Obamacare Exchanges Open for Business Today; Some Glitches Expected

By and | October 1, 2013

  • October 1, 2013 at 11:30 am
    Whodathunkit? says:
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    I’m a qualified individual/SHOP agent and haven’t been able to log on all morning. Here’s what I’ve been seeing all morning.

    The System is down at the moment.

    We’re working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Please try again later.

    ——————————————————————————–

    Please include the reference ID below if you wish to contact us at 1-800-318-2596 for support.

  • October 1, 2013 at 12:15 pm
    jw says:
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    Ok, just read this in The Atlantic Wire:

    “Rep. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who’s running for Senate in 2014, tried to sign up for healthcare as well, but got an error message full of code…. (Like all members of Congress, Cotton initially had health care under the Federal Employee Benefit Health Plan. Before Obamacare was passed, Sen. Chuck Grassley insisted on making members of Congress and their staff lose their employer contribution to their health insurance and sign up for coverage on an Obamacare exchange. As this amounts to a pay cut for staffers already making relatively low salaries, it has become quite controversial.)”

    Congress and their staffers ARE subject to the ACA.

    http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/10/obamacare-glitches/70056/

    • October 1, 2013 at 2:23 pm
      Agent says:
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      The fix was in for subsidizing staffers of Congress. They didn’t like their premiums so most of it goes away at the expense of the taxpayer.

  • October 1, 2013 at 1:35 pm
    Pundit says:
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    Your article is erronious in the first sentence. Republicans have been seeking options to a shutdown for the last 5 days. The emperor has stated he will not negotiate and the Senate voted this morning on a strict party line not to negotiate further with Republicans for any options to a shutdown. So who are the ones forcing the shutdown? Be accurate please.

    • October 1, 2013 at 3:09 pm
      Sally Ann Fannymaker says:
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      Why would there be compromise on an existing law? It’s not a bill up for debate. It was passed; it is law.

      What’s next? Republicans don’t like the Environmental Protection Agency, so when the next CR or budget comes up they get to say, “We are defunding the EPA or we’re shutting down the government.”

      This is nonsense. Where does it end?

      • October 1, 2013 at 3:43 pm
        Agent says:
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        Right back at you Sally Ann. If it was passed and law, how did the Democrats unilaterally do the one year extension for business? How did they step in and provide a subsidy/waiver for Congress that was not in the law? It seems to me if they could do these things, why not delay the Individual Mandate for a year until they get the exchanges to work. If people have the patience to wait on the site to come up, they could sign up when they want to.

    • October 1, 2013 at 3:54 pm
      D says:
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      To answer your question, the GOP is solely responsible for the government shutdown. The ACA was passed 3 years ago. The 2012 election was pretty clear too. Now they want to reverse the ACA even though it is a LAW, and upheld by the conservative majority Supreme Court.

      • October 1, 2013 at 4:12 pm
        Pundit says:
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        D, are you kidding me. As if both parties haven’t changed laws as they saw fit over the last 200 years. And this is a republic, not a monarchy. Just because a president gets re-elected doesn’t concede the entire country to the other party.

      • October 2, 2013 at 12:21 pm
        FFA says:
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        D – Buck stops at the top. If a leader can not lead, he has no business being the top man…. He is just a powerless figure head.

        • October 2, 2013 at 12:52 pm
          Agent says:
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          So FFA, how did you do the first day on signing people up for Obamacare? I heard on the news that 65,000 went online in Illinois and 1,100 signed up. I think that is 1.7% closing rate. I also saw a demonstration where a Navigator was working with a young mother to get coverage on the site. She walked her through what to click, what to put in to get a quote under the plans for her family. The Bronze Plan showed a decent premium, but her eyes got real big when she saw the deductible and out of pocket expenses and politely rejected it and did not apply even though the Navigator asked her if she were sure.

          • October 2, 2013 at 1:57 pm
            TxLady says:
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            Somehow the deductible and out of pocket expenses seem to get overlooked in much of the rhetoric of look at how low this premium is……and you get subsidized!! Add in your other costs, deds and oop and the light goes on, not such a deal, you pay for coverage, but what you get is minimal. This leaves you better off with the premium money in your pocket.

          • October 2, 2013 at 4:57 pm
            Libby says:
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            There is no deductible for preventative care and that is the majority of what people will use it for.

  • October 1, 2013 at 1:43 pm
    producer #1 says:
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    Right now its 12:42 PM in Wisconsin on 10/01. I just went to healthcare.gov and entered the site just fine. I did not witness any glitches at all.

  • October 1, 2013 at 1:56 pm
    Katie says:
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    Just did a quick calculation on the WA state site. A person who makes $39,000 has to pay as much as someone making $100,000…$200,000…and higher. $38,000 is the cut-off for single person to get a subsidy. $302 per month (silver plan) without a subsidy.

  • October 1, 2013 at 2:01 pm
    sl says:
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    Nice to see the ACA start today. People without health care obtaining healthcare it’s a beautiful thing. To those who take no action and only block the actions of others, this phrase seems appropriate today: Lead, follow or get out the way

    • October 1, 2013 at 2:31 pm
      Whodathunkit? says:
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      Lead, follow, get out of the way, just shut up and pay what we tell you. Is that the idea?

  • October 1, 2013 at 3:25 pm
    Texas Agent says:
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    It has never made sense that we dismantled the current health insurance industry to accommodate 15% of the population. With the money the government is spending, we could have provided that 15% with the highest degree of care at no cost to them whatsoever and still not have had to spend what this law will cost the American people; raise the premium on those folks that were already insured; collect fines from those who chose not to buy it; make companies drop people to 29 hour work weeks; make employers who were providing insurance drop that coverage. How are people who are working only 29 hours a week even going to pay the “affordable” premiums offered in the exchanges. Oh, my taxes will pay for that? Back to my original point – all for 15% of the population!! It’s all a government takeover of another facet of our lives.

