My wife called the ACA verification line and after speaking to a rep she will not be proceeding any

[diabeticman]

further.


After giving her social security number, her employer and address as well as my social security number and my employer the employer's address our hourly incomes they expect her to send a copy of either her: Drivers Lisc, School ID, voter ID, Birth certificate, social security card.

My wife is not at all comfortable with this whole ACA. She will be either finding insurance elsewhere or paying the fine. She doesn't feel comfortable she worries about identity thief. My brother stoled my identity before my wife and I got married 11 years ago. This is really unnerving too her.

You may call us crazy or trolls but this is way too much info to be comfortable giving.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023818375


Flame away if you wish but ask yourself --AND YOU DON"T HAVE TO ANSWER ON THIS THREAD BUT if any of you where asked to give ALL this information by anyone without knowing who is going to have access to the info how many of you are willing to give this stuff up.

[Barack_America]

1. Pretty standard to ask for a photocopy of ID.

You have to supply it every time you start a new job, for example.

[1000words]

2. A perfectly legitimate concern

I hope you and your wife can find a way to resolve this matter with peace of mind. Good luck.

[kelliekat44]

33. Legitimate concern but most any insurance asks for all this info except for birth cert.

You must prove citizenship eligibility to get Fed benefits like this but I do understand why you wife is worried. Do you have passports?

[1000words]

40. Passport is a good idea

Most secure form of identification, from my understanding.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

67. You don't have to be a US citizen

But you have to be in the country legally.

Aliens who are “lawfully present in the United States” are subject to the heath insurance mandate
and are eligible, if otherwise qualified, to participate in the high-risk pools and the exchanges, and
they are eligible for premium credits and cost-sharing subsidies. PPACA expressly exempts
unauthorized (illegal) aliens from the mandate to have health coverage and bars them from a
health insurance exchange. Unauthorized aliens are not eligible for the federal premium credits or
cost-sharing subsidies. Unauthorized aliens are also barred from participating in the temporary
high-risk pools.


http://www.ciab.com/workarea/downloadasset.aspx?id=2189

[Pretzel_Warrior]

163. no it's not

[pnwmom]

3. I hope you don't ever have to move then

because the driver's license bureaus in my area require similar info -- everything but the employment information. And of course they have to ask for that if you're trying to get a subsidy.

The Exchange is a government office. The government already has access to this info -- they're just making sure your wife is who she says she is. In other words, they're trying to stop people like your brother from stealing another person's identity.

[ejpoeta]

81. i think the concern is with sending it to them.

when I changed my name after getting married they wanted me to send them something.... I opted to take it to the office and give it to them as I did not want to send it in the mail.

[CTyankee]

83. I had to send in my birth certificate when I applied for Social Security. I was scared I wouldn't

get it back, but the wonderful lady helping me out on the phone assured me that I would get it back and sure enough I did! But it was a nervous wait!

[Hoyt]

4. I don't have a problem giving government or their contractors that info, they already have it

elsewhere. I suppose someone could set up a fake "government" site. But, doesn't sound like the case here.

Definitely don't think you are crazy. Just cautious and unsure about process right now.

[diabeticman]

13. When you give that info to your employer or Doctor's office you can hold them accountable IF

that info is stolen and used by someone but no she feels completely uncomfortable giving that info to something she can't say is accountable.

[Jakes Progress]

132. No. You can't.

Naive. Just how is you employer or doctor held accountable for stolen information?

This is not how things work. If it did, all the companies who have their databases hacked would be fined and would pay for all the losses that might occur. Several companies lose data every day. The government has a better record than any credit card agency.

I'm assuming you don't use credit cards and pay cash for everything. That you will not apply for social security. That you drive to the IRS center near you to file your taxes in person.

Lots of excuses.

Just drive to the nearest facility and sign up in person. (But take the proof of your statements with you.)

[flamingdem]

5. When you see a doctor they'll xerox your drivers license, take your SS#

ACA would be ruined by fraud and there are those who would like to mess it up for political reasons or to save $.

[diabeticman]

8. BUT you can hold the doctor's office or employer responsible IF your idenity is stolen from their

records!

Usually you end up knowing the people who have access to those records.

[flamingdem]

11. Think of her % chance of Identity Theft with millions signing up

Very small.

[diabeticman]

14. You wouldn't believe some of the cases she has heard in her duty of Federal Grand Jury. If has

made her less trusting of people, places and the government.

[moriah]

19. Rule of thumb: If you call them, it's generally safe.

Now, I mean, don't go to healthcare.com (if that domain has been bought by someone malicious trying to intercept stuff to healthcare.gov) and call a number there. You need to make sure you're calling the right number and speaking with the right agency. But if you are calling in to a number that you know is legitimate, you are safe to give them information and send information to the addresses they request.

If someone's calling you, however, NEVER give them information over the phone or mail them identity documents.

I understand paranoia in today's times, but in this your wife is safe. And she'll find out she has to give it somehow. There's a paper application, and maybe she could send the required document in with it:

http://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Resources/Forms-Reports-and-Other-Resources/Downloads/marketplace-app-short-form.pdf

Would that be more comfortable for her, to know that the mailing address is on a Federal website and the same as the one on the exact form she needs to mail, like the address is to mail your tax returns?

[Shivering Jemmy]

24. your most sensitive information is firewalled in the government

portion of healthcare.gov. Portions of it will be forwarded to the insurance vendor, but this is the same information they would get as policy providers anyway.

Long story short, either you trust the government to handle that information or you do not. And if the latter, one might ask why you support the Democratic party. Because this is the kind of thing we have been saying that the government would be good at for decades now.

