Newly Insured, Many Now Face Learning Curve

New York Times ^ | 2 Aug 14 | ABBY GOODNOUGH

[SkyPilot]

Advocates of the Affordable Care Act, focused until now on persuading people to buy health insurance, have moved to a crucial new phase: making sure the eight million Americans who did so understand their often complicated policies and use them properly.

[trisham]

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within feet of the river. Have been sitting here watching the border
patrol patrolling in their riverboats all night and all morning..."

~Jim Robinson

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[devolve]

-

- In a test 10 out of 11 phony Obamacare applicants got huge health insurance premium subsidies…

- Redistribution of income is such fun!

-

[sheana]

Sometimes it helps to actually read an article.

the tiered-network plan that Ms. Shabazz chose, which was popular because of its relatively low price but also particularly hard to understand. Ms. Shabazz, 38, paid only about $32 a month in premiums, with federal subsidies of $218 covering the rest. But she could not afford the $60 co-payments to see her specialists on her annual income of $19,000.

Her financial situation worsened when she had to quit her job at the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board in June because of the epilepsy, she said. She had called the federal marketplace to report her change in income, and had received a letter that she handed to Mr. Flynn, hoping he could explain it. The news, he said, was not good: With no more paychecks, she had fallen into the so-called coverage gap, earning too little to keep qualifying for the subsidies that made her premiums affordable, but likely still not qualifying for Medicaid because Pennsylvania has not expanded that program, as 26 states have under the Affordable Care Act.

“You’ll probably have to cancel your plan,” he said.

[kitkat]

“Don’t know for sure but often lower-income people will have a friend who is a former beautician do their hair for very little. My family does this.”

That’s very nice of your family, but does the lady in the picture know some former hairdresser who also supplied the silver ear ring and the red curls and trinkets which are across her head?

[steve86]

Don't know for sure but often lower-income people will blow their multiple entitlements on drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, fatty foods, and porn.

This lady worked for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and I doubt many of those vices apply to her. She would not have been the recipient of "multiple entitlements", either.

Do have have contempt for all poor people or just black ones?

[steve86]

I’m not privy to who she knows. I do know she had a reasonable income prior to having to quit due to epilepsy.

[pallis]

The Obama shysters are still on the “keeping costs down” kick. Eight million people expecting a free ride are finding out that big insurance is out to screw them over, just like it does the rest of us, courtesy Obamacare.

[SkyPilot]

In a test 10 out of 11 phony Obamacare applicants got huge health insurance premium subsidies

I heard up to $18,000 per family (that figure comes from a caller to Bill Bennett's 'Morning in America' show and Bill did not dispute it). Of course it is all income dependent.

But anyone who signed up for ObamaCare better be ready to be put through the sifter. The IRS is going to start going through your records like mad.

[SkyPilot]

Oh please, you are trolling now.

[Aria]

The enormity of what a total bastard Obama is is too much to comprehend. The arrogance of trashing millions of lives - trying to change our society to benefit the non-productive at the expense of the productive - thinking he knows all and should change how we use energy, allowing disease ridden illiterates and criminals to be lose in our society to kill, rape, suck our systems dry, and infecting us with a “religion” that tolerates no dissent - etc. etc. I suppose the MSM doesn’t care about their dereliction of duty since they’ll just get paid to chronicle our demise.

Zero should go down as one of history’s biggest monsters - along with Stalin and Hitler. But hey....”stop hatin’” and then when he gets his audience all riled up he says with a punk smirk - “go vote”.

I should send some money to Cruz - maybe I’ll feel slightly better then.

[M Kehoe]

To all you liberals,democrats,Marxist,socialist reading this: how does that sh1t sandwich taste?

5.56mm

[BigBobber]

Sorry, the lady’s story does not add up.

From the Penn Liquor Control Board website

---

Benefits

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provides a comprehensive package of benefits to all full-time employees and a limited package of benefits to part-time employees through collective bargaining agreements, policy and/or law. Benefits may include: medical, supplemental, group life insurance, retirement and savings plans, paid leave and various other benefits and services. To find out more about benefits click here.

[snip]

The PLCB is proud to be an equal opportunity employer supporting workforce diversity. We do not discriminate in our recruitment, hiring or terms or conditions of employment on the basis of race, religious creed, color, age, sex, gender identity, genetic information, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, marital status, medical condition, physical or mental disability, military service, or any other classification protected by federal, state, and local laws and ordinances.

---

I don’t think she can be fired for her medical condition. It would be against their publicly stated policy and labor law. Sounds like she quit on her own volition.

I guess that makes me cynical. A bunch of woe-is-me stories were used as the basis for ObamaCare in the first place. The Feds gutted and took over health care, with the excuse that these kinds of problems would all be solved. Now their fellow travelers at the Times publish more sob stories to convince us we need single payer.

