ObamaCare Info

[njcarita]

Okay day 21 of trying....... And guess what ........ Website still not working..........

 

[Gracie09]

Why don't you call the toll free number to get assistance.

 

[njcarita]

Why don't you call the toll free number to get assistance.

that will be my next step when i have an hour to wait on hold............ but i am hoping the website is up soon........... cause i am leary of giving my info ( ss# etc) to a live person....some of the info is that the screening for those being hired has not been the best.........

 

[johde]

Why don't you call the toll free number to get assistance.

Some of us have tried the toll free number. I'm currently stuck at the identity verification part of the process and was told by the person on the phone they couldn't help me until I get past that point. My photo ID has been "being validated" for over a week now.

 

[tinatark]

that will be my next step when i have an hour to wait on hold............ but i am hoping the website is up soon........... cause i am leary of giving my info ( ss# etc) to a live person....some of the info is that the screening for those being hired has not been the best.........

I just heard in a news conference that the average wait time was less than one minute? And that start to finish, you can get a quote for family coverage in 45 minutes.

Guess not.

 

[Debbie7452]

They do not give you an immediate quote. You apply over the phone and then 3-5 Business days later they email you the quotes. This applies to the states using the Federal Marketplace.

 

[Muushka]

This roll out is working so well that I can't wait to see the wonderful plans that they have for single payer,
which is the ultimate goal. It's gonna be awesome .

 

[Robbi]

Lovely, just received this from my brother:
ACA Navigators – Why are they in Existence?
Within the past 2 minutes I received a memo from an industry lobby group which indicates that the (navigators – are telephone operators hired to enroll citizens, in direct competition with agents), have been instructed as of this morning, not to continue to “discourage” communication between agents and applicants……. Duh? Our statement to DC is, “just, let us do our job” & this quagmire will smooth out.

So apprently, naviagtors have been trained to discourage people from talking to insurance agents up to this point. I guess maybe with the computer system so screwed up, officials are worried about not getting the number enrolled that is needed.

 

[mikek]

Why don't you call the toll free number to get assistance.

- is what no one who's ever tried to use the exchanges would say....
(Just joking)


Anyway, I called the 800 number. they said my account was fubared and needed to be escalated. They asked when the escalations group should call me back. I let them know evenings after 5pm where best. They woman replied "can i put you down for the 6-9pm window?" I said yes.

the *$%&$%*$%$#s called the next day at 4pm and left me a message on my machine that since i wasn't there to answer the call the ticket would be closed and to call back.

I called back and got in the que after 40 minutes I had someplace to go.

I HAVE TO WORK to pay my bills so calling during the day is not easy. I'm hoping that this all powerful surge fixes the website, but if not I'll subject my self to the phone again in a week or two.

 

[mikek]

I just heard in a news conference that the average wait time was less than one minute? And that start to finish, you can get a quote for family coverage in 45 minutes.

Guess not.

I suppose if you call at 1am?

certainly not the case in the evenings.

 

[johde]

- is what no one who's ever tried to use the exchanges would say....
(Just joking)


Anyway, I called the 800 number. they said my account was fubared and needed to be escalated. They asked when the escalations group should call me back. I let them know evenings after 5pm where best. They woman replied "can i put you down for the 6-9pm window?" I said yes.

the *$%&$%*$%$#s called the next day at 4pm and left me a message on my machine that since i wasn't there to answer the call the ticket would be closed and to call back.

I called back and got in the que after 40 minutes I had someplace to go.

I HAVE TO WORK to pay my bills so calling during the day is not easy. I'm hoping that this all powerful surge fixes the website, but if not I'll subject my self to the phone again in a week or two.

Another option would be to work with an insurance agent. After all of this that's what I'm probably going to do. That way, they can earn their money by helping you get into the system and giving you advice on what plan to buy.

 

[mikek]

Another option would be to work with an insurance agent. After all of this that's what I'm probably going to do. That way, they can earn their money by helping you get into the system and giving you advice on what plan to buy.

I like my current guy, and think he's done right by me, so in the end whatever i can do to help him stay in business i will.

But he's told me that basically they are no better off than us (at least for NJ). For individual plans they have trouble getting on the system- they use exactly the same broken computer system we have apparently- somehow in this great process the powers that be even blew up the brokers old system for electronically accessing pricing from multiple providers. Seems in the great rush to hand out subsidies to 'most people' they have hosed the whole system to get anyone a quote.