[phleshdef]

29. Oh christ, the government owns your records already.

Where the hell do you think your social security number came from?

[diabeticman]

35. going by your logic she shouldn't have to verify her idenity.

[phleshdef]

38. Um no, my logic draws nowhere near that conclusion.

The government has records on a person. A person calling, claiming to be that person has to prove they are the person they are claiming to be. Just because the government has the records doesn't change that.

By YOUR logic, government workers can magically reach across time and space and use some metaphysical powers to verify that the person they are talking to is indeed the person they say they are.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

75. I believe the OP's concern is

the person may not be trustworthy. I'm sure the reflex response might be to say employees are screened but we have reason to suspect screening in general and this process in particular as less than reliable. His concern isn't necessarily unwarranted.

[ellenfl]

82. so does she pay for anything by check or credit card? much more likely to get

that info stolen. everyone you hand your cc to can steal that info. besides, the nsa knows what kind of underwear you wear.

it's silly for her to cut off her nose to spite her face. wait until no one will sell you insurance on the open market. those exchanges will start looking pretty good. before my bf got me on his policy, i was getting turned down for ANY health insurance.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

86. Ah, yes, the NSA. That bastion of thorough employee screening.

That's not a swipe at you; I'm just sayin'.

[ellenfl]

128. i'm just saying that if you think you have privacy, you have another think coming.

my mother used to insist she would never use a credit card online . . . but she would hand it to a complete stranger at a store or restaurant? not to sound like alex jones but, nothing seems to be private anymore. mostly we are personally responsible for that but anyone who thinks no one knows about them must be living deep in the woods of the pacific nw.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

164. what are you smoking? That ID would PROVE that you are who you say you are

which is the whole FUCKING POINT. Fraud avoidance.

[B Calm]

77. +1 LOL

[Drew Richards]

6. Sounds to me like the rep was trying to REGISTER her for a plan rather than

Just helping her look at her options...either way if she had gone through the web sjte she would have had to provide some of that to give the choice of plans and then it would have been up to her to proceed and fill out the rest of that information IF she wanted to SIGN up for avspecific plan...i understnad how unnerving it would be giving all those ok ntimate details to a stranger....but he was only trying to help by filling out the full web request for pricing....sorry it was such a bad experience for her.

[Agnosticsherbet]

7. Anywhere you get insurance you will be requried to provide proof of identity,

not only when you apply, but when you seek medical attention.

The stuff they ask for is pretty standard, but to each his or her own.

[diabeticman]

16. Again --as a I said above--You go to the hospital someone steals your info and uses it you can

hold the hospital accountable.

[Barack_America]

28. Unlikely. They'll always blame someone else.

Case in point, I mysteriously got a new credit card in the mail from BoA to replace my former card, stating my CC info had been compromised by a merchant. Problem is I haven't used that card in over a year. So almost certainly BoA's own system got hacked and they're trying to shift the blame to some nameless merchant.

Bottom line, our information is out there, so there's no way I would let a copy of my drivers license stand between me and health insurance.

[Mosby]

30. how do you prove where the info was stolen from?

Your entire premise is BS. If your Dr's office or a hospital has its files stolen you will never know about it. Seriously, do you think they would send you a letter or something?

Lol.

[diabeticman]

37. It is not BS to be paranoid about indenity thief in this day and age.

[Barack_America]

43. It is if you take it to the point of denying yourself healthcare coverage. Nt

[diabeticman]

44. well you convience my wife. She is the type of person who doesn't sign up for store cards.

[Marrah_G]

98. At some point if she wants the help she is going to have to give some information

As for convincing her. We can't. If she refuses and you refuse then there really isn't anything the rest of us can do to help you.

[Agnosticsherbet]

32. Or the place where you work, the school where you send your children, the DMV.

getting a pass port, a speeding ticket, car insurance. Proving who you are is necessary in those and many others.

[elehhhhna]

154. For passportxs you send original docs,not copies

THAT"S uncomfortable. They all came back reg mail with the passport IIRC.

[MrMickeysMom]

9. When is the last time you filed forms for coverage?

Because whenever I'm "informing" any insurance company, this is standard fare... not that I agree about the use of SS#, but this does not set itself aside from any other third party reimbursement process your wife is going to have to go through.

I've done it lots of ways (on my own, and then getting eligible through my employer again) and that's the truth.

[diabeticman]

18. BUT when my wife gives that info to the employer they can be held accountable for someone

going into their records and stealing that info. Same is said for the Employers health insurance. Who is accountable for this info. How is it protected.

[drexelkathy]

104. The rationality behind this doesn't make sense

I can appreciate that your wife is concerned about identity theft...but if she is THAT concerned, she can have fraud alerts put on her records with all of the major credit reporting bureaus, she can pay a small monthly fee for credit monitoring, or she can watch her bank accounts, credit reports, etc. like a hawk.

There are a million ways to be vigilant about identity theft and STILL prove you are who you claim to be for things like insurance purposes.

If she isn't proactively monitoring her credit and identity - then perhaps she should start.

[moriah]

10. I'm really not trying to sound mean here... but it's the government.

So yes, I know who is going to have access to the information.

The government.

So yes, I'd give that information. I didn't have to, fortunately, Two of the answers were obvious on the Experian identity verification, the other two were "none of the above". I had to re-verify three times (on two different accounts, the first attempt to verify didn't take even though I had all the right answers, and then my account got locked up for some weird wacky reason) but I was able to get it to verify for me.

In a way, the information is less than what you'd have to send in to your state's Unclaimed Property department if you couldn't pass online verification. I had some funds in unclaimed property, and went through a similar identity verification questionnaire.