I wasn’t born yesterday. I’m not buying it.

[COBOL2Java]

Or Emergency Rooms don't turn away anyone, and now ERs all of the country are closing or have closed because of illegals showing up for routine care, and millions of Americans who have abused the system that pays their way.

---

I had an interesting experience last month in our local ER, when my wife went in for some heart trouble (since resolved, thank goodness). Sitting in the little curtained-off ER examination room, I listened to the staff try to deal with the "neighbor" in the room next to us. An Hispanic male, he was extremely evasive to the people who needed the most basic of information. The conversation went like this:

ER staff: "What's your address? You didn't give it to the desk outside."
Patient: "No, no, I'm not sure."
ER staff: "You're not sure. How long have you lived there?"
Patient: "Oh, I don't know, 4, maybe 5, 6 months, I don't know."
ER staff: "And you don't know the address?"
Patient: "No, no, I'm not sure."
ER staff: "What about a phone number? In case we need to reach you."
Patient: "No, no, I'm not sure."

It went on like this for a while. The staff member eventually gave up. Then they tried asking him what was wrong. He started by saying his shoulder hurt from playing soccer. The doctor (female) examined his shoulder, and asked:

Doctor: "Does this hurt?"
Patient: "No, not really."
Doctor: "How about now?"
Patient: "No, no, it feels fine."
Doctor: "Well, we could do an X-ray."
Patient: "No, no, I don't wanna do that."
Doctor: "Well, without an X-ray, it's hard to determine, but your shoulder seems fine."
Patient: "Well, I have had some blood when I go to the bathroom."

This went down a whole other diagnostic rabbit hole with him, again with very evasive answers - such as how long ago this happened, how frequently, etc. Eventually, the doctor was able to determine that it was about a week ago.

Doctor: "OK I'd like to do an examination. If you could take off your pants."
Patient: "Oh, no, no, I'd rather a doctor do that."
Doctor: "I AM a doctor."
Patient: "I mean, I'd rather a male doctor do that."
Doctor: "Well, there's only one other doctor in the ER right now, and she's also female."
Patient: "Oh, no, no, never mind."

This whole thing went on for a good 45 minutes or so. The doctor eventually gave him a referral to a proctologist, and he left.

[GailA]

Since I’m on a dual government payer system, MEDICARE and TRICARE LIFE (Ret Military over 65) ALL our health care is totally government controlled, from test, how often they are run, to types of drugs, and where we can get them. SUCKS big time.

Meet the provider if you are not using the Military Dispensary. And NO our meds are NOT free from Express Scripts.

Tricare Life (Ret, Military over 65)
DOD MANDATE 4/14/2014
For Daily Medicines is forcing us to use either Base whose drugs are limited by size of base and is not wheel chair or handicap friendly or Express Scripts MANDATED Tricare Life. 4/14/14. Express Scripts is a sorry excuse of a provider. You never know if your order is right, what generic, what manufacture, or what country. All stuffed into your mail box UN PHOTO ID SIGNED FOR making them available to thieves and meth makers to steal. Or Neighborhood kids to access.

Express Scripts Accused Of Defrauding State And Consumers Out Of Millions Of Dollars
http://www.ag.ny.gov/press-release/express-scripts-accused-defrauding-state-and-consumers-out-millions-dollars

NY attorney general sues Express Scripts, Benefits firm accused of inflating prices, keeping up to $100 Million
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5601076/ns/business-corporate_scandals/t/ny-attorney-general-sues-express-scripts/#.U381ECh7SMQ

Express Scripts Extortion Scheme Widens
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/09/express_scripts_breach.html

Express Scripts complaints
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/rx/express_scripts.html

ES Customer Service ranking
http://www.customerservicescoreboard.com/Express+Scripts

Express Scripts RIP OFF
https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/directory/express-scripts

ES buys out Medco
29 Billion
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20120402/NEWS/304029961

[RedMDer]

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“The best way to get a bad law repealed is to
enforce it strictly.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Oh, I’d believe it. I’m holding on to my civilian job for as long as they’ll have me so I don’t HAVE to use my Vet benefits.

The future looks bleak for all of us. Blech.

[SkyPilot]

Inredible. I had to go the hospital about 2 years ago, and there was an an entire family that came to see another family member who had been stabbed. I overheard the nurses say that the Spanish speaking family stole everything that was not nailed down from his hospital room, including the clock on the hospital wall.

[familyop]

"I wonder how much her hairdo cost her?"

I lived in a large black neighborhood for a few years while working with steel during the '70s. Most of them had friends or relatives do their hair. In regards to the medical and insurance rackets, every political side has indulged in thievery and done wrong.

[yorkiemom]

Great post.

Isn’t it fun to watch when reality hits these simpletons? In our crumbling country, we have to find mirth where we can.