WASHINGTON POST – Software problems with the federal online health insurance marketplace, especially in handling high volumes, are proving so stubborn that the system is unlikely to work fully by the end of the month as the White House has promised, according to an official with knowledge of the project.
The insurance exchange is balking when more than 20,000 to 30,000 people attempt to use it at the same time — about half its intended capacity, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose internal information. And CGI Federal, the main contractor that built the site, has succeeded in repairing only about six of every 10 of the defects it has addressed so far. (more…)
CALIFORNIA – Health insurer Anthem Blue Cross of California has agreed to a two-month extension of about 104,000 individual policies after failing to give the required 90-day cancellation notice.
The policies had been set to expire on Dec. 31 but will be extended until Feb. 28.
State Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced the extensions Tuesday. He said the company notified the Department of Insurance that it failed to give enough notice because of a computer glitch.
Jones says more than 1 million cancellation notices have been sent to Californians as the Affordable Care Act begins allowing individuals to buy insurance through exchanges. The federal law requires policies to offer minimum levels of coverage, forcing companies to terminate many existing plans. (READ MORE) (more…)
Two, not-so-dissimilar stories. To a semi-engaged electorate these might seem unrelated. To a Lo-Fo it’s “huh”? But to others the visible “Big Picture” ideology is self-evident: My way or DIE. John Kerry, and White House Spokesperson Jay Carney, warns congress if they oppose a deal with Iran it will lead to WAR. Vis-a-vi if you don’t agree with our decision to allow Iran to engage in nuclear production, our only option is to ATTACK them to stop it: WASHINGTON DC – The White House Tuesday warned lawmakers mulling tougher sanctions on Iran that thwarting US diplomacy could leave President Barack Obama little option but to use military force against Tehran’s nuclear program.
“The American people do not want a march to war,” spokesman Jay Carney said, in a significant stiffening of US rhetoric towards opponents of a proposed interim agreement with Tehran on Capitol Hill. (read more)
Meanwhile – in Ohio, a 62-year-old Director of Animal Rights, Sandra Lertzman, decided to commit suicide. It’s not what she did, but how she did it. (more…)
Opportunism? From a Clinton?… surely you jest! LOL Hmmm ?
[…] the highest number of voters who’ve said the law will be bad for the country in regular surveying since February 2011,” said the pollster who headlined their survey, “55% Favor Repeal of Obamacare.”
The project manager in charge of launching the Obamacare website, Henry Chao, was blindsided to find out his boss, Tony Trenkle – CIO (Chief Information Officer for Healthcare.gov) had written a memo to top officials saying the site could not be secured until mid-2014 or 2015. Henry Chao was the launch approval project manager and shared to congressional committee he would not have approved if he knew.
The CMS Information Officer, Tony Trenkle, quit last week after his warning memo to CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was revealed. The Trenkle memo revealed the details of the site security risk, and Mr. Trenkle warned not to launch site. His warnings were overridden by Ms. Tavenner.
CMS Head Marilyn Tavenner and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius
SUMMARY: So it appears that Marilyn Tavenner and Kathleen Sebelius knew the site was not secure. Then, because of political fear, they kept Project Manager Chao in the dark, and told him to launch it regardless. He launched it thinking the site was secure.
(CBS News) WASHINGTON — CBS News has learned that the project manager in charge of building the federal health care website was apparently kept in the dark about serious failures in the website’s security. Those failures could lead to identity theft among buying insurance. The project manager testified to congressional investigators behind closed doors, but CBS News has obtained the first look at a partial transcript of his testimony.
Henry Chao, HealthCare.gov’s chief project manager at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), gave nine hours of closed-door testimony to the House Oversight Committee in advance of this week’s hearing. In excerpts CBS News has obtained, Chao was asked about a memo that outlined important security risks discovered in the insurance system. (more…)
Coast to coast car salesmen are rejoicing, their paychecks are about to get massive increases as their sales commissions are about to skyrocket. According to new definitions stemming from the White House, and new regulatory definitions from President Obama and his regulatory team, a customer “test drive” will now qualify as a sale.
