Posted on 01/16/2014 4:52:16 AM PST by markomalley
One in seven of New Mexicos certified Obamacare navigators had a match in the Federal Bureau of Investigations National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database, according to public records obtained by National Review Online.
In total, 38 health-care guides or certified application counselors received their certification despite a match, according to records from the New Mexico Office of the Superintendent of Insurance (OSI), which certifies navigators working with the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange.
A hit in the NCIC does not necessarily reflect a criminal conviction. The database can include, for example, arrest records and criminal cases that were dismissed or led to an acquittal, according to the FBI.
The records obtained by NRO did not specify how many of the 38 navigators with NCIC hits had been convicted of a crime. Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius told Congress late last year that it was possible for convicted felons to be working as navigators.
When navigators sign up people for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act, they have access to private information, including Social Security numbers, financial data, and health records.
Certified New Mexico navigators had been charged with crimes including: eight domestic-violence charges, including aggravated battery and aggravated assault of a household member; four drug charges; two larceny charges; one petty-theft charge; one shoplifting charge; and two child-abuse charges. There were also several driving-related charges, including DWIs, DUIs, and speeding or traffic crimes. In at least two instances, navigators had traffic charges for lacking insurance.
The OSI does not retain records regarding which organization employs the navigators with NCIC matches, and the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange would not disclose that information to NRO.
The OSIs certification process was carefully crafted to protect the public, Ezekiel says. The OSI receives navigator applications from New Mexicos health exchange, running them through the NCIC system by name, date of birth, and Social Security number. Applicants who have committed a significant financial crime or were listed on the sex-offender registry are automatically disqualified.
For other navigator applicants who trigger NCIC hits, three OSI experts then review the results, assessing on a case-by-case basis whether a navigator should receive certification. For example, a 20-year-old shoplifting conviction for an otherwise upstanding citizen might not be disqualifying, while a recent fraud charge could be.
Weve been very careful not to provide licensure to anyone we thought was a risk, says Ezekiel, who was among the three OSI officials reviewing background-check results and making the certification decisions. He adds that while reasonable people could disagree about this, of course, the existence of NCIC hits shouldnt in itself cause alarm.
We left ourselves very deliberately a category of, Wow, that makes me uncomfortable, Ezekiel continues. It didnt fit a specific category, but if we felt like we didnt want to take the risk of this person. . . . Its not a right to become a health-care guide. Its a privilege. And we want to make sure that the people who are doing it have the best interests of the public in mind.
In 2010, New Mexico passed the Criminal Offender Employment Act, which states that a criminal conviction shall not operate as an automatic bar to obtaining public employment or license. It forbids state agencies from asking about criminal convictions on the initial employment application, allowing it to be considered only when a candidate becomes a finalist.
New Mexicos application for health-care guides notes that the appearance of past offenses in a background check will not automatically exclude the Candidate from consideration and will be evaluated on a case by case basis.
Debra Hammer, spokeswoman for New Mexicos health exchange, says, We definitely believe in second chances, and people have a right to be gainfully employed. The 38 navigators with charges flagged are no longer in adjudication, she says. Their employers also do background checks, and these are past crimes that they have paid their dues on.
But Pam Wiseman, executive director of the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said the number of domestic-violence charges in particular was unsettling.
People who commit child abuse [or] domestic violence may not always be the best people to provide assistance to others who are vulnerable, she says. These are not minor crimes, and they need to be scrutinized carefully.
Not all states have review processes in place that are as extensive as New Mexicos.
In Massachusetts, there is no law or regulation requiring background checks for our Navigators, Jason Lefferts, director of communications for the Commonwealth Health Connector, tells NRO by e-mail. The organization[s] we partner with as Navigators are trusted, known community partners to us. . . . As we selected Navigators, we did not make them undergo checks.
Other state exchanges, including those in Colorado, Maryland, and Washington, have established guidelines that include basic offenses that would be disqualifying, but they rely heavily on their partners outside the public sector to conduct background checks and make hiring decisions about navigators.
NRO has submitted several records requests in states operating their own exchanges, and it is suing in Nevada to obtain information about navigators with a criminal history.
The naïveté of these people is utterly astounding. (Or perhaps I should say the naïveté of those who would be stupid enough to do so is utterly astounding)
Holders people.
Former acorn cretins
criminals and low lifes.
the folks obammy use to organize in his chicago community.
When a criminal cabal moves into a community it puts its people in every level of authority. So it is with the criminal Obama administration. We search in vain for an honest man who will root out the evil that engulfs us.
LOCK-STEPPING PARTY LOYALTY NOT SEEN SINCE 1940's ERA EUROPE Obama And The Dumbos marching in lockstep. The persistent Dumbocrat drumbeat ---- in obeisance to Obama ---- kept ringing reassuringly in our ears: "If you like your plan, you can keep your plan."
LET'S STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE: As far back as 2008, at the presidential debate in Nashville, Democrat candidate Obama advanced his signature plan that was ultimately enacted (by an historic straight Democrat party-line vote) into the "Affordable Care Act :
OBAMA: "No. 1, let me just repeat, if youve got a health care plan that you like, you can keep it. All Im going to do is help you to lower the premiums on it. Youll still have choice of doctor.
Repeated over and over ---- with the promise that every American family would be saving $2500.00 on healthcare costs.
None of the EXEMPT care.
Why should they? They are special, like their
families and staff.
Special rules. Special laws. Special deals.
This is an incredible story and we know that these 34 are just the tip of the iceberg.
One in seven of New Mexicos certified Obamacare navigators had a match in the Federal Bureau of Investigations National Crime Information Center
I ask you honestly, What could go wrong you right wingers or evil Republicans are just trying to squash these poor people from securing an honest job./s
Every traitor in Congress who voted for Obamacare should be in the database, and behind bars (at the very LEAST).
This really ticks me off for obvious reasons. But also because when my adult daughter was taken to the hospital unconscious, I wasn’t able to get info on her condition over the phone from another state because I wasn’t on her HIPAA-approval list. It’s OK for strangers who are criminals to have access to all our most-private health and financial info, but this country has become so concerned about privacy that I couldn’t find out what had happened to my daughter and how seriously injured she was! Once more, everything is topsy-turvy in our brave new world.
HPN....OK whitey....let's check your voter registrations ....
HPN....Looks like you need to make a couple of adjustments here....and here....
OK now I schedule it for you......your colonoscopy is scheduled for next month.....and the insulin will be mailed as before...
HPN Thinks...."this desk job sure beats stealing cell phones and a once a year gig patrolling voting booths with my billy club."
(He also got the message about hiding the screen image of his laptop)
And note the guy screwing into his face....and the lady looks like her hand is clenched in a defensive position....body language indicates a "high stress" situation.
Yes, I have noticed that ALL the navigators I’ve seen on TV thus far have looked like Obama’s children. Did ACORN supply all the navigators?
I just captured a pic from a news source....I don’t have TV so don’t get to see all the garbage they put out....but it figures that Acorn is heavily involved.
New Mexico voted for Obama.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.