Here's an interesting success story regarding ObamaCare.
From the Daily Kos:
SUN DEC 15, 2013 AT 03:02 PM PST
13 Years without Health Insurance. 48 minutes later...
byYaNevaNoFollow
Email 145 Comments / 145 New
Today it took me 48 minutes to breeze through the healthcare.gov website and hopefully come January 1, 2014, I will have something that has eluded me for the past 13 years. I still refuse to fully believe it, and I suppose I really won't until I get to fork over some of my hard earned cash to Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida, but right now I have this overwhelming need to share at least one healthcare.gov success story.
I created an account on healthcare.gov many months ago, August 6th, to be exact. When the marketplace went live, I waited a day or two and attempted to start the process. As was the case with many, I could not for some reason get through the process without pages failing to load. So I waited. Until this morning.
13 years ago, I was employed as a regional sales manager for one of this country's largest telemarketing companies, a job that came with the usual perks accorded to someone who had started as an assistant branch manager and been promoted several times during a 12 year run. I was up to 4 weeks of paid vacation and had personal days, sick days, I got to travel, had a corporate american express card and of course, health insurance. Long story short, I refused a promotion that would have meant transferring from Florida to somewhere up north and suddenly found myself on the outs with most of the corporate crowd. The job went poof, along with my health insurance.
Luckily, I have managed to not get sick or injured in the time since, except for a suspected carpal tunnel fracture on one wrist after tripping over my pootie, wiki. As a biker with no car for the past 10 years, that injury was hard to live with. I say suspected carpal tunnel fracture because though I had the money to get to my doctor for an initial visit, he referred me to a specialist based on his somewhat fuzzy x-rays and I had no way of paying for that so I toughed it out for a couple of months, figured out how to pull the clutch handle on the bike and decided instead to live with a bit of pain and some diminished capability in my left hand. No big deal.
I'm a self employed 55 year old non-tobacco smoking male, and this morning I signed up for a Platinum level plan with ZERO deductible, $10 doctor visit and generic drug copays (in-network) and an annual maximum out-of-pocket expense of $2000 for about $160 a month. I even went for an additional dental policy which was $11.00 a month extra. I am shocked. Amazed. Freaking out just a bit. Thrilled. Ecstatic in fact. Giddy at the prospect of actually calling to make an appointment if I need one. Hell, I may call and make an appointment even if I don't need one, just for a check-up. It's been 13 years after all.
48 minutes. Start to finish. Using my original and only signup account from back in May, I figured I would give it a shot today. I missed the first 10 minutes or so of Meet the Press, turning it on when Paul Ryan was moaning that he was unhappy he couldn't get his budget passed and that neither could Patty Murray. I sat down with my laptop and by the end of the show, less than an hour spent on the often maligned healthcare.gov website, and I became this country's latest healthcare.gov enrollee. Sure as hell wish I had this when I busted up my wrist, I might not have had to live with the pain I expect to endure with it over the remainder of my life.
Hurry up Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida, hurry up and send me that first bill. I can't wait to pay it. Somebody pinch me please because I'm not quite sure I can fully comprehend exactly what took place this morning, in about 48 minutes or so.
1OldGeezer wrote:
Rick,
Yeah, you did find another time he told the truth, that makes two times now (in 5 years) ????? keep looking, maybe you can find another time....
1oldgeezer