"Health care site can’t fix mistakes; Appeals process binds consumers" by Amy Goldstein | Washington Post, February 04, 2014
WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands of people who discovered that HealthCare.gov made mistakes as they were signing up for a health plan are confronting a new roadblock: The government cannot yet fix the errors.
OMG!
After I was told HealthCare.gov largely works well now and the federal health care website may be fixed, but....
Yeah, it is driving me to tears, readers.
About 22,000 Americans have filed appeals with the government to try to get mistakes corrected, according to internal government data obtained by The Washington Post....
For now, the appeals are sitting, untouched, inside a government computer.
An unknown number of consumers are trying to get help through less formal means — by calling the health care marketplace directly.
I thought we were patients. The terminology tells you all you need to know about the propaganda pre$$ and their view of your health.
They are told federal workers do not have access to enrollment records to change them, according to individuals inside and outside the government who are familiar with the situation.
‘‘It is definitely frustrating and not fair,’’ said Addie Wilson, 27, who lives in Fairmont, W.Va., and earns $22,000 a year working with at-risk families. She said that she is paying $100 a month more than she should for her insurance and that her deductible is $4,000 too high.
I told you it was all a CA$H GRAB by this government, sob.
When Wilson logged on to HealthCare.gov in late December, she needed coverage right away. Her old insurance was ending, and she was to have gallbladder surgery in January. But the website would not calculate the federal subsidy to which she knew she was entitled.
Does ANYTHING on that f***ing site work?
Terrified to go without coverage, Wilson phoned a federal call center and took the advice she was given: Pay the full price now and appeal later.
Now she is stuck.
‘‘I hope,’’ she said, ‘‘they really work on getting this fixed.’’
I was told it WAS ALL FIXED, waaaah!! Waaaah!! Waaaah!!!
The Obama administration has not made public the fact that the appeals system for the online marketplace is not working....
This from the TRANSPARENT PRESIDENT, remember that?
Yeah, we are SEEING RIGHT THROUGH THAT F*** these days! Wah!
A centers spokesman, Aaron Albright, said, ‘‘We are working to fully implement the appeals system.’’
I'm so, sob, tired, sob, of being served up shit excuses, sob, by a shit government!!!!!!!!
Three knowledgeable individuals, speaking on the condition of anonymity about internal discussions, said it is unclear when the appeals process will become available.
So far, it is not among the top priorities for completing parts of the federal insurance exchange’s computer system that still do not work.
Yeah, the ONE PRIORITY has been the TAXPAYER PAYMENT!
Those include an electronic payment system for insurers, the computerized exchange of enrollment information with state Medicaid programs, and the ability to adjust people’s coverage to accommodate new babies and other major changes in life circumstance.
But I was told it was all fixed and working fine now!!!
--more--"
Maybe these stories will bring tears to your eyes:
"Some who sought health coverage remain uninsured" by Chelsea Conaboy | Globe staff, January 31, 2014
Hannah Orestis has no health coverage, despite her best efforts. The 27-year-old nurse from Marlborough selected a plan that was supposed to start in January through the Massachusetts Health Connector Authority, which runs the state’s insurance marketplace. She mailed a check Dec. 24, but it was never cashed.
Orestis has spent hours on the phone with state customer service representatives trying to find out what happened and how to fix it. She said she has been told repeatedly to expect a call from a supervisor that never comes. She has asked for help from the governor’s office, with little effect....
All thanks to integration with Obummercare!
An untold number of people have not gotten coverage, because their payments were lost or somehow never linked to their accounts.
For Orestis, whose previous health plan expired in December, being uninsured means paying the $600 monthly cost of medication to manage her Crohn’s disease, more than she can afford.
“It’s really sad,” she said. “I’m worried about my health.”
Nearly 7,000 people have succeeded in signing up for unsubsidized health plans through the new Connector. But Connector officials acknowledged Thursday that others have completed applications and paid for their preferred health plan but still have not been granted coverage....
And jwho does the jewspaper talk to?
A “disappointed and disgruntled” Liebowitz.
Connector executive director Jean Yang said Thursday that the manual systems created to bypass the malfunctioning website are complicated. The agency has been working to identify stalled enrollments, so that a crisis management team can address them....
The fixes have not “happened as fast as we would have liked,” Yang said. “We won’t stop until it’s all taken care of.”
The Connector website was developed by CGI, the same firm that created the federal healthcare.gov website that got off to a rocky start.
But, while the federal site is largely fixed, major components of the state site still do not work, including those that process payments, determine whether people are eligible for subsidies, and transfer information automatically to health insurers.
Waaaahhhh! Waaaaaahhhh! Waaaahhhhh!
I can't do this anymore, readers, I'm sorry. I can NO LONGER READ THIS $HIT because it is making me SO SAD!!
