Breaking: District Judge shoots down Halbig

We've been following this case, championed by Cato's Michael Cannon, for a long time. Briefly, the suit seeks to enforce the actual law [ed: how quaint] regarding which states' citizens are actually eligible for ObamaTax subsidies.

This afternoon, U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman said "nyet;" the plaintiffs plan to appeal.

We'll keep you posted on how that goes.

Who is Using Obamacare?

Another day, Another ObamaTax "Issue"

As we've previously noted, one of the major problems with the 404Care.gov site is that folks are being indiscriminately, and often incorrectly, shunted off to Medicaid. This is actually two problems:

First, if one is found to be eligible for Medicaid, even if one chooses not to actually enroll, one is barred from receiving any subsidy when purchasing an Exchange plan.

Second, and this is the more serious problem (as we'll see in a moment), is that many folks are being enrolled in Medicaid who a) aren't actually eligible and/or b) don't want to be enrolled in the first place. Here's why that's the more serious issue:

"...you cannot cancel this plan. You have been enrolled in a state Medicaid program. If you disagree, you must file an appeal with the state.”

Previously insured Carol Sauers made the mistake of signing up at the 404Care.gov site so that she could find what choices might be available for her family. Her (then-)current insurance was set to increase by up to 100% (Yikes!), so she thought it might be a good idea to check out her other options. And that proved to be a major error on her part:

"It took more than a dozen attempts to get an online application filled out ... Basically I had to start over each time from scratch." When she was finally able to do so, she was informed that she (and her family) might be eligible for Medicaid. She knew better (their income was too high), but by then it was too late: she was enrolled and that was that.

And thus began her incredible journey through the labyrinth of state and Federal bureaucracies, trying to find some one to help her get disenrolled, but to no avail.

One wonders how many other "Carol's" are out there now, languishing in Medicaid limbo.

Service with a smile...

Last week, at 11:55, I thought I'd try CoveredCA's on-line help...





12:24 PM

12:26 PM

12:43 PM

1:07 PM

1:54 PM

1:55 PM

Just a brief update...After waiting for another hour on the phone, I managed to talk to one of their internal customer service reps.  It took a while, but he managed to get my client switched from Anthem to Health Net.  I have to say that every interaction I've had with CoveredCA personnel has been good.  They're friendly, helpful and basically have bent over backwards to answer questions and get things fixed.  If the web site didn't have so many rough edges, their job would be a lot easier.  (Bumped to add some new information...)

On Death Panels, the ObamaTax, and the MVNHS©

From the annals of the Much Vaunted National Health System©, another glimpse into our own newly revised one:

"A grandmother has been ‘left to die’ by the NHS after being refused life-saving chemotherapy - because her cancer is not ‘exceptional’ enough."

Really? And what do our Cousins Across the Pond consider "exceptional" enough to be saved?

Here's a clue:

"Each case is considered on an individual basis and has to meet set criteria, which includes exceptional clinical circumstances"

Well, when you put it that way...

Mrs Stanton, the 69 year young grandmother of four doesn't fit whatever double-top secret criteria on which the MVNHS© has chosen to rely. She now faces the prospect of having to sell her house to pay for the £40,000 ($65,000+) treatment.

Perhaps she should have bought a Private Medical Insurance policy.

Back on track

We've been following the harrowing tale of California insurance agent Glenn Neasham for almost 2 years (our most recent report was this past October, when we learned that his conviction had been overturned.)

Today comes news that Mr Neasham's insurance license has been reinstated, and that he may once again ply his chosen trade.

Congratulations, Glenn!

My new article is up...

At Answers.com:

"The loss of a key employee can wreak havoc on a company's productivity, profitability and ability to stay in business. A life insurance policy on that key employee can guarantee that sufficient funds are available, in a timely manner, to help mitigate that loss."

If there's a particular insurance topic you'd like me to cover, please let me know.