HealthCare.gov Back-End Status: See You In September

theodp writes: "The consumer-facing parts of the Obamacare website may now work (most of the time) for people buying insurance, writes Politico, but beneath the surface, HealthCare.gov is still missing massive, critical pieces that are essential for key functions such as accurately paying insurers — and the deadline for finishing them keeps slipping. Without a fully built and operational system, federal officials can't determine how many of the 8 million Obamacare sign-ups announced last week will have actually paid their premiums. The Obama administration earlier this month indicated that insurers will continue to be paid through an 'interim' accounting process — pretty much a spreadsheet and some informed estimates — until at least September, when what is being called 'the mother of all reconciliations' will be conducted, which some fear could reveal the need for a massive correction and rate adjustments. Still, Oregon decided Friday to switch to Healthcare.gov from its own nothing-wrong-that-$78-million-couldn't-fix Cover Oregon online healthcare exchange."

Comments

Supposed loss of insurance

[fyngyrz]

Millions of people have their insurance cancelled every year by insurance companies, sometimes while they are receiving treatment.

In some cases, the "lost" insurance had become illegal because it didn't provide the minimum required benefits. Better policies are available for those people.

Some people got those policies for less money, others got more benefits for the same, or more money. Those that pay more, probably got better insurance and won't have to declare bankruptcy if they get sick or are injured. They can carry their insurance from one job to another, so they aren't pinned like a dead butterfly to one employer. People with pre-existing conditions are now being treated, instead of being cast off like roadkill.

The only significant hole in the system is in states like Montana where the medicaid supplement was refused by the state legislature, and so people under specific income levels that were intended to be covered by medicaid, now aren't. If that's happened in your state, you can put the blame for that directly on your state legislators -- the republicans -- not on the ACA. Do something about it at election time.

As far as media coverage goes, almost every person they've tried to use as a "poster child" for "lost insurance" has been debunked. So many million can gain coverage, and there's barely a word about it. But a handful of people say they've lost coverage (which they can easily replace), and the media -- and you -- scream to high heaven. Then there was the bullshit about my insurance is now $xxx dollars a month and I can't afford it. Again, turns out these people were refusing to participate in the insurance exchange setup, and were basically being complete morons.

The states that participated in creating and operating the exchanges, instead of Koch-blocking the system as designed via the tools in the republican party whose only goal -- as they stated -- was to "see Obama fail", have had a much higher level of success. Again, blame your state legislature, specifically, the republicans.

So stop with the "insurance loss" meme. It's been dead for months. The ACA is doing ok for what it is, which is a baby step along the road to single payer.

Re: Supposed loss of insurance

[fyngyrz]

Good recitation of the democrat party line talking points.
You get a cookie.

More importantly, I got affordable insurance with excellent benefits, despite preexisting conditions. :)

You and yours, who don't bother to research what's actually going on, instead writing off the facts as "talking points", are now living in a world of butthurt. So sorry for your loss.

Re: Supposed loss of insurance

[fyngyrz]

It doesn't justify all the damage caused to everyone else though.

No such damage has been demonstrated. Every such claim -- EVERY ONE -- so far has been debunked. Research it, you'll see immediately that these claims are consistently unfounded nonsense. We've got a guy right here, with an actual ID, making those claims, and you'll note he refuses to prove his case and simply indulges in name-calling, even though it would get him on national media if he did prove his case, likely ending his financial problems right there.

See, the FACT is, under the ACA, no one, that's NO ONE, pays more than 10% of their income. Which is not even to say they'll pay that much. Plans vary; choose to pay less, and you get less. Duh. You have to use your head just a little bit.

The ONLY ones who got hammered without it being their own darned fault here were those who were supposed to be covered under the medicaid expansion, where instead the state legislatures threw them directly under the bus by refusing it. That's a not a fault with the ACA. That's a fault with the state legislature.

The ACA is doing very well. The screaming is now known to be almost entirely political butthurt, and that's one disease I am not sorry to see people suffer.

Re:oops, you looked-up the wrong bill.

[SydShamino]

The whole damn bill was Republican input. It was written by Republicans and used instead of a significantly better single-payer system out of the hope that at least one Republican would support it. It worked - it got whatshisname in Pennsylvania to support it, who realized around that time that he was not crazy and so might as well switch to the Democrat party anyway.

I didn't read the rest of your rant. Sorry.