ObamaCare is Obama’s epic failure, inspiring Senator Marco Rubio to introduce a piece of legislation that would delay the ObamaCare’s individual mandate law until the technical failures are addressed. The senator discussed the plan in an interview with Fox News, he stated it would be “prudent” to delay the requirement on an individual to buy ObamaCare, until recipients have consistent access to the main website.
The notorious problems with the ObamaCare website have caught the attention of the Consumer Report, which warns people away from it. In the article last week they offered tips for people trying to sign up, but had advice for those overwhelmed by the difficulties: “If all this is too much for you to absorb, follow our previous advice: Stay away from HealthCare.gov for at least another month if you can. Hopefully that will be long enough for its software vendors to clean up the mess they’ve made.”
Sen. Rubio’s plan would delay the mandate until it is “up and running and effectively working for six months, consecutive,” with the stamp of approval from the Government Accountability Office.
Rubio makes a very valid point, the law allows them to go after people next year to penalize them. How can they fine an individual when the one thing you are forcing them to buy is not even available to purchase?
The administration is now in a scramble to fix the problems that have prevented people from signing up for ObamaCare online. The desperation that came through loud and clear was in the Rose Garden, when President Obama actually pitched to the public to apply over the phone or by mail.
Even though the White House did not rule out delaying the health law’s 2014 requirement on individuals to buy insurance, they did not indicate that they would delay the requirement, either.
Several reports indicated that they in fact were aware of the websites failures though they continued “forward” with their launch, which in essence is only just the beginning of the government showing its ineptness when it comes to handling things that are quite honestly outside of their realm.
A review of the site’s technical specifications by the Associated Press found a complex system put together by overloaded programmers who pushed out a final product that congressional investigators said was tested by the government, instead of private developers with more expertise.
Project developers who only spoke with the condition of anonymity, fearing they would be fired, have stated their doubts whether the website could be ready in time. They complained openly about the tight and unrealistic deadlines and that the website builders saw red flags for months.
The AP revealed the insurance applicants have a host of personal information verified, including income and immigration status. The system connects to other federal computer networks, including ones at the Social Security Administration, IRS, Veterans Administration, Office of Personnel Management and the Peace Corps.
Let us not forget going to the assigned offices to enroll in ObamaCare, some of the non-verified individuals who are responsible with very sensitive documentation fail to their jobs properly and are not to be trusted. An “oops” with your social security number can create several complications for any individual, including identify theft, which is one reason cited by the consumer advocate.
The disclosure statement that is on the website — HealthCare.gov — blatantly states that your most private information is no longer confidential, leaving the recipients with no accountability for their information if placed in the wrong hands.
President Barack Obama acknowledged technical problems described as “kinks in the system.” In the Rose Garden Obama, did not offer an explanation for the failure or an estimated time for its fixes, he only noted that high traffic to the website caused the slowdowns, which we all know is not true.
He claims it had been visited nearly 20 million times, did the president take into account that it just might be the same 5-10 people who keep trying over and over to enroll.
Then the President stated:
The problem has been that the website that’s supposed to make it easy to apply for and purchase the insurance is not working the way it should for everybody. There’s no sugarcoating it. The website has been too slow. People have been getting stuck during the application process. And I think it’s fair to say that nobody is more frustrated by that than I am.
If the president is more frustrated than everybody else, then will he agree to Senator Rubio’s piece of legislation suggesting to delay the ObamaCare law’s individual mandate?
ObamaCare’s online system was pitched as a simple way for individuals without health coverage to “comparison-shop” plans offered in their state. The ability to pick their preferred coverage and cost, amazingly though this was all an illusion, with increases in 45 states that are astronomical, and the phrase comparison-shop, as if we have a choice, is laughable in itself.
We were told that ObamaCare would not tamper with our existing health care, we could keep the doctors that we already have, and also our premiums would go down.
Just weeks before the launch of ObamaCare on Oct. 1, one programmer said, colleagues huddled in conference rooms trying to patch “bugs,” that led to visitors experiencing cryptic error messages and long waits trying to sign up.
The congressional investigators had the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services test the exchange’s computer system during the final weeks, known as integration testing, instead of private software developers that are fit for such tasks.
The government spent at least $500 million on contracts to build the federal health care exchange and the data hub. Those contracts included major awards to Virginia-based CGI Federal Inc., Maryland-based Quality Software Services Inc., and Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.
The schematics from 2012 show how officials designated a “data services hub” — a middleman for managing information — instead of a design that would have allowed state exchanges to connect directly to government servers when verifying an applicant’s information.
Who exactly are the individuals that get to manage our personal information?
Furthermore, the Health and Human Services Department said the data hub was not meeting public expectations: “We are committed to doing better.”
After millions upon millions of dollars later, “doing better” is not what the Americans are looking for, we need people that are proficient in this area, instead they give their unqualified friends these positions.
Officials have selectively cited figures that put the insurance exchanges in a positive light. However, with all of these “glitches” it makes people very nervous signing up for ObamaCare, even if they are not particularly ideological. If these appointees can not even fix a simple website that many of my friends could do, what kind of “panel” will we have waiting for us at our doctor visits?
The tsunami of computer failures since the website was launched is deeply embarrassing for the president. These so called “snags” have many questioning the administrations capability to implement the policies, since Obama and his administration officials claimed to be “unaware” of the exchange sites problems.
Government claims that they tweaked the website’s home page so visitors can now view phone numbers to apply the old-fashioned way or window shop for insurance rates without registering first.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee was expected to conduct an oversight hearing, it was delayed due to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was unavailable. She could testify on Capitol Hill on the subject as early as next week.
Uninsured Americans have until about mid-February to sign up for coverage if they are to meet the law’s requirement that they be insured by the end of March. If they don’t, they will face a penalty that is unjustifiable.
