clearly unconstitutional law, and it will be their voting base who complain about how hard it is to get all their free stuff.
I don't have any tolerance for the people who whine about losing one evening of couch vegetation in order to figure out their health care story. But the difficulty in applying is not why ACA is such a bad idea.
Wait, Republicans want it both ways? Are you high? The Democrats are the ones who pushed through this clearly unconstitutional law, and it will be their voting base who complain about how hard it is to get all their free stuff. DAN-451372 I expect that you will turn down medicare when eligible. Republicans including Regan said the same things about medicare in the 60's. Republicans have never done anything for the poor and middle class. NOTHING.
Jeez! The application was a DRAFT, not the final one, yet the tin foil hats are out in force. Obamacare isn't in full force, and once it is, we can make a more educated decision on how it will work.
Until then, keep your powder dry. And, you tea-nuts...Please go away. We already know you are stupider by watching Fox News (Proven FACT)
cant wait until you or one of your family members get cancer and Obamacare doesnt cover any of you.
Yea
the problem will be less educated people will not understand all the terminology and will not be able to fill out the form. These are the same people that voted for obama for healthcare and support. When it was being voted in I knew lots of misinformed people that thought it would be free and obama supporters.I thought most of the unpaid cost of the emergency rooms was from illegals and the poor. Just how will this change the problem? If you have no money and barely get by how can you afford more debt or penality this country is not europe and not a socialist country. The only way this will work is if we give the gov. 50% or more of our annual income and the pollys know this so welcome to the new and better america most may have voted for.
MrLightRail: "Obamacare isn't in full force, and once it is, we can make a more educated decision on how it will work"
Nancy Pelosi: "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what's in it."
Na-na, Is that you?
yes Mrlightrail just one of the 51.7% of the uniformed sheep who drink the kool aid and do as they are told by the nanny state not an original thought in there collective empty skulls
as opposed to the way it works NOW wherein one of your family members gets cancer and private insurance doesn't cover any of you...
Obamacare is not an insurance policy. Get the facts.
MrLightnals,
Your calling people stupid?
Funny stuff.....And I get labeled a racist if I tell the truth about black
and Latino illiteracy rates because someone will have hurt feelings?
It's not the tea-nuts that will be complaining about filling it out, it will be the lib-tards. "We want someone else to fill it out for us." "We want our 'free' healthcare, but we don't want to have to do this paperwork."
Here in Knoxville, a radio station does a segment on the week's stupidest people. It starts off with a musical tune. I thought the tune is appropriate for the Obama voters as the ObamaCare nightmare begins. It goes something like this:
ʆ DUMB, DUMB, DUMB, DUMB
dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
DUMB, DUMB, DUMB, DUMB
dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb ʆ
And the army of counselors will probably be provided at a $ cost by the outfit that suggested we need them.
Obviously they need a lot of information to add someone to a program that REQUIRES a primary care physician and regular health screening.
The system has already removed a lot of fraud. Here in Kansas the patient did not get a copy of the bill and providers could bill whatever they wanted. Under the new system you get a form where you must VERIFY that the treatment did in fact occur.
This is a great system. I'm very impressed already.
Then the people didn't care or to ignorant to ask for a print out.
How about instead of slashing cost of living adjustments for seniors and lashing medicare payments, which Obama has now proposed, they just get rid of Obamacare. The only thing it did was use funding that could have been used to shore up existing entitlements.
Now these other entitlements, including the ones our seniors rely upon, will be cut so that able bodied working aged adults can get free and subsidized healthcare. Additionally, the cost overruns for Obamacare are going to be enormous, especially once the ten year anniversary of its passing expires, since they used 10 years of tax revenue to pay for 6 years of outlays.
Dumbest, most ill timed, and most ill conceived law in the history of America.
I keep saying that obama and the dems want to bankrupt america to restart as a socialist nation and he's doing a good job
Yankee
Let be fare. It is not only Obama and the corporate democrats who are trying to cut social security. The republicans have been out destroy it for years.
The author assumes Americans are stupid.
Obama assumes Americans are stupid, and the ones that voted for him, well let's just say they didn't spend much time researching the best candidate.
That is the way of liberalism and what makes it work. You have a few people who thrives on thinking they know what is best for everyone and the other 99% who are totally clueless, uneducated morons who vote for them. Sort of like pets depending their owner for everything.
actually the author assumes American's are LAZY. Filling out that form should NOT take that long. but 60 pages? That's worse than TAXES (which i still need to do)
based on some of these comments americans are stupid
A moronic healthcare plan from a moronic president, who is surprised? Appears to me he is getting just what he wants. Make the application process so daamn difficult that the average family with no more than a high school education is just going to say "fk it" and give up out of frustration.
The clown did the same thing to congress but piecing together a 2700 page healthcare bill that no one had time to read, nor if they read it, would even understand it.
That is how a socialistic government works folks, plain and simple.
Yep.
Any law that requires several thousand pages is gonna be a real winner. Overwhelm 'em with BS.
Like a budget law?
The ACA is far from socialism as it writes the insurance industry's control over healthcare into law. It is corporatism perhaps but not socialism
Indeed. As a matter of fact, this is why so many people on the Liberal side don't like the ACA. They want to eliminate the insurance companies and go to single payor. Of course, Republicans won't tell you that part.
Gonna have to dumb it down so the illiterates and illegals can figure it out. No problem.
Illegals need not apply. Citizenship is checked. As for Republicans, I am sure one of their educated Liberal friends would be willing to help them out too.
Just call up David Axelrod or Rachel Maddow, they will be glad to help you fill out your application.