So that also means for the small business plans they don't have any information about pricing or even what the plans will be either.

understandable they are focusing on people with renewal dates in January as those poor suckers can't even wait a month with their old plans.

BCBS keeps telling them there will be "plenty of good options" and so the brokers are trying to be 'optimistic'. But the media and pols are also telling us the premiums on the exchanges 'aren't that bad' yet we know that's a fallacy for many of us at this point. So while my broker can be optimistic all he wants with my money, I'm feeling pretty pessimistic for my wallet.

I'll circle back with my broker sometime in the last half of november.

 

[robinb]

Some of us have tried the toll free number. I'm currently stuck at the identity verification part of the process and was told by the person on the phone they couldn't help me until I get past that point. My photo ID has been "being validated" for over a week now.

Anyway, I called the 800 number. they said my account was fubared and needed to be escalated.

that will be my next step when i have an hour to wait on hold............ but i am hoping the website is up soon........... cause i am leary of giving my info ( ss# etc) to a live person....some of the info is that the screening for those being hired has not been the best.........

I see that all 3 of you are from NJ. Do different states have different requirements for validation? I'm from Wisconsin and my state also choose not to run their own program. I just applied online at healthcare.gov and I got to where I validated my email address and then the website was a bit slow around lunch (11-12:30). I waited until about 1:15 and I was able to finish my application in about 15 minutes, including entering information for my DH and DD. I didn't have to validate a DL or anything like that. Just my SSN and then it asked me some multiple choice questions about myself that I answered (like previous address' street name). my experience went a LOT better than I expected it to after reading of all of your troubles.

So, I wonder if it's a NJ thing. That somehow the NJ requirements are not being implemented correctly or if there is a connection between the federal website and a website for validations in the state that is messing up. I know that's cold comfort to you when things are going so badly for all of you .

 

[Robbi]

No one that I know in Louisiana, California, New York, or Florida have been able to sign up yet.

 

[Gracie09]

There was an article on huff post that linked to Fox News (get that) talking about a family in ny that had some difficulty initially but we're able to get on one morning. She had about 50 choices and I believe ended up paying about the same or slightly less for a better plan. It was a bcbs plan.

 

[johde]

I see that all 3 of you are from NJ. Do different states have different requirements for validation? I'm from Wisconsin and my state also choose not to run their own program. I just applied online at healthcare.gov and I got to where I validated my email address and then the website was a bit slow around lunch (11-12:30). I waited until about 1:15 and I was able to finish my application in about 15 minutes, including entering information for my DH and DD. I didn't have to validate a DL or anything like that. Just my SSN and then it asked me some multiple choice questions about myself that I answered (like previous address' street name). my experience went a LOT better than I expected it to after reading of all of your troubles.

So, I wonder if it's a NJ thing. That somehow the NJ requirements are not being implemented correctly or if there is a connection between the federal website and a website for validations in the state that is messing up. I know that's cold comfort to you when things are going so badly for all of you .

Look again, I'm from Ohio. So, I'm in the federal exchange. In my case, I made it to the multiple choice questions but it didn't like my answers. I don't know if it was an Experian, healthcare.gov, or some other problem. After too many attempts, it kicks you out and wants you to upload or mail in some form of photo ID to prove your identity. Depending on what you picked it would be either 1 or 2 forms of ID.

 

[mikek]

There was an article on huff post that linked to Fox News (get that) talking about a family in ny that had some difficulty initially but we're able to get on one morning. She had about 50 choices and I believe ended up paying about the same or slightly less for a better plan. It was a bcbs plan.

Ignoring that one anecdotal story doesn't really mean anything (just as the few handfuls of stories plus or minus here don't really amount to any statistically important sample)-

the one comment I'd make is that "pay slightly less" means jack sprat. If they are at 101% of the poverty line they are getting a huge subsidy (and IMHO rightly so). But that doesn't mean the PREMIUM wasn't a huge amount higher.

Ignoring the actual premium costs is a horrible mistake. People complain about their "taxes" and most of them are complaining about their income tax. Yet since SS and medicare are directly withdrawn from their paychecks they dont notice those are much higher costs and so they dont understand the issues fully. The same thing is happening here- when "what people pays goes down" it ignores the fact that the actual cost went way up and that the government is paying that. And more insidiously the people dont understand that insurance is so expensive - I was at a customer today- fortune 100 and the employees where complaining that their contribution is "double" in 2014. The thing is they have grandfathered plans so the most the employee can increase the percentage they pay is 5%. SO at worst these people were paying 5% of the premium and are now paying 10%- and they have NO IDEA that the actual cost is TEN TIMES what comes out of their check or more. Nothing is affordable here it's only subsidized. It's just kicking the can down the road till another day when the actual costs have to be addressed.

