And everyone gets a trophy just for participating...

And the continual lowering of the bar to widen the definition of excellence is showing to be a popular tool with our current commander in chief, himself a growing example of a tool...

The Obama Administrations would like everyone to try the DotGuv website for healthcare again, because it will crash less, but only if less people use it.  So everyone please rush to sign up, but please call your 8 million closest friends first and make sure no more than 49,999 of them are planning to sign up at the same time.  Do you realize what Jeff Bezos would say if he was told that the Amazon site was great, but only if a few thousand people used it at one time?  Heads would have rolled in seconds.

So we now know that:
A:  The administration knew that the fiasco was imminent before launch but failed to inform their boss.
B:  That nobody in the administration read the actual law or has a clue about "cause and effect",
C:  That the president basically lied to the american people about keeping their plans and doctors, mainly out of ignorance.
D:  That none of them understand the free market economy and applied the same principle for bringing the price of oranges or tomatoes down to health care coverage.
E.  Many who should be benefiting from the law will actually still not be able to afford insurance or qualify for the federal subsidy, but will have to pay the IRS fine, which will be used to make up the revenue supposedly lost by private insurance companies who did not offer plans affordable enough for these people to buy.

Despite all of this, we are supposed to look to them as wonderful politicians who have delivered us to the promised land.  Since I have not yet met anyone inside or outside of my workplace that will see their healthcare costs go down (generally it doubled) and my family is working to figure out what we do without next year to cover the cost of the health care increase (doubled+$20), I'm not feeling so warm and fuzzy.

Our president is now saying that everything is good, but putting an asterisk on his statement.  Likely it should be present next to all of them.  Sir, when trying to show your failed website as a great thing that will work mostly great, but only if there are 50,000 concurrent users or less with the tens of millions still to go, you are setting the bar for success very, very low.  Then again, my expectations for your administration have always been low, so I guess you are just living down to them.

Yep, predictable...

So I see that after the ACA roll out debacle and the pathetic numbers, the media has now shown once again that they have shiny object syndrome and moved on.  Cancellation notices?  Still going out.  People's premiums? Still going up.  The media spotlight?  Now wandering away to the next shiny object.  Actually, they are about six objects down the road.  On the bright side, now that all of the reporters are not clogging the site, I'm sure the traffic load is smaller...

Where's Jon Stewart...

Because I swear he couldn't have written an Obamacare skit as good as this one.  After proudly standing in the the rose garden to be happily pointed out as an example of how the ACA works, things have gone a bit downhill for Jessica Sanford.  You see, it appears that there was a glitch, and her gold level policy was not as affordable as thought, jumping from $198 to $280 per month.  Ok, not great news, but not the worst.  Then comes another letter about another glitch.  Now her cost $390, and it was a silver plan, not a gold plan.  Ouch.  But then the now busy mail carrier brought more tidings, this time telling her that as a result of another glitch, she actually does not qualify for any tax credits.  And her cost for a bronze plan is now $324 per month, still more than she can fit in her budget.  However, there is good news.  Her penalty to the IRS for not having insurance is only $95.  So as you can see, the ACA works, making everyone participate to move healthcare into the 21st century, whether they can afford it or not.

But we swear it wasn't political...

In no time flat, someone competently doing their job in a manner unflattering to our president is removed from office, but they swear it wasn't political.  The insurance commissioner for the District of Columbia (Washington DC to you and I) was removed shortly after publicly doing his job.  He released a statement shortly after the president announced plans to allow people with policies being cancelled to keep them for another year.  However, this item is more of a suggestion on his part, since the plan would have to be approved by the insurance commissioner in every state and the District of Columbia.  Several were very quick to point out that this would not work as it undermined the ACA and was not allowed according to the law as passed.  However, it appears that the DC commissioner was out of line due to his failure to run it by someone above him.  People who admit that in actuality, he was correct in his public statement and that they would not be allowing the president's suggestion to fly.  It wasn't what he said, it was how he said it.  So, it appears that after all the fiasco and failure surrounding the ACA, the only person to lose their job so far is someone who was doing their job correctly.

Yep, that sounds like a government operation...

In light of the recent difficulties with the implementation of the ACA and the website that was supposed to make it happen, the government has revised how it measures success.  They are now shooting for 80% success on the Healthcare.com website.  That will still leave millions of people unable to sign up, but hey, 80% sound great to them.  I said it before, if you said this in the private sector about a commerce website, you and a number of people surrounding you would be cleaning out your desks.  Over in the fedgov, you get a pat on the back and a "good job" speech.  Must be nice to not have to worry about doing your job in a competent matter.

Perspective...

I had a long stream of thought going that I wanted to post about the hugely successful roll out of the ACA.  27K signups total through the FedGov website.  106K overall signups when the state exchanges are added in.  Democrats who rammed this fiasco through are now distancing themselves from it as fast as they can. The president is busy trying to say that he didn't lie, just failed to actually read his signature piece of legislation.

The Republicans, ever desperate to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, are now focusing on Eric Holder.  Instead of  looking for something that they can actually accomplish, perhaps find something that some Dems can agree with them on and pass meaningful legislation on something that actually needs fixing, they have decided to spit into the wind.  This is why I am registered as independent on my voter registration.  Both parties are idiots.