No, everyone pick up their phone and call Nancy dipchit Pelosi at the same time since she literally licked each page of the 2700 page bill she didnt even read because she loved it so much
UM? It is hard because it is WORK! That is why you want free health care in the first place, because you don't want to work. The takers will say "I hope they come up with a program that will pay someone to fill out the forms for me". It used to be embarrassing to want assistance, now 43 million Americans think it to be normal.
No worries, I'm sure that a morally sound group like ACORN will arise to help the sheeple fill out the forms. No doubt the group will rely on yet more taxpayer funds.
Republicans are actually complaining that the new health care program requires some paperwork.
Obviously you need to verify that you qualify. Otherwise Republicans would be complaining that the form is too short and encourages fraud.
so all of these baby mommas that complete this, instead of them lying on 1 or 2 pages, they can now lie on all 15 pages.
Applying for Obamacare is not so easy. Y'see, you first have to prove you are a Liberal. Then you have to prove you make less than $150,000 if you are single or $250,000 if you are married. Then you have to mark the sign of the devil on your forehead. Followed by that you have to make a small sacrifice- perhaps a baby lamb or in lieu of lamb, you can substitute with your pet dog.
It gets worse after that; something about surrendering your first daughter to the State Governor for ius primae noctis, before she gets married...
Or so I am told. Either way, IT CAN'T BE GOOD.
also have to prove that you are not older than 50
are yu brainless tig or just obstinate?
Humor. It is a difficult emotion to master. Some more than others...
:-\
Free health care? all my poor friends are mad because they now have to pay for health insurance when before they didnt have to. When the ambulance picks you up what happens if you dont have money or havent been paying for insurance....OOOOOOO the governement picks up the bill.
Obama Care makes sure people pay for this @!$%#, as opposed to the government. Of course the very poor will get help but any person with religous beliefs would be for this cause every religion preaches this. But American christians are quite fake in this matter.
what the hell does religion have to do with health care? Explain what every religion believes that the american christians don't
just another Ryan babbling heir head off...
Considering all the republican-based (and yes they are no matter how one tries to make it all-encompassing) maybe we should just go back to the old way:
People using Emergency Rooms for primary care that TAXPAYERS have to fund. And giving this very type of care to ILLEGALS.
Or better yet, let's just put ALL these means-tested folks on FREE MEDICAID.
Also TAXPAYER FUNDED.
This is why Obama is President and this law has passed (
and WILL remain in effect) no matter how "smart" these desktop presidents are.
it better go into effect before 2016 because the next president will repeal this faster than Michelle can eat a bananna.
You just don't get it. I fully support helping people in need, when the ACTUALLY need it. The problem is 20 million people stopped looking for work and want me to fund their laziness. What is the point of living by the rules and working hard to make a good living and throw away at poorly run Gov't programs.
tig - I'm pretty sure you are afflicted with cranium in anal orifice syndrome.
If you grab your ears and pull until you don't smell sh it, you can cure yourself
put a fork in it, I thought for a while that you were just uneducated. I was wrong. You are just ignorant.
With your obvious IQ, we are all assured that you voted for Obama.
When did that happen?
Last I checked, the economy went into a "Great Recession" and shed millions of jobs, resulting in many folks being out of work. I didn't realize they all just up and quit out of "laziness."
Wow. 20 million LAZY people. Almost as good as that 47% freeloader remark.
Yep, a 2700 page healthcare bill and a 15 page application (family of 3), neither of which no one understands, nor are they suppossed to, that is the idea.
If you have a family of greater than 3, better prepare to spend your entire Saturday completing this.
so foo - do you need the TAX CODE to fill out your 1040? I mean that tax code is MUCH longer than this. get your head OUT
Democrat Speaker of the House: Let's pass the bill so we can find out what is in it.
pass now, read later......brilliant Mr Pelosi
Why did they need to read it? They were going to implement it as law regardless of what the language in it was/is.
I hate that that quote is used so much out of context and devoid of meaning. Pelosi was NOT suggesting that she had not read the bill, nor that we should pass it to find out what legislative clauses it contained. 3 minutes of online research will lead you to the full quote, in context, and with additional explanation.
Please stop using this attack line, it's a good soundbite but provides nothing of substance.
MrLightRail:
"We already know you are stupider by watching Fox News (Proven FACT)."
Apparently you're a closet Fox watcher!! The correct phrase should be either (1) we already know that you are dumber by watching Fox News (Proven FACT) or (2) we already know that you are more stupid by watching Fox News (Proven FACT).
You should listen to foxnews and wake up of whats going on around you. Listen to other sources other than nbcnews who doctors the news to suit their political agenda. What exactly is your proof that your less intelligent by watching foxnews? I guess its because nbcnews says you are. Wake Up.
*you're
What's the point of reporting this now, this was in the news before Obamacare became law? Rush Limbaugh was one of the first to report this, but now for you who voted for Obamacare well its too late now.
Didnt you read it FruVegge? The 15 page application process was previously stated on page 2631 of the healthcare bill.
tigermanialsu this was already known its nothing new. The left media was hiding it to pass the healthcare bill. The democrats lied about the effects of the sequester and you still believe their crap. This is nothing new, it was discovered long before now.
I am with you Fru, like i said, if you have a family >3, be prepared to spend your entire Saturday completing this crok of chit.
tigermanialsu Obama wants the government in control of every aspect of our lvies. He's almost got the republican party ripped apart and easier to turn our government into a one party system.
I see we have another foo in our midst - aside from the FACT that you voted for congressional "people" to represent you,
YOU never got a vote on ACA
I could have voted for Romney, who vowed to repeal it. I voted instead for Obama, because I supported it. So while I may not have had a direct vote, my state went blue again, and we still have Obamacare.