 

[mikek]

I see that all 3 of you are from NJ. Do different states have different requirements for validation? I'm from Wisconsin and my state also choose not to run their own program. I just applied online at healthcare.gov and I got to where I validated my email address and then the website was a bit slow around lunch (11-12:30). I waited until about 1:15 and I was able to finish my application in about 15 minutes, including entering information for my DH and DD. I didn't have to validate a DL or anything like that. Just my SSN and then it asked me some multiple choice questions about myself that I answered (like previous address' street name). my experience went a LOT better than I expected it to after reading of all of your troubles.

So, I wonder if it's a NJ thing. That somehow the NJ requirements are not being implemented correctly or if there is a connection between the federal website and a website for validations in the state that is messing up. I know that's cold comfort to you when things are going so badly for all of you .

it could be a NJ thing but i'm under the impression from my own experience and numerous print and online articles that one of the major problems in the system is the verification system.


I can't speak for the others, but one of my problems appears to be I stupidly expected the system to work out of the box and signed up early on. I should have had more patience.

that said- after being advised to 'just create a second account with a different email' that got no where either as i'm still waiting for email with the link to verify my email address. (after about a week).

Maybe I'll try a third email address when i have some time.

 

[Gracie09]

Ignoring that one anecdotal story doesn't really mean anything (just as the few handfuls of stories plus or minus here don't really amount to any statistically important sample)- the one comment I'd make is that "pay slightly less" means jack sprat. If they are at 101% of the poverty line they are getting a huge subsidy (and IMHO rightly so). But that doesn't mean the PREMIUM wasn't a huge amount higher. Ignoring the actual premium costs is a horrible mistake. People complain about their "taxes" and most of them are complaining about their income tax. Yet since SS and medicare are directly withdrawn from their paychecks they dont notice those are much higher costs and so they dont understand the issues fully. The same thing is happening here- when "what people pays goes down" it ignores the fact that the actual cost went way up and that the government is paying that. And more insidiously the people dont understand that insurance is so expensive - I was at a customer today- fortune 100 and the employees where complaining that their contribution is "double" in 2014. The thing is they have grandfathered plans so the most the employee can increase the percentage they pay is 5%. SO at worst these people were paying 5% of the premium and are now paying 10%- and they have NO IDEA that the actual cost is TEN TIMES what comes out of their check or more. Nothing is affordable here it's only subsidized. It's just kicking the can down the road till another day when the actual costs have to be addressed.

Well it is always easier to jump up and down and yell and scream instead of actually reading the article. She is a news reporter living around NYC If she was making 101% or poverty she would be living in a cardboard box. She has been paying out of pocket for a fairly crappy policy that actually covered and now is paying out of pocket about the same for a better policy. That is the way it's suppose to work. But keep yelling and jumping up and down and complaining that you can't log on and not trying any of the other options to get information. Like the story npr did last week about a woman in dc didn't have insurance because she couldn't afford it. When she had problems logging on and called the hotline and after giving basic information was sent a packet in the mail. She is now covered for the first time in years.
So keep yelling and screaming and jumping up and down. You're only really hurting yourself.

 

[mistysue]

Well it is always easier to jump up and down and yell and scream instead of actually reading the article. She is a news reporter living around NYC If she was making 101% or poverty she would be living in a cardboard box. She has been paying out of pocket for a fairly crappy policy that actually covered and now is paying out of pocket about the same for a better policy. That is the way it's suppose to work. But keep yelling and jumping up and down and complaining that you can't log on and not trying any of the other options to get information. Like the story npr did last week about a woman in dc didn't have insurance because she couldn't afford it. When she had problems logging on and called the hotline and after giving basic information was sent a packet in the mail. She is now covered for the first time in years.
So keep yelling and screaming and jumping up and down. You're only really hurting yourself.

The people jumping up and down amuse me. I also read an article where a reporter did some fact checking on 6 people who went onto FOX news to complain... he found that most of them were outright lying and making up numbers.
It's not going to be positive for EVERYBODY, but we need investigate and use real information, not just horror stories and fear.