I am not about to call you a troll, but I do have to say I'm afraid you're being a touch more paranoid than you need to be. You're calling the number, so you know who you're talking to. If someone was calling ME and asking for the information? No. But if I know the number I'm calling is from a legitimate website for the government, and it's the right number, I'd feel safe telling them whatever they needed.

[diabeticman]

21. Edward Snowden! How about a few years back when laptops got stolen by military contractor that

several thousand social security numbers for service men and women.

To me that isn't safe.

[moriah]

25. And in the last year I've gotten notices my data's been compromised 3 times

All by business's security, not the government's. Edit to add: My identity has yet to be stolen.

The risk, in my opinion, is overblown. If your wife wishes to pay 2.5% of her household income in a few years to avoid that minute risk, that's her choice.

[Shivering Jemmy]

27. statistical blip

as far as real statistics go, Snowden never happened.

Some events are so unlikely as to be effectively impossible.

[Mr.Bill]

12. Yeah, whatever you do,

don't give your Social Security number to the government.


(pssst - they gave it to you)

[Sedona]

15. I'm a property manager

and I ask for all the above routinely from anyone applying to rent a home.

I would rather not have someone use my ID to obtain healthcare in my name.

I uploaded a copy of my drivers license to the ACA site without a second thought.

[diabeticman]

26. But Sedona IF you or a employee stoled that info about your tenants would YOU not be held

responsible? IS it understandable to worry about someone --low level getting that info and using it? Who will have access to this info? How well is it going to be protected.

Keep in mind my wife has been on Federal Grand Jury for basically a year now and after this year she has seen all kinds of shit that has given her LESS trust in her fellow Americans, Corporations and the government than she ever had before.

[Sedona]

42. I am a licensed real estate agent in two states

and as such I am charged by state regulation, national and local association of Realtor ethics a fiduciary duty to preserve and protect the privacy of my clients and customers. The records are locked up tight, password protected and I wear out a shredder annually. The consequences of not doing so are forfeiture of my licenses, loss of my livelihood and criminal prosecution.

I have had numerous criminal and FBI background checks done on me and hundreds of hours of training and testing to acquire my license and know how to do all the above.

If you're my client, I can be trusted with your personal information.

Like most of us here I have not "read the bill" but I trust the ACA has protections for our privacy written into it and severe consequences for those who breach it.

[diabeticman]

48. My wife isn't that trusting. After a year of Federal Grand jury and the two slum lords we have had

she is less trusting than she use to be. This is a woman who doesn't sign up for store cards because she doesn't want them to sell her info.

[Sedona]

55. Well, then enjoy your penalties, higher premiums, increased healthcare costs and shorter lifespan

as the price you'll pay for violating the ACA.

Just because your paranoid doesn't mean Obamacare isn't out to get you. Thank you for your concern.





(not a slumlord)

[diabeticman]

61. I knpw you aren't a slumlord but you know our history. and don't talk like we are repugs she is

very much liberal who just wants to know that in 6 months from now she isn't going to have to deal with credit card companies calling us demanding payment because someone used her info to open a credit card.

[Sedona]

63. That is easily prevented by putting a "freeze' on your credit.

http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-howard/personal-finance-credit/credit-freeze-and-thaw-guide/nFbL/

[Chathamization]

178. Pretty much this. If you're worried about, freeze your credit.

It will stop fraud. Keeping the government from seeing your government issued ID won't.

[alcibiades_mystery]

17. Performance Art

[Pretzel_Warrior]

64. undoubtedly

[diabeticman]

66. whatever. Legitimate concern is either from drama queens or trolls right?!

[alcibiades_mystery]

72. OK, there, O'Keefe

Your register switching from the semi-literate persona to the challenged debater says it all.

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and etc.

Keep on, brother. Whatever. You want to waste your time with this nonsense, that's your business.

[sammytko]

92. Yeah, that was funny!

[Barack_America]

93. So I'm not the only one with suspicions.

Interesting.

[hughee99]

134. You could have gone with "White people problems", "Thank you for your concern", or "where's my pony"

Congrats, though, on finding a new and fun way to dismiss someone's legitimate concerns without addressing the issue in any way. I'm glad to see some DUers aren't just half-assing it and are looking for new and innovative ways to suggest that someone isn't sincere because they don't want to address the actual content of someone's post.

[alcibiades_mystery]

136. Oh, I don't merely dismiss the OP's "concerns"

I don't believe a word of it. That's a different thing.

[backscatter712]

170. LOL! I'm with you!

[tallahasseedem]

150. +1

The desperation is evident!

[backscatter712]

168. Yep! n/t

[frazzled]

20. The government is as suspicious of you as you are of them

You have to see it from their point of view as well. They need to be sure that you are really who you say you are because (1) they may be doling out thousands of dollars a year to you in subsidies; (2) you might try to use someone's identity who has lower income to get a better subsidy; (3) you might be someone trying to buy it for cousin Vinnie, who doesn't qualify for one reason or another; etc.

You have to show your drivers license every time you go to the airport, and often times at stores when you want to use your credit card. While worry about identity theft is real, it's ironic that it was someone close to you--your brother--who actually stole it, not some government worker trying to do their job. I wouldn't worry about the government so much.

[TroglodyteScholar]

22. This is in no way an ACA problem.

This is a trust problem.

[NYC_SKP]

23. I'm glad that they are taking precautions to prevent fraud.

But I'm sorry that the precautions will have this effect of subscribers.

It has to be done, however. It would be far to easy to cheat the system with fake numbers and IDs.

And if there's fraud, the system will no work.

I hope you and them find a way to work this out, I want you both to have good care, not penalties and no care.

