Obamacare: The Happening

October 1, 2013. Obamacare is implemented.

October 2, 2013. Everything goes wrong in the most comical ways imaginable.

The first sign something might be wrong was that the website we payed a Canadian firm (fucking Canadians) hundreds of millions of dollars to make, that is pretty much essential for Obamacare to function, doesn't work. It didn't work when it debuted nearly 40 days ago. It still doesn't work. Supposedly, this was because of unexpectedly high traffic, which can happen.

Turns out that the website that was supposed to be used by a nation of 315 million people could only handle 1100 before crashing a week before launch.

Quote :

The Obama administration has repeatedly insisted that the website’s repeated crashes were due to unexpectedly high traffic. U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park said on Oct. 6 that the website was expected to draw around 60,000 simultaneous users but instead drew many more, around 250,000.

This sort of thing can happen when rolling out websites or video game servers or some such. No big deal.

Quote :

However, a Healthcare.gov testing bulletin from Sept. 30, the day before the site’s launch, states that the website began to run into trouble with far fewer users.

“Currently we are able to reach 1,100 users before response time gets too high,” the bulletin states.

That was $600 million well spent.

Good thing we elected Obama, instead of that bastard outsourcer, Romney. Why, Romney would have paid some overseas company a shit ton of money for a steaming turd. At least Obama's wad of cash left the country via truck instead of boat.

The website is more of an implementation problem. It's like if the trigger on a gun is broken. If you fix the trigger, the gun will work as advertised, right?

Not exactly.

You may remember Obama's repeated promise that "If you like your plan, you can keep it." He only said it, or something to that effect, on a few dozen separate occasions. Who, besides any fucking idiot with even a tenuous grasp of economics, incentives, and reality, could have known what a pile of bullshit that was? Well, it turns out even a fucking idiot like Obama knew this, back in 2010.

Quote :

Megyn Kelly reported Monday on “The Kelly File” that an IRS regulation pushed by the Department of Health and Human Services in 2010 estimated that millions would be unable to keep their health insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act.

And what sort of idiot is going to let facts get in the way of ruining everything? Mikey certainly never does.

After sticking by that horseshit for some time, even after it became laughably obvious that not only was it bullshit, but Obama knew that it was bullshit, Obama "apologized."

Quote :

“I am sorry that they, you know, are finding themselves in this situation, based on assurances they got from me,” Obama said in an interview with NBC News. “We’ve got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear them and that we’re going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this.”

People aren't "finding themselves in this situation" due to some random acts of the universe. People are in this situation because their President lied to their faces for years, promising them they WOULDN'T find themselves in this situation when he knew good and goddamn well they would. Notice the piece of shit doesn't apologize for nearly three years of lying, just that it came back to bite him in the ass.

Quote :

I’ve assigned my team to see what we can do to close some of the holes and gaps in the law,” he said, “because, you know, my intention is to lift up and make sure the insurance that people buy is effective — that it’s actually going to deliver what they think they’re purchasing.”

This may have been more effective had he done it when he first learned about this problem, two and a half years ago.

Then there's the fact that the young, healthy people they need to sign up in order to subsidize the leeching geezers AREN'T signing up (which anyone with an iota of common sense could have predicted). Then there's the fact that most people are just signing onto Medicare instead of buying actual insurance, which taxpayers are going to have to pay for (once again, anyone with two brain cells to rub together could have predicted this). Then there's the fact that this is only HALF of the law, because Obama unconstitutionally delayed the employer mandate until after the 2014 elections so he doesn't get buttfucked THAT bad when that goes south as bad as every other part of this fucked up law has.

But hey, you can't be turned down for preexisting conditions. Yay?

There's no way they ever would have let you keep your old plans, that would add competition into the mix and there's no way anything like this could stand up to competition. What do you think the Berlin Wall was for? I think states should be allowed to take part or drop out completely. That means all the taxes involved too. Before you start screaming that businesses and industry would just move to these states to avoid the high taxes just substitute the word countries for states.