Yang said the state has received a draft report from an independent contractor recommending a solution, but she said federal officials have not made the report available for public release.
“We will have a fix,” Governor Deval Patrick told State House News Service Thursday. “We are not going to let people slip through the cracks.”
As people slip through the cracks, you detestable piece of shit.
********************
Carol Clark of Brookline said the Connector cashed her check, payment for a plan to start in February, on Jan. 13. But many calls to the Connector have yielded no information about whether she will have coverage Saturday, when the insurance she has been buying through a former employer will end. One customer service representative told her the cashed check was confirmation enough, she said.
Hey, THEY got what THEY wanted!
“I can’t go into the emergency room waving a canceled check,” Clark said. “I’m 62 years old. I cannot risk having my retirement and everything taken away from me if I’m in a car accident or I have a heart attack.”
After paying a January premium but not receiving coverage, Heather Foley, 37, of Brewster was told by Connector representatives that she had to pay a February premium, too, or her plan would be canceled. Her detailed log of calls made in an attempt to verify her coverage spans four typed pages.
It really breaks your heart and brings you to tears. At least the upper crust and their political servants don't suffer for anything. Those are the only people I care about these days. If wealth is happy, great. If not, what more can we do to make them happy and comfortable?
That the Connector has asked her to make payment on a service she has not received is frustrating, said Foley, a chiropractor who has been putting off surgery to repair cartilage in her hip. In her business, she said, “that would be fraud.”
It is fraud, but it's okay when the state or banks do it.
The Legislature’s Joint Committee on Health Care Financing has scheduled a Feb. 12 hearing on the Connector woes.
As usual, a$$hole legi$lature and its show hearings will be no help at all.
“This is going to be an opportunity for the Connector and the administration to be able to kind of come in and tell exactly what has happened, where they are now, and where they see us being able to be,” said its cochairman, Senator James Welch, a West Springfield Democrat.
State contractors, including CGI, will not be invited to give testimony or answer questions, Welch said. Nor will members of the public.
Like I said, a show hearing.
--more--"
My $adne$$ must be due to the weather, right?
"Stock market plunges amid worries of sluggish growth" by Nathaniel Popper | New York Times, February 04, 2014
NEW YORK — Signs of weakness in the US economy pushed Wall Street to its worst day in an already bad year.
Well, 2013 was a record so....
US stocks end tough January with another decline
US economy is flexing more of its muscle
Looks weak.
The catalyst Monday was the release of a survey of the manufacturing industry, which fell in January to its lowest level in eight months....
After I was told it was gaining momentum and picking up steam.
"The labor market continues to strengthen as more Americans left the workforce."
Yeah, the fact that your are not counted anymore makes government and the numbers look good!
"The decline in layoffs has been coinciding with stronger hiring. There are signs that the job gains have helped to lift other parts of the economy. Many economists have become more optimistic about growth in the October-December quarter that just ended. Not all the data have been positive."
Related: Mass. holiday retail sales weaker than expected
And we allegedly have a stronger economy than the nation as a whole, or so the Globe tells me.
This was a holiday season that most stores would like to forget
Also see: Xmas Day Shopping
I think this will be the last time I shop for a Globe, folks.
"The recession ended in June 2009....
That's a real knee-$lapper!
‘‘2014 could be the year where the recovery really starts to gain some ground.’’....
Been hearing that every year for the last five years!
The reports add to other hopeful signs that 2014 could mark a turning point for an economy that has suffered through fits and starts since the recession ended. Paul Dales, an economist at Capital Economics, said the economy faces fewer barriers this year. Steep spending cuts or tax increases, which held back growth in 2013, are unlikely.
Held back growth?
Even as a strong stock market and better business climate have continued to concentrate American wealth in the top 1 percent of earners?
Europe’s economy is picking up slightly after a long recession. And American consumers have more money to spend, thanks to greater hiring and last year’s stock market surge. The ISM survey followed other reports showing a healthier US manufacturing sector. Strong factory output could lead to more jobs."
Are you as sick of this $hit as I am?
The discouraging manufacturing numbers — and similarly disappointing figures on car sales — were attributed to recent bad weather.
I can't believe they expect us to believe a pos excuse like the weather -- in this era of fart-misting spew, too!
See: Carmakers blame cold as sales slip
I'm having a hard time getting started with the globe these days. What a piece of rank-rot pre$$ propaganda!
But together they were enough to cause concern among investors that talk of a strengthening economic recovery may have been too optimistic.
OMG! In other words, I HAVE BEEN TELLING YOU the TRUTH all this TIME while the PROPAGANDA PRE$$ LIED TO YOU AGAIN!
Markets around the world have been vulnerable to bouts of turmoil since the Federal Reserve started scaling back the bond-buying programs it has used to stimulate the US economy, the world’s largest. As the Fed starts to take its foot off the accelerator, questions about the strength of global growth have mounted.