[liberal_at_heart]

31. You really have to do all that? I don't even have a copy of my birth certificate, and I haven't

changed my address for my voter registration either. How is this any better than republican states requiring people to show id to vote? How many millions of people don't have their documentation? This could be a big problem.

[moriah]

34. Do you have a driver's license? Can you photocopy that?

You're set. It's not wanting all those things, just one of them.

And IMHO voting doesn't cost the government anything. When you're potentially getting thousands of dollars in subsidies, yes, I think you ought to prove your identity. Which you have to to to get food stamps, and other aid.

[liberal_at_heart]

39. Then there needs to be help available for people to get their documentation.

The feds should pay for poor people to buy their ids. There also should be an extension on the deadline for people to have insurance. Either that or a grace period where they don't get fined if they are in the process of getting their ids. There are thousands of people, maybe even millions of people who don't have ids. That's why it makes it harder for them to vote in republican states that require it.

[moriah]

41. March 31st isn't long enough?

Six months, nearly....

[liberal_at_heart]

47. more like 4 months in order to make sure your coverage kicks in in time to avoid a fine.

Right now most people are hanging back because of the website glitches. Will people know they only have a short time to get their documentation together? I forget though. You're not allowed to criticize the ACA on DU. I also forgot democrats don't like to admit or acknowledge that anything they do could ever possibly have any problems whatsoever. Everything the democrats do is always perfect from the get go and there is no need to talk about fixing problems within ACA, because obviously there are no probems within ACA. Sounds a lot like democrats attitude toward our public education system.

[moriah]

89. I've never said there weren't problems.

I don't like Voter ID laws because they aren't necessary. Voting doesn't cost a thing. The biggest issue on election integrity is making sure people are at the right precinct -- I know, I was a poll worker. I was able to help someone vote in 2012 by going to his car with him and helping him look for something, anything, with his address on it from the government. We found a food stamp application that was mailed to him. It worked, he voted.

According to the Feds, if you register by March 31st of 2014, you will have no penalty. So really, people only have to pay for 9 months of coverage in 2014. ANY means tested public benefit will require documentation of ID. Yes, the ACA has a thousand problems, but too much ID required ain't one. (99 problems was too few.)

[Lint Head]

36. That's ironic because everything you mentioned was issued to her or created by the government

in the first place. From her address to her SSN. That's how you pay taxes among many other things.

[DevonRex]

50. Yep. I'm not buying it. But I've offered him a list of places to apply in person.

Just waiting to see what the excuse will be now.

[DevonRex]

46. OK. I can get you a place to apply IN PERSON. Will that help? 38 places in PA alone.

Do you want the information information THEY are you flat-out refusing to give ACA they need to process your application?

[diabeticman]

56. Hey my wife has no facebook account. She doesn't sign up for store cars and she is very concern

about her privacy and to her. She has been taught all her life to protect your information.


Give me the link or the address and I will give them to her. if she isn't comfortable it is on her. but as it stands right now she is comfortable. I have insurance so it is her that needs it.

[DevonRex]

58. OK.

http://www.hrsa.gov/about/news/2013tables/outreachandenrollment/

Scroll down to the list of states and click on yours.

[Tigress DEM]

49. The Government has all this information on file in various departments. THEY R verifying U R U. nt

[darkangel218]

51. Umm.. i dont recall one single private insurance i ever had that didnt ask for my ID.

They all do. Why would plans obtained through ACA be different?

[bhikkhu]

52. What they asked for are all government-created documents

I can't imagine worrying about showing the government documents they created for you in the first place. Hopefully this will be easier later, and you could always (I think) go through a local insurance agent as an intermediary.

Having recently refinanced my house, and had to file an unrelated thing with a local court, and having some recent college experience including FAFSA registration, its just hard to imagine worrying about things like that.

If you want to monitor against identity theft you can sign up for identitymonitor or something like that. Its pretty cheap, and pretty thorough protection. I had it for a little while when I was fixing some things in my credit file for the refi, so I could keep track of the changes.

[Denninmi]

53. I was frustrated by the website, so I called the toll free #, and the rep. took my application.

It wasn't any information that I was the least bit concerned about giving. Just the basic things for ID purposes, plus a few questions about income and employment to help calculate eligibility for a subsidy on the premiums.

My only concern is that it doesn't seem to be going very smoothly. I certainly don't want a gap in coverage because of that. But, I think that they will get their act together in short order -- it's all new to everyone, and the response has been overwhelming.

[DrewFlorida]

54. Plain stupidity, those types of information are standard for any health insurance.

The ACA does not sell you anything, they direct you to insurance companies which have agreed to sell insurance based on the parameters of the ACA, that's all. If you buy insurance without the ACA you will have to give them the same information.

Your reasoning makes no logical sense, and for that reason it sounds like republican fear mongering.

[diabeticman]

62. My wife is a liberal! You want to call us trolls that's fine but we know we are not! and my wife's

concerns are real!

[TeamPooka]

70. like getting stabbed by a unicorn. The fear is real but impractical and not based in reality

[mahina]

124. How did you know I'm afraid of unicorns?

That was classic.
Diabeticman, once your wife has read this thread, your work is done. She'll have enough information to make an informed decision and whatever it is, it is.
.

[TeamPooka]

126. :)

[PragmaticLiberal]

110. With all due respect, don't you think you're being a little melodramatic?

Initially, I gave you the benefit of the doubt but I'm starting to suspect you aren't what you seem......

