OMG TECH PROBLEMS CAN NEVER BE FIXED WE ARE DOOOOOOOMED.

[kpete]

Oh Jesus Fucking Christ
Posted by John Cole at 11:47 pm

I get it. The website for 40 million previously uninsured people who are now, because of the ACA, going to get healthcare coverage, sucked.

I just watched the SNL opening skit mocking Sebelius and ACA, and the only thing I could think was thank fucking ALLAH that Social Security and Medicaid were rolled out in the pre-internet days.

Think about it, you fucking jackasses at the Wonkblog and you other alleged liberals. All the programs you claim to love, like SS, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. At this point in the rollout for these programs 50, 60, and 70 years ago, the mail would just be reaching the respective offices. Problems people are experiencing today would not even be noticed for four months in those days, yet people still participated, just as people are right now.

Ask someone who has actually struggled to get healthcare and now can, and wasn’t really put off by a couple hour wait to finally get coverage:

Obamacare is more than a website. More than half of the people I worked with on the Obama campaign in 2008 said health care reform was their reason for joining the campaign and working to elect a Democrat. Forty-seven million Americans, including me, were uninsured until now. When I finally was able to log into the site–after a few days and a few false starts–I was floored by the number of affordable options. When I scrolled through my list of choices–124 different plans to be exact–I realized that this is the reason Republicans hate the program so much: it will fundamentally change lives, including my own.

There are a few glaring omissions in the coverage of Obamacare’s shaky rollout. For the most part, those covering the problems are insured themselves and consequently greatly underestimate the patience of a chronically uninsured person who has been counting down the days until Obamacare began so they could have a little peace of mind that if they got sick they wouldn’t be staring down bankruptcy.

***
The website problems are being fixed–the New York exchange that I am using to compare plans is working just fine as of this morning–and the Obama administration has promised to work on the glitches to ensure that Americans who will likely wait until the last minute to sign up will have a working website. Enrollment lasts until February 15th and the coverage begins January 1st. While the early website issues are frustrating, they by no means indicate that the program as a whole has failed.

And unless you are a journalist who has been chronically uninsured, your feigned frustration about website issues reeks of privilege. To me, a few website glitches are a lot less frustrating than having to use the same inhaler for over a year because I can’t afford to go the doctor. Perspective is everything.

That’s Zerlina Maxwell, one of the nicest people I have ever met, who has spent the last week being insulted by people for refusing to fall over into the vapors over the new website and actually explaining how important this new legislation was for her.

MORE:
http://feministing.com/2013/10/24/dear-journalists-your-privilege-is-clouding-your-perspective-on-obamacare-website-glitches/
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2013/10/26/oh-jesus-fucking-christ-2/

[Atman]

1. K&R

A must-read.

[Enrique]

2. the attention is motivating them to fix it

Rachel Maddow made a good point that even the GOP hearings help to improve the program, despite the fact that the GOP hates that program.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. A wonderful point, indeed..

Telling the GOP THEY are responsible for making the sign up process even better!

[bravenak]

3. K&R

Thank you.

[99Forever]

5. Having the Teapublicans reduced to ...

... grasping at straws, is a very good thing.

Now, if we can get Democrats to quit proposing Republican policies, we might put this nation back on course to a better future.

[fleur-de-lisa]

6. K&R - n/t

[Democat]

7. How good was the Social Security website when the problem first launched?

Any major bugs?

[CrispyQ]

8. I think a better question that affects more people would be,

How good is the new version of Microsoft Windows when it's first launched and how many people wait until service pack 1 is released to upgrade?

I had a client go on & on about the Obamacare website & how awful it is. She's rich, so I'm pretty sure she's just parroting talking points from Fox & has not tried the system herself. I just said, "You can pick up the phone & call an toll free number to sign up. I've heard the wait times are less than 5 minutes. You don't have to use the internet." She didn't mention ACA the rest of our session.

[Democat]

12. People have been posting that you can go in person too?

It's a shame that the website didn't work as well as expected on launch, but it's also funny how reliant people have come on the internet in such a short time.

[2naSalit]

15. There's yet another aspect not getting much coverage...

who built this thing?

Watch this and find out more about how and why this is a mess...

http://tinyurl.com/ptzla4p

I recommend watching the first three segments at least.

[cantbeserious]

9. Kick And Recommend

eom

[valerief]

10. I don't think you understand the effect ACA will have.

With the success of ACA, certain obscenely wealthy people might actually not get more obscenely wealthy, and that's the ultimate sin in this world.

[treestar]

11. Absolutely

I remember the days when people went to the Social Security Office - and there are locations for the ACA - or used the phone, or regular mail. And those offices had typewriters! Later they had computers with green screens.

All of that is still possible with the ACA, too.

[WinstonSmith4740]

13. I was uninsured for 9 years.

And it was scary. Fortunately, I'm a pretty healthy person, so I didn't have to face down the health bills, but I couldn't GO to a doctor, so you live in a lot of fear of something that may go wrong, and then what?? I received GREAT insurance when I went back to teaching, so that burden is off my shoulders, but I can empathize with those trying to get it now. But instead of apologizing for the shaky roll-out, here's what I'd love to hear from the Obama administration, or for that matter, Jon Stewart or Bill Maher.

Yes, there have been problems. But this is a huge program, and there are glitches in every roll out. We have a lot tech people here (at DU)...think about this. Your company has been given the contract to build this thing. You've signed the contract with the "marketing" department, who truly understands the need for it, is supported by the rest of the company, and wants it done. However, the accounting department refuses to admit it's necessary and pledges to stop it under any circumstances, and if failing that, they won't fund it. They stir up some of the employees by lying to them about just what this program will do. They constantly foment unrest. This bullshit continues for 4 years. Even after the COO tells them to knock it off, the idea is good, and within company by-laws, they don't stop. They try to have the CEO fired and replaced with their own follower, but fail. They even try to destroy the company to keep the program from going into effect. All the while, you COULD have been working on the project, but since you still don't know if it will ever be put into use, OR if you'll actually get paid for all this work, just how hard are you working on it? So the bull shit finally ends, but not until the roll out date. In essence, you've really only been able to effectively work on this project for about a year. Think there's gonna be some kinks? I do.

So, is the shaky roll out the fault of the people in the company who wanted it to succeed all along, or with the idiots that tried to stop it?

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. And for the moment, while it gets fixed, it will

there is this very low tech solution, the tech has been well, perfected. It's called a phone.

[Blanks]

16. Compare this to the scandal that went on...

During the last couple of years of the Reagan Administration.

I'd say the 'Obamacare web site debacle' is pretty mild by comparison.

At least he didn't trade guns for hostages. I'd be REALLY disappointed in him if his administration had engaged in something like that.

[IronLionZion]

17. Is there some reason why the "liberal" media isn't sharing phone, mail and local office methods?

All I hear each day is crap like how only the sickest will sign up because healthy people can't be bothered with the website glitches so that will throw off the cost curve.

They really should be informing people of other options instead of focusing so hard on the problems. Not everyone can just fire up the website if they don't even have a computer or internet access. The media really does live in a bubble of privilege.


And the million dollar question is WTF are Democrats not out on TV and radio sharing this info? Are they too busy?