Ten Things to Expect from Obamacare in 2014

caseyresearch ^ | October 16, 2013 | Elizabeth Lee Vliet, M.D.

[listenhillary]

It's been clear to anyone paying attention that the October "rollout" of Obamacare has been a turbulent, confusing disaster. Sloppy IT systems and technological failures combined to cripple Obamacare's sign-up systems. Security flaws put Americans at risk for identity theft.

In an almost comical understatement, President Obama summarized these massive failures as "a few glitches." I think that Luke Chung, IT expert and president of database solutions firm FMS, explained the situation much more accurately:

"What should clearly be an enterprise quality, highly scalable software application felt like it wouldn't pass a basic code review. It appears the people who built the site don't know what they're doing, never used it and didn't test it."

Chung went on to call it a "technological disaster."

Continued

[Cyman]

Still looking for the officials name Karen something or other...... but here is a quote from Healthcare Finance Industry article “Dollars and Sense, Mitigating Budget Risk For ICD 10” dated February 1, 2013

“Potential Budget Risks

A significant number of tasks and activities should be accounted for in an organization’s ICD-10 budget, from assessment to remediation to system/process/policy upgrades to post-compliance remediation. These 10 areas can help prepare an organization for the work ahead. As healthcare finance leaders delve deeper into the ICD-10 preparation process, this list can be customized for their organizations’ needs.

Risk No. 1: Insufficient cash-on-hand. Because the projected fiscal impact of CD-10 will be different for each organization, there is no correct answer as to how much cash on hand is required to support the transition to ICD-10. Estimated requirements range from six to 12 months of cash on hand,

[Slyfox]

Thanks for the clarification.

$12,000 bucks for Obama for the sale on every house in DC.

Huh. Somebody is going to be upset, unless they have secured an exemption.

[Cyman]

The HIMSS ICD-10 PlayBook, a blueprint for provider and payers ICD-10 implementation, recommends that practices should have a minimum of six months of cash reserves to mitigate revenue impacts during the transformation period.

[goodnesswins]

Thank you...that should help.

[GOPJ]

In an almost comical understatement, President Obama summarized these massive failures as "a few glitches." I think that Luke Chung, IT expert and president of database solutions firm FMS, explained the situation much more accurately: "What should clearly be an enterprise quality, highly scalable software application felt like it wouldn't pass a basic code review. It appears the people who built the site don't know what they're doing, never used it and didn't test it."

Ping

[bert]

-——Obamacare seeks to replace the adaptability and efficiency of our free markets with heavy-handed government control and micromanaging by bureaucrats who don’t have a clue about what really helps patients.——

and..... is grounds for revolution.

[Pollster1]

"What should clearly be an enterprise quality, highly scalable software application felt like it wouldn't pass a basic code review. It appears the people who built the site don't know what they're doing, never used it and didn't test it." Chung went on to call it a "technological disaster."

$700M doesn't go as far as it used to.

[Liz]

OBAMACARE'S PRIVACY NIGHTMARE---AG's from 13 states wrote HHS' Sebelius to express concerns over consumer privacy and oversight of “Obamacare navigators,” counselors charged with assisting consumers.....the AGs' asked HHS what policies were in place to: (1) screen and monitor program personnel, (2) prevent fraud and remedy cases of it, and, (3) regulate the navigators at the state level....... chief among AG concerns was (5) whether sufficient safeguards were in place to prevent security breaches.

TALKING POINTS---A West Virginia nonprofit has turned down a federal grant it received to help residents navigate new health insurance options under the Affordable Care Act after it received an inquiry from Attorney General Patrick Morrisey about how it would protect consumer information. Clarksburg-based West Virginia Parent Training Inc. did not respond to a letter it received from Morrisey directing it to answer 26 questions about the group's personnel and hiring practices, including employee background checks and employee monitoring programs, the Sunday Gazette-Mail (http://bit.ly/17M1QVe) reported. (Excerpt) Read more at sanluisobispo.com ...