Still, the first headline that I clicked on was that regarding the loss of 4 Marines at Camp Pendleton.  They were not in a war zone, not even involved in a live fire exercise, just doing maintenance.  Despite all of the crap going across the various news sites about the ACA, this is what grabbed me.  It seemed more important.  I don't know why.

And the other shoe finally drops...

So, today my company finally announced the details of the healthcare plan changes for the plan I use.  I chose an HMO plan due to cost concerns, and have been happy with that plan for years.  Due to my wife's health issues (surviving cancer still did great damage) this is the only way to keep our costs under control.  While they are not perfect, they do not complain or threaten to drop us due to my wife's health issues.

We were told today what the options and costs are for the various plans in the upcoming year.  Every year the cost increases, usually in the area of 15 to 30 dollars.  I expect it.  This year, thanks to the ACA, the costs are higher.  Much higher.  As is, right now I pay $160 per paycheck for my family to have healthcare, roughly $4200 before any co-pays.  Now that the ACA is in full force, the cost for the same plan in 2014 is $340 per paycheck, roughly $8840 per year before any co-pays.  I have already seen a number of changes in how we are treated when we go to appointments or try to make appointments.  Yes, these changes were made to accommodate the ACA requirements and the expected increase in patients.  Time with our doctors is now planned very tightly, phone appointments are being pushed as better, people who aren't doctors are manning those appointments, generally its less care with more hassle for a greatly increased price.

So, you've doubled my costs and made it harder for me to get care.  Despite your grand promises, I am not benefiting from your grand illusion plan.  I am going to put this as politely as I can at this time.  Fuck you, President Obama.  Fuck you and your god damned law.  I can see the Hope and Change.  I hope when you are no longer in office I have some spare change left in my pocket...

Heh...

Brazil's righteous indignation over the NSA spying scandal took a hit when it was revealed that they did the same thing back in 2003-2004.  Oops.  I really like their justification that it was legal under their laws and was not the same as what the US did.  Except that it was the same.  When your argument is that their illegal spying was more illegaler that your illegal spying, it is likely time to look for a quick out and maybe work on hiring better spies...

The pile just keeps getting deeper...

Since we saw that the long promised federal run healthcare exchange showed itself to be little better than a poorly run farmers market, the news has kept the pace rolling.  Today I read that the fedgov website for insurance will be down 4 hours per night to make improvements.  In the tech world, anyone who released that type of announcement would follow it up with thanking everyone for the opportunity to look for alternative employment.  At the fedgov, it appears to be job security.  

Lets look at the other great features that appear to not be living up to the advertisements.  Please note that the quotes below are not exact, but I do recall seeing the president say them during his speeches.

"If you like your current plan, you can keep it!"  Yep, Barry was being a bit optimistic on this item. However, since he got annoyed during the contentious passing of the ACA because the opponents showed up with an actual copy of the ACA for reference, I can understand that he maybe didn't actually read his signature legislation.  Still, you would think his staff would have checked those facts before putting it up on his teleprompter.  I am entertained by the justification that the millions of people (est. 19 million) who have or will get cancellation notices will have better insurance as a result.  Never mind that it will cost more, and will likely not cover all of the doctors or facilities that they were using, it will be better!

"If you like your current doctor, you can stay with them."  Again, maybe should have read the fine print.  Or maybe any of the print no matter what the size.  

"Your premiums will be lower!"  Yea, the opponents of the ACA called this one BS before it passed and what a shock, they were right!  I notice that those who think along the same lines as the president always seem to have an issue with math and the real business world, and this is a prime example of their failings in these areas.

"It will help lower the deficit!"  Hmm, I recall seeing a government report (GAO, I believe) during the passage of this act that showed a "cost reduction" during the first decade of the ACA due to the fact that it will not be a full decade, running from January 2014 to December 2019.  The second decade would break even and then costs would hemorrhage starting in the third decade, only getting larger as time goes by.  This goes back to the math thing.  Lack of those skill lead us down roads like this.

The most entertaining part of all of this is the hot air being blown by those opposing the ACA, stating that as soon as they get in power they will repeal it.  This type of manure legislation, once enacted, will not be able to be repealed, but good luck.  The amount of damage to the economy, the industries involved and the people who will be negatively affected will prohibit the repeal.  Instead, we'll get watered down attempts to correct it, which will likely do more harm than good.  It would be like changing our tax code to a simple flat tax, you would collapse so many different companies and industries that nobody has the political willpower to force the change.

If you really want to entertain yourself, feel free to read the comments on any of the news stories regarding this fiasco.  The opposing posts are pure comedy gold from both sides.  

Getting sick sucks...

I have been sick in the past.  Colds, flu, pneumonia, food poisoning, oh the list goes on.  However, being hospitalized has never happened.  Apparently I needed a new experience.  In addition to 4 days in the hospital, I got my very own Home IV Kit, complete with late delivery of IV medicine and supplies, multiple revisits to the ER due to medication "incompatibilities" and being fairly immobile for three weeks.  I have also managed to eat up all of my sick time, vacation and floating days off.  Yay me.