That's why the market is tanking. The Fed is removing the $85 billion a month in profit-boosting printing press dollars!
In recent weeks, those questions have focused on slowdowns in the emerging economies in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America, which have long relied on the low interest rates promoted by the Fed. Sell-offs in places like Turkey and Russia have caused concern that they could eventually be as a drag on the US economy.
Stocks plunged 3 percent Tuesday morning in Tokyo. But Monday, it was the United States that helped lead the world down....
Can't really argue with that. It's what happens when you are a slave of the Jew World Order.
The most disappointing number came from the question asked about new orders, which is seen as a forward-looking indicator....
Translation: This economy is HEADED FOR COLLAPSE! Will need to get a WORLD WAR GOING to take your minds off it!
Many economists, though, were cautioning investors not to take the new data too seriously, given other recent signals pointing to continuing economic growth, and the many warnings about temporary weather-related issues in Monday’s data....
Then WHY the BIG STORY in the GLOBE, and WHY AM I READING THIS $TEAMING PILE of $TINK then?
Investors largely described the market’s extreme reaction as a somewhat expected rebalancing after the big gains US stocks experienced last year.
“There were a huge amount of profits not taken at year-end,” said Ed Yardeni, an independent economic analyst. “Everybody was waiting patiently for the market to go down.”
***************
The move out of stocks has reversed what had been a growing shift away from bonds. Investors are again seeking the safety of bonds....
Because taxpayers are on the hook for those and it guarantees the rich a revenue stream through their paid pro$titutes of government.
And the propaganda pre$$ told you taxes needed to be raised to pay for services! Ha!
Despite the relative complacency on many trading desks, strategists are watching for any new signs of a slowdown. The most important indicator will come Friday, with the monthly employment report.
Like we are going to believe anything this government puts out.
Last month, the number of jobs created came in far below the level anticipated. That, too, was written off as an anomaly, but recent data haves economists questioning if there is a more significant turn.
"It came as a shock: So what happened in December? Economists struggled for explanations.
Translation: What bull$hit will people buy?
Blurring the picture, a wave of Americans stopped looking for work, meaning they were no longer counted as unemployed.
I was never counted.
Friday’s weak report from the Labor Department was particularly surprising because it followed a flurry of data that had pointed to a robust economy: US companies are selling record levels of goods overseas. Americans are spending more on big purchases like cars and appliances. Layoffs have dwindled. Consumer confidence is up and debt levels are down. Builders broke ground in November on the most new homes in five years. “The disappointing jobs report flies in the face of most recent economic data.
Wake up and SMELL the WHOREPORATE BULL$HIT, folks!
Few analysts saw the sharp slowdown as the beginning of a much weaker trend. “There is a good possibility this is just a one-shot deal that could either get revised away or made up for in next month’s release,” Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West, said in a note to clients.
Stop throwing $hit around, will ya?
Cold weather affected the report in several ways. Michael Hanson, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, estimated that all told, the cold weather lowered hiring by about 75,000 jobs. Several economists also highlighted statistical quirks in the report that they say are unlikely to be repeated. Mark Vitner of Wells Fargo noted that several industries reported unusually steep job losses. Accounting and bookkeeping services, for example, lost 24,700 jobs, the most in nearly 11 years. And performing arts and spectator sports cut 11,600, the most in 2½ years. The movie industry shed 13,700 jobs. “We should expect to see at least one fluky employment report each year,” Vitner said.
All those job cuts in those profitable industries driving the US economy in this era of recovery?
WTF?
“December’s . . . was likely that report.” Perhaps as surprising as last month’s weak job growth was the flood of people — 347,000 — who stopped looking for jobs. The proportion of people working or looking for work fell to 62.8 percent, matching a nearly 36-year low."
But they MADE the NUMBERS LOOK GOOD so CORPORATIONS and BUSINESS could CROW!
“As for market nerves, the latest batch of data does not bode well for Friday’s employment report, which means investors may yet anticipate further volatility ahead of its release,” Andrew Wilkinson, at Interactive Brokers, wrote.
Still, many strategists expect recent signs of weakness to leave with winter. “It certainly feels like there’s nothing that has fundamentally changed to set off a bear market,” Ghriskey said.
Would you believe liars who have consistently been wrong, readers?
--more--"
As for the most recent things, I'm tired of promises as the checks stop coming and income was flat during a horrible holiday season.
As for the most recent things, I'm tired of promises as the checks stop coming and income was flat during a horrible holiday season.
"Biting cold puts a freeze on restaurant business" Associated Press, January 31, 2014
TOLEDO, Ohio — The homemade matzo ball and beef barley soups are lost on customers walking into Rascals’ NY Deli — because there just aren’t very many of them....
Related: Self-Centered Jewspaper
One of the handful of reasons I hate reading this slop now.