Obamacare is just another example of government by control freak. They have this awesome health care plan that everyone should have. Sure it's expensive but it covers everything! If you just want to pay less for catastrophic insurance, you're just too stupid to understand that our idea is awesome! You have to be forced if necessary! If you don't think nuns should have to pay extra for birth control and maternity care you just don't understand the subtle nuances involved. If you want to get a cheaper plan and just buy your own goddamn condoms you're just an idiot who doesn't understand that now everything is free!

You just can't allow people to have too much freedom. They might choose to do things that they want to do instead of things that you want them to do.

I'm just amused at the Right's narrative that "Web Site doesn't work = Obamacare is a failure." Because things can't be fixed, you see.

Equally amused at the Libertarian freakout over OMG GOVERNMENT OVERREACH! Would be seeing said freakout if the insurance companies themselves were dropping those el cheapo policies?

Oh wait: They did that all the time, anyway.

The problem is partially that, but the problem is also the fact that we're paying for shit we don't want. That's like ordering the steak fajita at a restaurant, and the waiter giving us every single thing on the menu and expecting us to pay for it. Who fucking cares if you're allergic to peanuts, I thought you might want the peanut butter cookies, right?

TL;DR What hooligan said, but less funny.

Freezer wrote:

I'm just amused at the Right's narrative that "Web Site doesn't work = Obamacare is a failure."  Because things can't be fixed, you see.

The website being such an expensive and total clusterfuck more = Federal government couldn't find their own dick with both hands and flashlight. Also, it appears that the website almost certainly won't be up and running to satisfaction by the target date of November 30. I have yet to hear Obama express any concern with people facing fines for not buying stuff off of a website that doesn't work, or any plans to delay the implementation of those fines until such a time as they find one competent computer programmer and fix the fucking website. But I haven't watched the news in a day or two, so maybe I missed it.

Freezer wrote:

Equally amused at the Libertarian freakout over OMG GOVERNMENT OVERREACH! Would be seeing said freakout if the insurance companies themselves were dropping those el cheapo policies?

They didn't drop ALL OF THEM due to government regulations forcing such plans into obsolescence with their arbitrary and pants-on-head retarded requirements. It should be obvious that government micromanaging ruining things is what Libertarians are frustrated with, as that is pretty much their entire schtick.

These el cheapo policies were plenty good for the right sort of person. Like, say, young men that don't need, and can't afford, birth control, child care, mammograms and all of the other silly shit they're now required to purchase.

It's like forcing you to buy SPF50 sunscreen, and fine you if you don't.

"If you like your plan, you can keep your plan...period."

Just heard a great discussion about this on Mark Levine's radio thingy.

ViewSonic wrote:

"If you like your plan, you can keep your plan...period."

Just heard a great discussion about this on Mark Levine's radio thingy.

So how would you react if Obama actually tried to force insurers to comply with that?

I have yet to hear a single person answer that question. All I've gotten was a reiteration of "BUT OBAMA SAAAAAAAAID!!!!!1!"

Freezer wrote:

So how would you react if Obama actually tried to force insurers to comply with that?

I have yet to hear a single person answer that question.  All I've gotten was a reiteration of "BUT OBAMA SAAAAAAAAID!!!!!1!"

Yeah p amazing how insurance companies are bein huge dicks but it is somehow Obama's fault.

Reepicheep-chan wrote:

Freezer wrote:

So how would you react if Obama actually tried to force insurers to comply with that?

I have yet to hear a single person answer that question.  All I've gotten was a reiteration of "BUT OBAMA SAAAAAAAAID!!!!!1!"

Yeah p amazing how insurance companies are bein huge dicks but it is somehow Obama's fault.

It's amazing how insurance companies being huge dicks was a surprise to everybody.

Apparently the volume of people who want new health insurance--or any health insurance--was high enough to crash the website, so this was long overdue. But yeah, boo on the federal government for trying to give people the option of doing something they want to do.

Happyhooligan2001 wrote:

If you don't think nuns should have to pay extra for birth control and maternity care you just don't understand the subtle nuances involved.

If you think Catholic vows negate the need for hormonal therapy or that nuns who get raped would be first in line at the abortion clinic you might not have thought your biting rhetoric all the way through.