[TeamPooka]

125. i came to that conclusion long ago

[CC]

57. Though I understand the concern

since she was contacting them it is a bit much. Is she going to not get SS benefits or Medicare when the time comes because she has to prove her identity? Decide to not get any insurance for the same reason? Kills getting a passport too if she isn't going to share the info with the same government. Being cautious is smart, but you can take it too far. Hope you can calm her fears and maybe tomorrow she can think a bit clearer.

[ecstatic]

59. You really have to put things in perspective

Are you more at risk of an Obamacare rep stealing your identity, or going bankrupt due to being uninsured during a medical crisis, which would tank whatever credit score you have now? Also, is your identity even desirable to a thief?

If you're concerned about your credit/identity, there are a variety of low cost services to keep track of any changes to your credit. I pay $4.95 and I'm instantly alerted about everything, including when an inquiry is made or an account is created.

Good luck, sincerely. Any other insurance carrier will request the same info, btw.

[Tx4obama]

60. Apply for ACA Exchanges IN PERSON at HRSA Clinics. Link:...

Apply for ACA Exchanges IN PERSON at HRSA Clinics. Link:

DU OP here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023826338

[taught_me_patience]

65. The fine ratchets up real quick

I'm sure your wife will make a copy of her driver's license within a couple of years.

[jwirr]

68. Anyone who has ever filled out and application for Medicaid, or other welfare program has to

provide these items or at least most of them every year if they are not already on file. At least this gives her a choice of which one she wants to use. If she wants to pay more for her health care coverage she is welcome to.

[MFM008]

69. about info

on almost everything ive filled out they want some of that info, especially if you are applying for a job.... now the drivers l, School ID, voter ID, birth cert, they did not ask for on the web site, they did wand SSN and tax returns.
My son qualifies for silver plan at 85.00 a month. He will get almost 200.00 in subsidies.. If you want the break you have to let them know certain things. You have never dealt with getting state money or student loans...... they want to know EVERYTHING.

[JDPriestly]

71. Then just pay the fine. It's your choice.

[GeorgeGist]

73. Either not all

to send a copy of either her

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

74. Have you ever applied for private health insurance before?

I have. They want your entire medical history (every doctors visit, every prescription, every time you had to fucking clear your throat). They sent someone to my house to weight me and take my blood pressure. And I assume to do a "sniff test" to confirm that I'm not a smoker.

For fucks sake, do your taxes every year and apply for a passport, and you've already give nearly all of that stuff to the government before.

[Puzzledtraveller]

76. You need to provide your financials, specifics, your personal data

As another poster asserts, if you want your complaint to be considered legitimate.

[scheming daemons]

78. cool story, bro!

[beachbum bob]

79. paranoia. ...you have the similar requirements

When opening up a bank acct, credit card or applying for a loan.

[MannyGoldstein]

80. I apologize

As an FDR Democrat, I'm sorry that you guys have to go through this crap. In no other industrialized nation does this bullshit happen.

Hopefully, we who call ourselves Democrats can begin to work together, as a whole, to stop the insanity and take our country back from the grifters and crazies.

[Ohio Joe]

91. Really?

When people in all these other countries apply for govt programs they never have to show who they are? No identification needed to get into it? Subsidies don't have any verification of income either? Wow... Thats... unbelievable.

[MannyGoldstein]

94. To private companies?

Really?

[Ohio Joe]

97. The OP does not appear to be talking about private companies

They seem to be afraid of proving who they are to the govt. But yeah... I'm pretty sure if you are applying for insurance anywhere you have to show some ID and if part of that application includes subsidies, you would also have to be able to verify you qualify.

[MannyGoldstein]

101. I expect that the OP has no problem providing those things on their tax forms

Lower risk of identity theft, I think.

[jeff47]

130. Yeah, how would someone know a letter addressed to the IRS would have sensitive information. (nt)

[MannyGoldstein]

139. I believe that it's in posession of the US government once

it's in the mailbox. I trust them a lot more than I do contractors, although that's a personal preference, I suppose.

[jeff47]

140. Because mailboxes are bastions of security

They don't even have helpful little red flags to indicate if there's something inside.

And it's not like they're a frequent target for identity thieves or anything.

[MannyGoldstein]

141. Um, not *those* mailboxes

The big blue ones.

Putting sensitive info into an insecure mailbox becomes a Darwin-ish issue.

[jeff47]

144. We had to stop using the big blue one on the corner

A few houses ago, the little mailboxes became frequent targets of identity thieves - they just took all the mail to dig through it for anything useful.

So we started sending mail out via a nearby big blue box. When the little boxes dried up, the thieves started targeting the big blue box.

Thank god for online bills and bill pay.

[MannyGoldstein]

146. That. Sucks.

I'm just curious: what part of the country are you from?

Although, as bad as your experience is, electronic ID heists from private companies have netted many thousands of stolen identities at a time.

[jeff47]

152. At that time, a suburb of Los Angeles.

electronic ID heists from private companies have netted many thousands of stolen identities at a time.

Yeah, but ironically that makes the ID more secure. When they're only getting a handful, they are going to use every ID. When they get tens of thousands, the odds of any individual ID being used is lower.

[NM_Birder]

99. No ID required to vote for it, why Id required to join it ?

[Ohio Joe]

102. Because you are buying insurance

How do you suppose it would work if they had no idea who you were? It would be far preferable if people did not have to worry about such things as medical bills but that is not the case. Also... I don't know about where you live but when I registered to vote, I had to show ID.

[NM_Birder]

105. another one................

You can vote for it, we WANT you to vote for it ......you just can't join it ..........nice

[Ohio Joe]

108. Why can't you join?

[NM_Birder]

115. I can, if I wanted ..........

to give up my company benefits, but I'm not giving up my company benefits.