    • October 1, 2013 at 3:46 pm
      Agent says:
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      Hey Texas, you make too much sense for the liberal mind to understand. This is all Progressive Socialism at its finest and they have been working toward this scenario for 100 years. It doesn’t matter what it costs or who has to pay for it. This is sure to implode of its own weight or will be changed dramatically in the next year.

      • October 1, 2013 at 4:10 pm
        D says:
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        The commercial insurance companies are about to get business from roughly 50 million more people. Sounds pretty capitalist to me. You really don’t know what socialism is until you 1)lived through it or 2) paid attention in your economics classes. Did you ever do either of these two things?

        • October 1, 2013 at 4:31 pm
          Agent says:
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          D, I did pay close attention enroute to my Economics degree with straight A’s. We studied Socialist/Communist ideology and how they like to control all the means of production since they either own it or control it for their own use. The citizens do not fare well and have no incentive to produce or make a profit. Why do you think the former Soviet Union collapsed? Why is Cuba & Venezuela third world countries with these systems in place? Why is the US collapsing in front of our eyes and disposable income declining for the Middle Class? Why is the US becoming a part time workforce? Why do we have less participation in the workforce as people lose jobs and go on disability? Why are Europe’s economies either bankrupt or nearing it? All of this is as the result of Progressive Socialism. It is you who need an economics lesson.

        • October 2, 2013 at 12:23 pm
          FFA says:
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          Business with Pre X conditions that will not be profitable if not for the back of the tax payers.

    • October 1, 2013 at 4:07 pm
      D says:
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      Texas: Currently, this country spends more than double per person what the next 1st world country pays for healthcare. Yet, close to 50 million people can’t get access to the best system in the world. Much of that 15% of the population goes to the emergency room when they are sick. Unpaide ER bills go to you and me. So, we are already paying for a system in need of repair. The current health industry is not being dismantled. It’s being fixed. If the GOP was willing to try to fix what people see as defects with the ACA rather than defund it or repeal it, the system would have a better chance at success in the future. The GOP never liked the idea of people not as well off as they are getting help. Their small minds cannot get beyond repeal, defund, delay etc. Guys like Ted Cruze are just not that smart. Yet he has the GOP soap box.

    • October 1, 2013 at 4:30 pm
      PM says:
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      Texas Agent.

      The most accurate post on the site today. Others have attacked, but the scary truth is that employers are dropping coverages and reducing employees to 29 hours per week.

      They don’t even have to delay the healthcare for a year, just delay the penalty for those that don’t sign up. Unfortunately its not negotiable. The Senate and BO are choking the life out of this country.

      • October 1, 2013 at 4:48 pm
        Libby says:
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        How do you delay the penalty for a year without delaying the healthcare for a year? Without a penalty, we can’t get the participation needed to make it successful.

        • October 2, 2013 at 8:47 am
          PM says:
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          Libby,

          I’ve read the posts, seen many (liberal) surveys referenced, etc, etc. The surveys state and the stories preach of the great opportunity to sign up for BO care. You have said in prior posts what a great thing this is for those that can’t afford insurance and millions will be covered. If its better, common sense says they would take the insurance without the threat of a penalty.

          Reality is that its not better. The sick/ injured party without insurance could pay the adjusted premium amount directly to the hospital. The govt would not be subsidizing insurance, the hospitals would receive something (where today these services are provided and costs written off), businesses would allow growth to meet the demands, employ more people, pay more taxes from additional income, govt would pay less in welfare and less in upcoming insurance subsidies. The list goes on and on.

          Our healthcare/ insurance is not perfect. However a complete overhall is a move in the wrong direction. Insurance can’t afford it, hospitals can’t afford it and the US govt. can’t afford it!

          • October 2, 2013 at 9:04 am
            Libby says:
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            You make an interesting point. I will think about it.

          • October 2, 2013 at 1:52 pm
            TxLady says:
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            Well said, clear and concise PM. Thank you.

      • October 2, 2013 at 1:01 pm
        Agent says:
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        PM, do you think the President will compromise on anything when he meets with Boehner & McConnell this afternoon? I would be surprised if there are any concessions. Why not just delay the individual mandate for a year and not tax people that don’t sign up before March? The people that want coverage can continue to do so. This seems reasonable to me, but not to liberals with their hard line position of “our way or the highway”. Congress, the administration, the Supreme Court and all Federal Employees should also have to sign up.

        • October 2, 2013 at 1:34 pm
          Libby says:
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          They do, do-do bird.

          • October 2, 2013 at 6:02 pm
            Agent says:
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            Do you think they deserve a 70% subsidy to sign up do do bird?

          • October 3, 2013 at 9:31 am
            Libby says:
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            You really are a do-do bird. You’ll believe, and regurgitate, any and all right-wing propaganda fed to you. Talk about a lemming!

            Read up and learn something.

            http://www.factcheck.org/2013/08/no-special-subsidy-for-congress/

        • October 3, 2013 at 9:25 am
          Captain Planet says:
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          You don’t delay because that plays right into the conservatives’ playbook of repealing the law. President Obama isn’t blind, deaf, or dumb. Plus, the law has passed. It’s a law, this is no longer a bill to be debated.

          • October 3, 2013 at 4:59 pm
            Agent says:
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            Planet, the law has been unilaterally changed twice by Obama since it passed. Allowing a one year grace period for individuals before taxing them only makes sense if you have done it for business. Those that want it can still apply for it. What is your problem? If you have the patience to wait and it still looks good, go for it.



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