No, CBS News, Obama Isn’t Hiding The True Cost Of Obamacare

[ProSense]

No, CBS News, Obama Isn’t Hiding The True Cost Of Obamacare

By Igor Volsky

On Wednesday morning, CBS This Morning opened its show with a claim that’s quickly gaining steam among Obamacare critics: the administration isn’t just pedaling furiously to fix the technical problems associated with HealthCare.gov, it’s also misleading people about the true cost of coverage.

The segment, from reporter Jan Crawford, claimed that “a new online feature can dramatically underestimate the cost of insurance” and that it’s “not giving consumers the real picture.” Crawford then showed screen shots of the website’s new anonymous shopping tool, which allows users to browse plan information based on geographic location and age range without asking the user to enter specific income or age data. Officials added the feature after discovering that the requirement to establish an account created a traffic bottle neck at the site’s entry point and caused massive delays and glitches.

Under the new tool, users log on to HealthCare.gov, and after being told that “this isn’t the application for Marketplace coverage,” enter the type of plan they’re interested in, select their state and county, and one of two age ranges: “49 or under” and “50 or older.”



Following several more prompts about benefits, tax credit eligibility, and the different bands of coverage, the tool throws out what it calls an “estimated monthly premium” for the available health care plans. A disclaimer reading, “IMPORTANT NOTE: The prices here don’t reflect the lower costs you may qualify for based on household size and income” is displayed on every page.



The CBS report sought to portray the tool as purposely deceitful or an effort to mislead users by displaying the lowest possible premiums:

Prices for everyone in the 49 or under group are based on what a 27-year-old would pay. In the 50 or older group, prices are based on what a 50-year-old would pay. We ran the numbers for a 48-year-old in Charlotte, North Carolina, ineligible for subsidies. According to HealthCare.gov, she would pay $230 a month but the actual plan on BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina’s website costs $360. More than a 50% increase. The difference, Blue Cross Blue Shield requests your birth date before providing more accurate estimates. The numbers for older Americans are even more striking. A 62-year-old in Charlotte looking for the same basic plan would get a price estimate on the government website of $394. The actual price is $634.

Watch it:

- more -

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/10/23/2823581/cbs-news-misleading-obamacare/

Complaints for the sake of complaining
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023912347

[onehandle]

1. The Administration should be running success story ads in all states with Obamacare.

And the same ads, slightly altered in non-Obamacare states, calling the haters out.

This is Easy. Republicans want you to, 'Get Sick And Die Quickly.' (A more to the point interpretation of Rep. Grayson's quote)

And `they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.' - Dickens

[seveneyes]

2. Stack Overflow

The snake has eaten its tail. Somehow, following the links led me back here again. While I can't attest that the ACA website is perfect, there does seem to be an allusion to that effect.

[ProSense]

3. ? n/t

[BenzoDia]

4. Nice follow up as usual.

I can't believe people want this to fail so badly that they buy into these stories.

[Scurrilous]

5. K & R