In the grand scheme of things I will pay a very modest increase to retain my benefits, my questions are geared more to those who are not as fortunate as I am.

[left is right]

84. While I understand her concern

I would lay money on the fact that the ACA workers are sworn to the same oaths to protect all person identifiable information as I am as a census bureau employee. We take those oaths, there are three, once a year and are reminded several times during the year of the penalties including fines, termination, and prosecution--quite severe. Part of the oath is a clause that we will never divulge the information even after we leave our position at the bureau.

Besides, I see so much personal data that I couldn’t possibly remember any of it.

[enough]

85. Are you planning to forego Medicare and Social Security when you get to

retirement age? You will have to provide all this information at that time, and of course the government essentially has all of it already.

[Zen Democrat]

87. You don't even have to have a computer for ID theft.

Most people's information that has been compromised comes from hacking computerized records of financial institutions, whether you are on the internet or not.

[antigop]

88. Indian outsourcers see business booming as Obamacare kicks in

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101674945
Article says:

MUMBAI: As US President Barack Obama's new health insurance plan takes effect this month, Indian outsourcers handling customer care for insurers there are expecting a big boost in business.

indicates Indian outsourcers are already handling customer care for insurers even before the PPACA.

So what privacy do you have if someone in another country has access to your info?

[Lex]

90. Don't apply for a mortgage loan then. nt

[NM_Birder]

95. No ID required to vote. Why ID required for the ACA ?

Same issues with people not being able to show ID to vote, why do you have to have ID for the ACA ? Elderly, sick, poor etc....it's argued that it's too difficult for some people to have an ID to vote, why are those people eliminated from the ACA ?

[moriah]

100. Means-tested public benefits all require proof of identity and income.

You can't get Food Stamps without proving who you are, or Medicaid, or any other public benefit.

Voting doesn't cost a penny.

[NM_Birder]

103. "Voting doesn't cost a penny"....the people who voted

but are unable to secure an ID are screwed, nice dodge. We need their votes, but we don't need them in the plan, ...nice.

[moriah]

107. And what does it take to get a copy of an ID by March 31st?

If they are registered voters, their voter registration card is good enough.



Edit to add, so no, your little smarmy BS about voters getting screwed over is false. If they registered to vote, they have sufficient ID -- their voter registration card.

It's also a huge false equivalency to compare the identity documentation required to get thousands of dollars in public money (not even a photo! a birth certificate will work, or a social security card, or a driver's license if they have one, or a voter registration card -- not all of them, just one of them) and the draconian laws requiring a person to show photo ID for voting.

[NM_Birder]

116. No ID no ACA acceptance. Your voter reg card means squat in the ACA.

[moriah]

118. Really? Look at the OP, sweetheart.

They wanted one of four IDs:

Driver's License
(Edit to add: they also said a School ID would work)
Birth Certificate
Social Security Card
Voter Registration Card. (edit to add "voter ID" -- that's what that is)

Thanks for playing. And I'm sorry I'm being snarky. I have worked my ass off in both the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections to help people vote, and my state is lucky that they don't require Photo ID, but does require something with your registered address mailed to you from the government -- a birth certificate isn't good enough. One guy was nearly turned away until I went out there to try to help him find something, and we found a Food Stamp application that had been mailed to him. He got to vote.

I've done my damnedest to help people vote, and I've done my damnedest to help people get registered for the ACA. Stop spreading lies about what the ACA requires, and I'll be a little less snarky.

[NM_Birder]

123. I'm not your sweetheart, you are wrong and kind of an ass about it.

[moriah]

135. Please show me where I'm wrong, then. I'm basing this off of what the OP said.

If I'm wrong, then they're wrong, too.

And edit to add: From another user who has had to go through manual verification, on another site:

When I reach a page called "My Applications and Coverage," I am given the option to view my pending application. It provides me with an ID number. At the top of the page is a message that says, "Regular Notification: You have a notice available about your identity verification." This is followed by a 'download' link. When I click on download, I open a pdf file with a letter explaining that I must send them a copy of an official identification and lists the various forms of identification that would be acceptable.

One copy of any of the following:

Driver’s license issued by state or territory
School identification card
Voter registration card
U.S. military card or draft record
Identification card issued by the federal, state, or local government, including o Military dependent’s identification card
Native American Tribal document
U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner

Or two copies of any of the following:

A birth certificate
Social Security card
Marriage certificate
Divorce decree
Employer identification card
High school or college diploma (including high school equivalency diplomas)
Property deed or

I'm directed to mail the copies along with an attached barcode provided at the end of the letter to its London, KY address.

http://nhpr.org/post/signing-insurance-marketplace-delivers-more-errors-results

Yes, a voter registration card will work, at least according to that user of the Exchange as well. Now, those two people may be wrong -- the OP, and the person who wrote this article.

But I think they're correct.

[NM_Birder]

137. a Democratic Underground OP be wrong... NO WAY !

[moriah]

138. Read my edit, please.

And a final edit, because I really do hate bumping posts. I've given you two references for my opinion, you've so far supplied none. Until you do, I'm done arguing this point, and as I said, my snarkiness has a lot to do with misinformation I've seen presented and may have been partially misdirected. The ACA has a ton of problems, but requiring ID for means tested public benefits is nothing new. A voter registration card isn't good enough to vote in many states, but it IS good enough for the ACA, according to two people I don't think would lie about it. If you know something different, please, share.

[NM_Birder]

142. Your ACA card WILL suffice as a voter ID card..

However to GET an ACA card and register with the exchanges you have to show ID, proof of social security number, citizenship.