YOUR TURN--Contact your state AG---ask him/her to issue a letter of inquiry to groups receiving federal "Navigator" grants. The inquiry should center on questions WRT how the group intends to protect consumer data.

In particular, the questionnaire should ask if the tax-funded "Navigator" program intends to transfer personal/ financial/medical data of the insured to the local/county/national Democrat Party, relevant Unions, banks, investment companies, drug companies, insurance companies. Trial Lawyers' associations and whether "Navigators" have sub rosa contracts with these, and other groups, plan to profit, to provide significant info to enrich databases for pecuniary purposes.

The AG also needs to confirm (1) whether the "navigator" was ever convicted of a felony....... and....(2) whether the "navigator" can be bonded.

Most importantly demand that your AG enforce the requirement that "Navigators" must have a state insurance license (consists of a comprehensive test on all aspects of insurance and compels a background check).

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DAILY CALLER.COM--Kansas Obamacare ‘navigator’
has outstanding arrest warrant / by Michael Volpe

>

Rosilyn Wells — the Director of Outreach and Enrollment for the Heartland Community Health-care Center (HCHC)-- was hired as an Obamacare "navigator" despite her shady financial history: (1) a bankruptcy in 2003, (2) a 2007 civil charge from a local check cashing business for writing a bad check, (3) being more than $1700 behind on her state tax bill, and, (4) having an outstanding arrest warrant in nearby Shawnee County. Wells lives and works in Douglass County.

[Liz]

Taxpayers were ripped off a staggering $634 million (that we know of) for setting-up the amateurish Obamacare sign-up web site----than that of LinkedIn and Spotify combined-----the site already has been shut down once for repairs....and problems persist.

INCONVENIENT FACTOID one story surfaced last week that the same crew that got the contract for the ObamaCare website were former data/media/social media people from the Obama campaign.

INCONVENIENT FACTOID Toni Townes-Whitley, Senior Vice President at CGI Federal for Civilian Agency programs, is Princeton Class of 1985---same dumbed-down class as Michelle Obama. Both are members of Association of Black Princeton Alumni.

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A GLIMPSE OF WHAT'S TO COME A November 30, 2012 Cato.com report indicated the Insurance Exchanges will cost Twice What it Costs to Administer Medicare (NOT what the WH twit told Americans).

ONE STATE'S LAUNCH--- In March 2013 CATO.COM reported "The Cost to Launch the California Health Insurance Exchange is $910 million".

So far (2012) California has received $910 million in federal grants to launch its new health insurance exchange under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"). The California exchange, "Covered California," has so far awarded a $183 million contract to Accenture to build the website, enrollment, and eligibility system and another $174 million to operate the exchange for four years.

The state will also spend $250 million on a two-year marketing campaign. By comparison California Senator Barbara Boxer spent $28 million on her 2010 statewide reelection campaign while her challenger spent another $22 million.

The most recent installment of the $910 million in federal money was a $674 million grant. The exchange's executive director noted that was less than the $706 million he had asked for. "The feds reduced the 2014 potential payment for outreach and enrollment by about $30 million," he said. "But we think we have enough resources on hand to do the biggest outreach that I have ever seen."

For additional perspective....private insurance marketing site, Esurance sells not only health insurance but also things like homeowners and auto insurance across the country......author put his zip code into their system along with his age, they offered him 87 different health plans from all the big players in my area.

Now granted, the new health insurance exchanges are more complex because they have to interface with Medicaid and the IRS as well as calculate subsidies. But the order of magnitude difference in what it cost to launch esurance compared to the California exchange is pretty big.

Privately funded Esurance began its multi-product national web business in 1998 with an initial $5.5 million round of venture fund investment in 1999 and a second round of $34 million a few months later.

The start-up experience of other major web companies is also instructive. Facebook received $13.7 million to launch in 2005. eBay was founded in 1995 and received its first venture money in 1997––$6.7 million.

Even doubling these private investments for inflation still leaves quite a gap.

SOURCE http://www.cato.org/blog/californias-obamacare-exchange-costs-56-times-more-launch-facebook