October 02, 2013 – Wednesday
Insuring Disaster
ObamaCare isn’t connecting with voters — and yesterday, it just plain wasn’t connecting with anything! System failures, network crashes, and error messages seemed to multiply from one state exchange to the next, ruining the rollout of what was supposed to be the answer to America’s health care prayers. Despite three years to work out the kinks, the dawn of the health care law was one of the President’s biggest embarrassments yet, as reporters raced to cover one malfunction to the next. When MSNBC’s Mara Schiavocampo tried to sign up for ObamaCare on live TV — and couldn’t — even she was frustrated. “If I were signing up for myself, this is where my patience would be exhausted.”
Join the club. For the shrinking minority who support the President’s health care law, their first taste of ObamaCare was a bad one. In Colorado, officials couldn’t calculate the subsidies; Marylanders had a four-hour wait just to apply (but at least they finally opened their exchange — unlike Oregon); Washington State’s website flashed warnings like “connection refused;” and the federal government flat-out turned away Americans with the message “system down.” Other networks in New York, Kentucky, Michigan, and Iowa couldn’t handle the traffic.
The logjam created by the curious led to unprecedented technical difficulties and computer hiccups. But the interest in the government’s new program hasn’t exactly translated into enrollments. By noon, Connecticut’s exchange had only registered 24 people. That might explain the Obama administration’s sudden coyness on enrollment numbers. “We’re not releasing that information yet,” said Marilyn Tavenner of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. “…[B]ut we can confirm that people have enrolled both through the state marketplace and the federally-facilitated marketplace.”
Those who did were probably stunned to see that the most expensive preexisting condition is… marriage! The “wedding tax,” as the engaged Tom Blumber points out, is punishing the most stable unit in society with thousands of dollars in extra fees. Although the amount can vary, CNSNews is reporting that married couples can lose as much as $7,230 per year just for tying the knot. Marriage penalty, wedding tax, divorce incentive — by any name, its ill effects will be felt by the middle class working family.
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