Posted on 10/02/2013 4:38:57 AM PDT by Kaslin
Welcome to ObamaWreck! Americans nationwide spent Tuesday struggling with the much-hyped "Affordable Care Act" health insurance exchanges. Server meltdowns, error messages and security glitches plagued the federal and state government websites as open enrollment began. But when taxpayers discover exactly who will be navigating them through the bureaucratic maze, they may be glad they didn't get through.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius controls a $54 million slush fund to hire thousands of "navigators," "in-person assisters" and counselors, who are now propagandizing and recruiting Obamacare recipients into the government-run exchanges. As I warned in May, the Nanny State navigator corps is a serious threat to Americans' privacy. Background checks and training requirements are minimal to nonexistent. A history of fraud is no barrier to entry.
Case in point: the seedy nonprofit Seedco. This community-organizing group snagged lucrative multimillion-dollar navigator contracts in Georgia, Maryland, Tennessee and New York. The New York Post reports this week that the outfit "is partnering with dozens of agencies, such as the Gay Men's Health Crisis, Food Bank for New York City and the Chinese American Planning Council, in each of (the Big Apple's) five boroughs." They'll have access to potential enrollees' income levels, birthdates, addresses, eligibility for government assistance, Social Security numbers and intensely personal medical information.
Given the enormous responsibility to handle sensitive data in a careful, neutral manner, combined with the overwhelming pressure to boost Obamacare enrollments, you'd think the feds would only choose navigators with the most impeccable records. Yet, less than a year ago, Seedco agreed to settle a civil fraud lawsuit "for faking at least 1,400 of 6,500 job placements under a $22.2 million federally funded contract with the city."
Seedco's corrupt behavior went far beyond defrauding taxpayers through abuse of New York City programs, federal Labor Department funding and federal stimulus dollars. Seedco (which stands for "Structured Employment Economic Development Corporation") tried to destroy and defame whistleblowing official Bill Harper, who discovered and reported the rampant falsification of data.
First, Seedco denied the charges; next, they trashed Harper's reputation in the pages of The New York Times. Only after the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan brought suit did the organization acknowledge systemic, repeated wrongdoing. Seedco forked over a $1.7 million settlement in December 2012. Mere months later, they were racking up federal Obamacare navigator work.
The feds and Seedco assure us that new management is in place. They rearranged some deck chairs, created a new "compliance program" and hired an independent reviewer. But an ethos of by-any-means-necessary book-cooking and a culture of intimidating whistleblowers don't disappear overnight. Seedco shredded documents for three years to phony up their job placement statistics; city government overseers knew about it. The Nonprofit Quarterly noted that Seedco's fraud was "kind of breathtaking" in its "creativity and illegal audacity," including:
--"Taking credit for a job candidate's prior employment as job placements;
--Reporting job placements when the job candidates remained unemployed;
--Falsifying dates of job placements;
--Using other Seedco programs to collect information on clients in order to falsely report job placements; and
--Reporting job placements for people who were not Seedco clients and had not been placed in their jobs by Seedco."
The feds detailed how Seedco managers would instruct clerical workers to troll Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com for resumes and then "report the employment of individuals sourced from those downloaded resumes as job placements." Other employees exploited their relationships with businesses to "gather information from the businesses' current employees. Seedco then used that information to falsely report that employment as a job placement obtained for the candidate by Seedco, although the individuals had no prior relationship with Seedco and had not been recruited into the job by Seedco."
This entire government-nonprofit alliance rests on dragooning as many people as possible into government programs, including food stamps, CHIP (the federal Children's Health Insurance Program) and now Obamacare. One of Seedco's officials actually said the fraud case "made us a stronger organization." Yes, they actually sold their deliberate number-fudging as an asset instead of a liability. And four states swallowed the pitch whole. The spirit of fraud-stained ACORN and its Nanny State progeny lives.
So, buyers, beware: Obamacare security "glitches" are not just a bug. They're a feature.
Looks like we’re in the best possible hands.
once the feds have all of everybody’s information, watch the abuse begin
It’s the new ACORN, but now it has access to such more more of your personal/private information.....what could go wrong?
Just got notice yesterday from Blue Cross that my plan is cancelled as of Jan. 1. DH is on Medicare, but I’m at the mercy of Obamanation care. Yippee.
Glitches.
The law will still slam any non-Gov’t healthcare worker down, but there are no penalties for the ever helpful navigators?
And if there are a few token penalties, who will enforce them?
In most states, insurance salesmen have to be licensed , and bonded ( in case of theft /fraud).
That licenseing procedure may also include a background check , nor any bonding requirement .
It seems that since the Fed is in charge of ObamaCrap , there is no licenseing involved , just complete a 29 hour online course.
watch the abuse begin”””
I was wondering how long it would take the scandal rags & TMZ to pry information out of ‘navigators’ & then get into the medical records of the rich, famous, celebrities & the politicians!!!!!!
There will be a feeding frenzy, IMO.
I’m thinking more along the lines that if you are on record as supporting conservative causes, you could find your personal information publishes in a lefty rag.
Like that rag in NYC published the names and addresses of all the gun owners in the aftermath of Sandy Hook.
Let the iD theft begin.
I just knew it. I am unemployed looking for work. Thought I would apply for one of positions. Could NOT find a jobad anywhere. And I really looked. All these are is get out the vote slush funds for democrats. Disgusting.
Dimes to donuts this “Seedco”’s directors and employees are “Holder’s people”. That’s why they’re getting special treatment from Obama.
I just knew it. I am unemployed looking for work. Thought I would apply for one of positions. Could NOT find a job as anywhere. And I really looked. All these are is get out the vote slush funds for democrats. Disgusting.
ID theft and abuse is one of the features of obamacare.
And take a guess who will be targeted?
You sign up with them and even LIFELOCK wouldn’t be able to help you undo the damage these people will do to you.
From the various TV feeds from across the country yesterday, it is obvious that Whites are not being employed as “navigators.” In fact, every navigator interviewed at these sparsely attended enrollment centers was Black.
This is just another gigantic Affirmative Action program to decrease the soaring Black unemployment numbers caused by Obama’s terrible economy. They will see to it that the Black vote turns out next year. Your tax dollars at work.
No White People by design!
I’ll take Amish for $200.00 :)
<><> “The plan that Congress is considering will provide health insurance to millions of Americans who don’t have it and control costs for millions more who do.” — Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa, calling for Congress to pass ObamaCare, March 16, 2010
<><> “Right now, unless you and the Obama administration enact an equitable fix, the ACA will shatter not only our hard-earned health benefits, but destroy the foundation of the 40-hour work week that is the backbone of the American middle class.”— Hoffa in a July 2013 letter to Sen. Harry Reid and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the top Senate and House Democrats
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