Across much of the eastern half of the country, bitter cold and snowstorms in recent weeks have put a chill on restaurants, bakeries, and coffee shops, limiting the number of walk-in customers and shrinking tips. Some merchants report sales cut in half.
The January deep freeze wrought by the polar vortex in the Midwest, a big snowfall in the Northeast, and abnormal cold and snow in the Deep South has moved many to hibernate.
Only four people picked at pancakes and eggs during what should have been the morning rush at American Table Family Restaurant, a Toledo diner, while the temperature dipped to 9 below Tuesday. The nearly 40 inches of snow this month is a record for January and more than what the city normally gets in an entire winter....
Don't let that block the global-warming fart mist.
‘‘It’s hard making ends meet.’’
See: Pe$$imistic About This Post
I hope you don't have the flu because of the cold.
Coffee shops that fuel legislators at the nearby Capitol in Madison, Wis., are seeing fewer state government workers stopping by, since many have been staying home with children whose schools were closed or because they just don’t want to venture outside because of ultra-cold weather over the past month.
‘‘We’re just hanging in there’’
Closing early has become routine....
While eateries are taking a hit, a few places, including hardware stores, are booming, selling out of space heaters, pipe insulation, and sidewalk salt, but in addition to restaurants, other businesses that rely on walk-ins and appointments are seeing a hit, including health care specialists and hair salons....
I don't care. If the 5% are happy, I'm happy. F*** all these other people. My mouthpiece media tells me this is the place to be.
Many of the older patients are choosing to stay home rather than navigate icy roads and sidewalks.
See: Obummercare Driving Me Crazy
Of course, Obummercare is fixed, so.... (blog editor sobs an inhale)
At Hair On The Floor Barbershop this week in Covington, Ky., in suburban Cincinnati, the two barbers on duty played video games to pass time while temperatures hovered around zero at lunchtime.
Bosses love paying for that stuff.
Business has been down by about 90 percent in the past few weeks, owner England Wesley said. Just two customers had walked in before noon Tuesday.
‘‘It’s terrible right now,’’ he said. ‘‘With weather like this, a lot of folks are just trying to stay warm.’’
Warm they are in their homes — a silver lining, as the deli outside Cincinnati has found. Hungry folks unwilling to go out are clamoring for delivery. Chili is popular.
It's as easy as Search. Order. Eat.
‘‘We keep going through massive amounts of soup,’’ said Smith, the manager.
But at the other end of the state in Toledo, Boyd, the diner waitress, hoped February wouldn’t be as bad outside the toasty, barren restaurant....
Who wants to go out to a diner or restaurant when you can Search. Order. Eat.?
And NO NEED to leave a TIP to subsidize her salary!
Who does she think she is, a well-connected corporate interest or bank?
Who cares about some skank waitress in Ohio? The important que$tion is ARE THE ELITE DOING WELL?
--more--"
At least fuel is still cheap thanks to shale fracking:
"Cold, supply problems push up propane costs; Retail price jumps 18.5% in Mass." by Erin Ailworth | Globe Staff, February 04, 2014
More than a quarter-million households in New England that rely on propane gas for heating are facing higher bills because frigid temperatures have quickly pushed up prices for the fuel....
Related: The Push For Pipelines
Maybe that will bring the costs down, huh?
The cold temperatures have affected propane prices in several ways: Rising demand prompted price spikes, while icing on railroad lines has delayed trains that transport much of the fuel to dealers, resulting in shortages in some areas, according to the Propane Gas Association of New England.
“We’ve had to bring in gas from Europe and North Africa,” said Joe Rose, president of the association. “That gas is coming in at 75 to 80 cents higher” than what domestic propane costs.
The situation is even worse in the Midwest....
In the Midwest the fuel is used not only to heat homes and businesses, but to dry crops.
Related: Drought Draining California Reservoirs
Those competing uses have further stressed propane supplies in the region, particularly as wet weather and below- freezing temperatures have pushed up demand, while pipelines have been temporarily shut down or tied up delivering other fuels, such as natural gas.
The situation spurred several politicians from the Midwest to request that the federal transportation department temporarily ease restrictions limiting deliveries of propane by truck.
“Harsh winter storms are threatening the lives and livelihoods of our constituents as many homes and farming operations depend on heat from propane. Without needed supplies, the situation will quickly go from critical to dire,” House Speaker John A. Boehner and several other Ohio congressmen wrote in a letter to the US Department of Transportation last week.
I'll start caring about his concerns when he starts caring about mine. Just another Washington a$$hole.
While the price of propane has been “really going crazy” in some places, Samantha Santa Maria, managing editor of North American natural gas at Platts, expects prices to moderate as the weather warms.
Still, Santa Maria acknowledged that propane is vulnerable to additional price spikes if another cold snap hits, particularly in places where the fuel is already in short supply....
A storm scheduled to dump a foot of snow is headed or way!