Yesssssir !! Lucky Day, Lucky Day.
It has yet to be determined what impact this might have to the share value for auto-industry stockholders, or quite frankly the financial divisions who actually make up the bulk of the profits, but that’s just a pesky detail to be worked out. Here are the semi-full details so far: (more…)
An Op-Ed in the New York Times shows what happens when a Liberal speaks about a personal truth with fellow liberals. They go bat-sh!t crazy at her audacity to speak the truth.
The Emporer has a beautiful (invisible) cloak, and to say it’s a ruse (he’s naked) is just too much of an admission to bear…. Groupthink.must.be.maintained.
(Via New York Times Op-Ed) THE Anthem Blue Cross representative who answered my call told me that there was a silver lining in the cancellation of my individual P.P.O. policy and the $5,400 annual increase that I would have to pay for the Affordable Care Act-compliant option: now if I have Stage 4 cancer or need a sex-change operation, I’d be covered regardless of pre-existing conditions. Never mind that the new provider network would eliminate coverage for my and my son’s long-term doctors and hospitals.
The Anthem rep cheerily explained that despite the company’s — I paraphrase — draconian rates and limited network, my benefits, which also include maternity coverage (handy for a 46-year-old), would “be actually much richer.” (more…)
Back in August the New York Times reported a national energy “Grid Test” was scheduled for November called “Grid Ex II”. The pdf outlining the test has been removed/disabled (?). Can anyone confirm this is going to happen Wednesday the 13th? The Day after tomorrow. WASHINGTON — [August 16] The electric grid, as government and private experts describe it, is the glass jaw of American industry. If an adversary lands a knockout blow, they fear, it could black out vast areas of the continent for weeks; interrupt supplies of water, gasoline, diesel fuel and fresh food; shut down communications; and create disruptions of a scale that was only hinted at by Hurricane Sandy and the attacks of Sept. 11.
This is why thousands of utility workers, business executives, National Guard officers, F.B.I. antiterrorism experts and officials from government agencies in the United States, Canada and Mexico are preparing for an emergency drill in November that will simulate physical attacks and cyber attacks that could take down large sections of the power grid. (more…)
The White House and HHS have promised to release the *official* Obamacare enrollment numbers by November 15th, that’s Friday. However, according to The Wall Street Journal it appears there are a few advanced leaks. Perhaps the leaks are established to diminish expectations, but we are talking about Denis McDonough and ValJar here. Just as likely a scenario, is a psy-ops seed planted early in the week to start the anti-Obamacare frenzy….. then on Friday the actual release is better than expected and arms the proponents for the weekend talks. Regardless, what people are missing, as they focus on the feeder pellets, and fall for the typical basement message from the White House, is the distinct principle that:
…..more people have LOST health insurance in month one than have gained it….
THATis the nuance within the message which must be directly highlighted. (Wall Street Journal) Initial reports suggest that fewer than 50,000 people successfully navigated the troubled federal health-care website to enroll in private health insurance plans as of last week, two people familiar with the matter said Monday.
The early tally falls far short of internal goals set by President Barack Obama’s administration in the months leading up to the opening of the HealthCare.gov site Oct. 1, and the low number has worried health insurers that are counting on higher turnout. (more…)
There is quite a bit going on in this video clip from MSNBC this morning. The new polling numbers show widespread disapproval of President Obama.
However, quite frankly, Bam Bam doesn’t care. The entire 2nd Term Tour is sold out, the tickets non-refundable, and the only prediction an intellectually honest person would reconcile is the expectation that “something big” will be formulated to distract everyone.
With that simple understanding in mind, and referring to Toronto, Dem Operative James Carville says Dear Leader should just toke on the crack pipe.
Once you get on the bus, you can’t get off til the ride’s over
WASHINGTON POST – Software problems with the federal online health insurance marketplace, especially in handling high volumes, are proving so stubborn that the system is unlikely to work fully by the end of the month as the White House has promised, according to an official with knowledge of the project.
Yesssssir !! Lucky Day, Lucky Day.
