It’s Day 6 of Obamacare — and the healthcare exchange websites still aren’t working. Wanna know how not working they are? Here’s how much not: Google officially lists New York State’s healthcare marketplace as “Site Currently Unavailable.” Check it out:
This, President Obama + Obamabot defenders, is not a “glitch.” This is a fuckup. And it prompts some questions, like:
1. How many people will get tired of this shit and simply stop trying? If 47% of web users abandon an e-commerce website if it fails to load in 3 seconds, how many will give up and eat the $75 fine if it fails to load in 6 days?
2. Given that the available time to sign up is being eaten up by these inexcusable delays in implementation, will Americans get an extension, extra time to enroll?
7 Comments.
Look — there’s lots of reason why Obamacare is terrible. This tech issue, while bad and totally unprofessional, is minor. Minor compared to the REAL problems with Obamacare, which should be highlighted fully as this slow-moving disaster reveals itself.
Case in point: Price controls. Look at the premiums under Obamacare. $350 per month with a $2k deductible and significant co-pays! THIS is the starting point? My God, imagine what it’s going to cost just a few years from now, and this is MANDATORY! What the hell was all this talk about price controls! It’s already over-priced, only affordable for the most affluent — and this is just the start!
That’s the real shitstorm that needs to be focused on. The tech stuff, while bad, is small potatoes compared to the other travesties in this mess.
Man, after looking at what’s available for me in New York, $350 a month sounds fabulous. Count me in. But I’m beginning to think that’s only for 18-year-olds.
I’ll add: The pricing I noted is for the SILVER plans, not even the GOLD or PLATINUM! That’s for SILVER, which is just one notch above the BRONZE — and the BRONZE is basically catastrophic care coverage. They even tell you that BRONZE plan is for people who aren’t going to use their coverage.
So — the pricing I noted ($350 per month with a $2k deductible and significant co-pays) is really the starting point for anyone who wants to purchase usable coverage. That means a minimum of $7k to $8k for anyone that uses coverage for basic health care. HOW does anyone think this is something to cheer about!? THAT is what needs a real investigative report. I’d like to know how this could possibly be working for the average American.
By the way, the crappy website is indicative. You can’t judge a book by its cover, but I remember from my days shopping for music that cool album art often was an indication that the music had been made with care. And crappy album art often indicated the opposite. The same is true of books today. Self published books look, well, self published.
When you can’t even get something as simple as a website to work, and you’re a state or federal government of the richest country on earth, it proves that you really don’t care very much about the product.
I agree, the website stuff is terrible, and it is indicative of the sloppiness of this travesty. Still, focusing too much on that aspect will just come off as sour grapes to the left, to Obama loyalists. The costs though, are indisputable. That needs investigation and focus.
It’s all just as well. Obamacare is only affordable for middle-class people.
They should have done the smart thing and simply enrolled people in Medicare, with a premium based on income for those under 65.
“But I’m beginning to think that’s only for 18-year-olds.”
Maybe you’re on to something, Ted. Maybe they only want young and and healthy people. If so, it would make that “pre-existing condition” clause to be so much bullshit. Perhaps somebody should do an investigation about who is getting ACA and who’s not.