Are the Obamacare website criticisms (serious or not) from the political right and left justified?
The criticism is warranted - and healthy - but it's also disproportionate to the problem (which is definitely fixable). Why is it disproportionate?HHS originally predicted that about 30% of new enrollments would be paper based. While that may seem like a lot - it's important to keep in mind that about 40 million Americans still mail in their handwritten 1040's. At the outset, the Federal Government never expected to handle ANY of the State Exchanges. Many of the States (for obvious political reasons) elected to wait until the last possible minute (of the deadline) to announce their decision. Even then - there was uncertainty until July of last year if the ACA would even survive the Supreme Court ruling.The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) was effectively the "lead" contractor for Health Insurance Marketplace, Affordable Care Act - and had to manage (up to) 55 separate contractors. Everyone knew from the beginning that this was a BIG problem - because the agency itself is understaffed, underfunded - and responsible for much more than just the public exchange. Most people weren't aware of this, but acting like it was some mystery is disingenuous. Keeping CMS understaffed and underfunded was one of the ways a small minority wanted to try to kill Obamacare. Lastly - and probably most importantly - healthcare insurance coverage that starts January 1 - isn't likely to be something you're going to sign up (and pay) for today - especially when the (original) deadline is Dec 15. We have a good leading indicator here with what happened in Massachusetts. Lot's of high octane criticism - and the website didn't (and doesn't) work as expected or advertised - but it's not the cataclysmic event some are anxious to make it.Today's update is that there is a new "lead" contractor - and that they expect to have it running functionally (if not perfectly) by the end of November.Zients: HealthCare.gov problems to be fixed in a month
What is "OBAMACARE"? ?
Obamacare is the name the republicans use instead of the actual name of the health care reform laws, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. People despise it because of a number of factors.... mainly : 1. They don't know what it does. 2. They think it costs money. 3. They have been told that it does things that it doesn't do. 4. They think it is unconstitutional(because they don't know what it does and don't understand the existing legal precedence). The law does lots of things(see wiki links below and library of congress for text) covering some 2000+ pages, so I can't really describe them here. It does not create socialized medicine. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office(CBO) says the law will save the country money over the next decade(not cost money). It does impose a tax penalty if you don't have health insurance(You don't have to have it, you just have to pay a penalty at tax time if you don't have health insurance). It also adjusts the health insurance policy standards(ie parents can cover children longer and you can't be rejected because you have a pre-existing condition). It doesn't create any sort of death panel that decides when you will die. It does allow doctors who talk to you about end of life care to charge the time to the insurance. It does not create a national insurance program, so you don't have to worry about doctors not accepting it. I personally think its a good thing for society, but I don't think the federal government is the right place to do it.
What is your opinion about Obamacare!?
I think it is a horrible bill because it addresses the wrong question. While Obama and his minions claim it is about providing coverage to people, the salient point is not about coverage. Insurance companies can create millions of policies at a click of a button. The relevant point is affordability, and I fail to see how Obamacare addresses that. There is nothing in the bill about tort reform, lowing malpractice insurance costs, or providing competition between insurance companies in different states. Some of the nice sounding things about Obamacare - such as pre-existing conditions - are also going to drive the costs up. This will make coverage even more unaffordable for people.
What are your views on Obama Care?
Do you believe that Obama Care is a great thing for our country, it could be good if changes are made, or it is the wrong approach to making health care affordable and should not exist
Should I be offended if someone opposes Obamacare when I see that the program has helped my mom?
Yes! You should!I was lucky be born in Austria, Europe. My father worked hard and my mother worked hard. They paid taxes and health insurance. But got money for every child, medical treatment was and is quite free. We had a good life.Even the most complicate cancer treatment is free. Every surgery is free. One has to pay bout 10€ for the bed in hospital. Thats all.Education is free, healtcare is free. Even life for not able to deal with work people is somehow free. In this country you have no gangs nor fear of being robbed at night.It is called "Sozialismus".What Obama did for the USA can not be said to be wrong. It is simply human if everyone gives a little bit to help.It is nice to be wealthy and rich - no Problem with this. But the USA has a problem with an enormous rich minority and a vast majority of poor people. This is your most biggest threat. This cannot be your future...
ACA Website HIPPA violations? Correct them or not--Y/N?
Note to defenders ACA: just the mere asking if a patient smokes, which the site does, is HIPPA protected, thus, a violation. -- Note: to the contract: the CMS request to place the non-compliant privacy non-reliance statement was never done in written addendum to the contract, and cannot hold. Congressional reviewers established this in hearings, and the CMI contractor agreed the contract did not establish this in comparison to other changes which were submitted for review and approval. That is why Ms Campbell was on verge of taking the Fifth, ready to defer to corp-orate legal, rather than offer any answer. This point will be further delineated in next weeks hearings by this and another subcommittee, as well as brought in interrogatory to CMS/HHS directors.
Did the republicans sabotage or place a bug in the Obama Affordable health care site?
No. Sebelius admitted it was bad programming as well as a last minute decision to make people sign up before they could actually "go shopping". The web site has systemic problems and may have to be completely rewritten..