School ID's an honest face and Starfleet Academy badges will not satisfy, The IRS is involved with enforcement, you have to be tied to your specific tax return for proper penalizing if you do not have insurance.

I went to the NM exchange and found out right away that my company benefits are well worth the modest increase to stay the hell away from the train wreck your tax return is about to become. This will probably stay so hosed up for a year, that it will go unnoticed, but get a bottle of the good stuff for your tax adventure in another year...... sign into the ACA and you will only have yourself to blame for your future tax woes. Be offended at this now, but I'll bet you remember this conversation a year from now when the IRS has its hand right - in - your - cookie jar.

Young people who have little to no skin in the tax game have no idea what they are in for with the ACA. Just owing tens of thousands of dollars in student loans will seem like Disneyland once the IRS takes a bite out their ass. I don't know what your situation is but my taxes are complicated, and I gladly pay good money to have them professionally handled. If you use a tax professional, ask them what the actual cost to you will be after joining the ACA. If you think by tax professional I mean Turbo Tax, Tax Monkies or a 90 dollar offer from HR Block to do your taxes -- then never mind ............. register with the ACA.....they need your money.

Look past the sales pitch, and the ACA reveals a very nasty financial reality for the middle class.

[moriah]

147. ... and still, no sourcing for your information RE: what is acceptable documentation to register.

Have a Nice Day!

[NM_Birder]

145. Read my post below.

The IRS has to know who you really are to enforce this. Enjoy the IRS, they are actually quite friendly people, but they don't take BS identification arguments,...and they don't take American Express.


Cheers.

[Bluenorthwest]

109. The elderly are covered by Medicare, no ACA involved at all. To get that Medicare one has

to prove one's identity.

[RebelOne]

143. Who says no ID to vote? Not the case here in Georgia.

Everyone has to show ID to vote. I have to show my driver's license even though I have a voting card.

[Marrah_G]

96. Perhaps there is a place you could go in person to help you sign up

If I remember right, you guys have been having a rough few months. I'd hate to see you lose out on something that could make life easier for you both.

[PoliticAverse]

121. People can find places to sign up in person by using this clickable map:

http://www.hrsa.gov/about/news/2013tables/outreachandenrollment/

[magical thyme]

106. Um, the Federal Gov already has her SSN, and the state has her SSN and driver's license

And any and every employer she every had already has her SSN.

Heck one of my employers has copy of driver's license and my SSN on file, to monitor their parking lot.

Does she realize how many government employees already have that information? It's just another dept. and another batch of government employees because the depts at federal level are too large and unwieldy to have easily shared data.

My identity was stolen 7 years ago courtesy of Fidelity Investments and the ID theft ring operating out of Hewlett-Packard when Fidelity had a laptop "stolen" from the rental car of one of their VPs in the HP Palo Alto parking lot.

Frankly, I'm far more worried about employers having that information than clerks in the government. The government generally has a lot more security involved than the vast majority private companies.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

114. Um, but not the employee on the other end of the line, possibly a prison inmate or foreign employee.

[magical thyme]

153. the employee at the other end of what line?

private employees are as likely to be prison inmates or foreign employees as government employees, if not moreso.

My point is that for anybody who has ever gone to school or worked or had any sort of credit or chard card or had a driver's license, and so on... their identity horse has long since left the barn.

Not getting your point here...

[AnotherMcIntosh]

157. The first words in the OP: "My wife called the ACA verification LINE ..." (emphasis added)

[magical thyme]

159. Oh, the phone line. Again, the identity horse left the barn long ago.

Any number of total strangers have access to our private information. This is just one more stranger in that extremely long line of strangers.

In fact, as a part of my job I see caller's SSNs, addresses, financial investments, etc.

Before hiring, they do background checks, credit checks, and we are fingerprinted and photographed on day one. Every phone call is recorded and every keystroke is also recorded.

It would be very easy for me to steal somebody's indentity. It would be extremely difficult for me to actually use it.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

160. Saying that there have been identity thefts in the past should not comfort anyone, nor should

your claim that it would be very easy for you "to steal somebody's identity."

[magical thyme]

161. everybody knows there have been identity thefts in the past

The one I experienced was due to corrupt fellow employees at HP and an either corrupt or phemonemally stupid VP at Fidelity investments. No call centers, prisoners or government involved. They stole all my pension info plus work and education history, along with prior address. I lost a few dollars for copies of the police report and postage, plus a lot of sleep for a week.

My point is that short of dropping out of society altogether, we are all at risk of identity theft now, all the time. The horse left the barn decades ago.

Refusing to sign up for ACA out of fear of identity theft is like refusing to step outside and go to work or food shopping or whatever because you may get hit by a car.

You step outside to live. You take what precautions you can to ensure you don't get hit by a car, but the fact is you can take every precaution there is and still get hit by somebody determined to hit you.

But the odds are still very much in your favor and after a couple decades of horror stories there are now many systems in place to help you.

I've had a 7 year fraud alert on my credit bureau reports for the last 6 years and 10 months or so. Since that expires in a couple months, over the next couple weeks, I'll be contacting the 3 bureaus and locking down my credit. Because of my theft, they have to do it for free, and if I remember correctly they have to re-open if for free at my request (slight variations per state, some allow a nominal charge of $10 or so). So it will be a little harder for me to get credit, but my thieves won't be able to use my id ever again. Problem solved.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

166. The fact that "everybody knows ... " means we should learn from our experiences, not ignore them.

[magical thyme]

167. that doesn't mean you stop living to keep from having your identity stolen.

Again, you take what precautions you reasonably can.

You don't keep your children out of school because a bad employee might steal their identity.

You don't choose to not work because a bad employee might steal your identity.

You don't choose not to get a driver's license because a bad employee might steal your identity.

You don't choose to not buy a house with a mortgage because a bad employee might steal your identity.

and. so. on.

and I'm done here. Stuff to do. Have a nice day

[AnotherMcIntosh]

169. Of course not. Who, other than you, said that it did?

[magical thyme]

171. the OP is about someone who refuses to sign up for ACA because of concerns about ID theft

"She doesn't feel comfortable she worries about identity thief."

I can think of a host of reasons to not sign up for ACA, but identity theft is simply not one of them. As I've written above, our identity horses left the barn long ago. The government already has all our ID information.

And now I really gotta get a move on. My afternoon is starting to fritter away...

[AnotherMcIntosh]

173. Obviously. It also should be obvious that it is a false equivalency to equate "stop living" with

a concern about giving personal information.

[magical thyme]

174. hardly. I gave many examples of day to day living that require giving up your SSN.

you are obviously being deliberately obtuse as well as having some need to get in the last word. you can have it. welcome to ignores. frankly, I thought I'd put you on it long ago...

[AnotherMcIntosh]

175. Your examples are beside the point. Not relevant at all.

[Bluenorthwest]

111. I give the OP low marks for inconsistent style and characterization.

nt

[AnotherMcIntosh]

112. Who is receiving this information? Prison inmates hired by private companies. Employees in foreign

countries?

Neither one of these can be true? They can't be true in the face of what we already know about persons who answer phones an a massive scale?

[fitman]

113. Insurance co's have always asked for this info

SS #, Drivers license #, employers info etc etc.. really nothing new.

Big ado about nothing..

[leftyladyfrommo]

117. Shoot, when I signed up for SS they knew everything about me.

I was sort of amazed. My life is kind of an open book to the government.

[displacedtexan]

119. Your wife's I 9 documentation is exactly like the ACA requirements

Without an I9 on file, your wife wouldn't be able to work in this country.

[ProSense]

120. Apply for ACA Exchanges IN PERSON at HRSA Clinics.

Apply for ACA Exchanges IN PERSON at HRSA Clinics.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023826338

Links to download applications
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023826338#post1

[Ikonoklast]

122. Like an employee at any insurance company couldn't do the same.

Oy.


Not buying the logic here.

[Myrina]

127. I see her point. I would not put those docs in the mail either.

Fax, perhaps if I was 100% sure of the recipient. Same for emailing copies.

But too much shit disappears from mailboxes anymore and the info they're expecting IS [everything an identity thief needs.

[stevenleser]

177. They wont do it in person either. Folks upthread have given the info how to do it in person.

Hard to believe the OP isnt trolling at this point.

[Jakes Progress]

129. You are very naive.

Just who will you get insurance with that won't ask for all of that? What a petty, uninformed way to proceed.

If you "pay the fine", then get sick and go to the county hospital emergency room and require thousands of dollars of care, you will have to give all this information then. That is before the rest of us pick up the tab for your unwillingness to take care of yourself.

You may consider this a flame, but it is simply how it is.

[Downtown Hound]

131. Good luck getting private insurance without having to give out that information.

And no, I don't believe you're for real for one minute and yes I do think you're a troll. The things you're bitching about are pretty standard for any insurance application.

[chelsea0011]

133. If I read this correctly, they didn't ask for much more than a credit check.

[Laelth]

148. I have applied for insurance on the private market before.

They asked all kinds of questions, and many of them were quite personal. The application process was long and arduous. I declined the insurance offered.

People who are offended by the questions asked by the government in order to gauge what policies they should be offered on the public ACA exchange obviously have never applied for health insurance on their own.

I take the OP with a big grain of salt.

-Laelth

[penultimate]

158. I know, right?

I got asked far fewer personal questions on the ACA exchange site than I did when applying for private insurance before.

[blueknight]

149. your wife

is paranoid to the point of being crazy. the goverment can get ANY INFO THEY WANT ON HER. they gave her the S.S. NUMBER, DRIVING LICENSE NUMBER...etc

[Capt. Obvious]

151. Just pay the fine

The Prince of Nigeria should help you.

[elehhhhna]

155. dman, with all due respect,

aren't you pretty much broke anyway? Who's gonna steal your id? We're broke btw so nothing personal here.

[penultimate]

156. Nearly anything you do that requires you to be identified needs something like an drivers license/ID

Isn't that why those things exist? How do you do other things in life? Open up bank accounts, get jobs, get insurance from other sources, register your cars, buy/rent homes???

[Pretzel_Warrior]

162. are you serious? You've probably given 10 times that info to big corporations

like Amazon, Facebook, etc. Good luck with no health insurance because you're afraid of the government having information about you that they already possess.

[arely staircase]

165. never applied for a loan? the bank will ask for all of that as well as your assets and credit score

but whatever.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

172. I have to give a copy of my DL and SS card when I am hired. They only want one. NBD

not seeing what is the Big Deal, here. Sorry.

[blm]

176. People give a whole lot of info every day to insurance companies, medical offices, banks, lawyers,

courts, employment applications, schools, clinics, Facebook, Twitter, etc......

[whistler162]

179. If you have kids in a school system

that uses a security system like Raptor Visitor Management, http://www.raptorware.com/, your wife will never be able pick up your child(ren). Need to have some form of picture id to run through the system.

Besides by giving her and your SS# she has already provided sufficient info to a ID thief to begin the process.

[gollygee]

180. She probably has to prove she's a citizen

It's typical to ask for a SS# and have a form of ID that links you to the SS# to prove you're a citizen before you get services that you have to be a citizen to receive.