My Own Health Care Debacle

After trying for weeks on October 28th I was able to enroll in the the Health Care Market Place.  Once I understood the coverage, the cost and that my doctor would not accept this insurance I decided to dump it and immediately started the process of trying to cancel on line, via chat, via phone and finally by calling the Optima who told me to contact the Health Care Market Place.

The other day three duplicate confirmation packets arrived so it would seem my efforts to cancel failed.

Thankfully, before the deadline I applied for a new, not ACA complaint, Optima PPO policy that cost much less, has lower deductibles and a prescription drug benefit.

I'm "HOPEFUL" the Health Care Market Place or a private company that is ACA compliant will offer something similar to my current plan next year.  My current not ACA complaint plan covers my daughter to age twenty six, has reasonable deductibles, no life time caps and subsidized prescriptions but cannot be renewed.

If I go without healthcare the Fed will fine me 1% of my income in 2014, growing to a 2.5% be 2016.

*** Update Feb 10, 2014 - No matter what I do the healthcare market place will not cancel my policy! Even worse, though I haven't paid a dime on this new policy, the "Market Place" reaches out and cancels my current policy... Repeatedly.  I keep contacting the Health Care Market Place and my carrier.  This has been a complete cluster (rhymes with duck)!

*** Update Feb 11, 2014 - I can't believe it... I got yet another package, my 4th, from the "Market Place" and this time a bill... My 1st bill for nearly $800 bucks.  The people causing this are beyond incompetent.  It's been months and I'm still trying to get my the insurance the "Market Place" cancelled reinstated... ARG!!!

*** Update March 21, 2014 - It looks like the ACA policy was canceled.  I stroked a check for $1,127 to my not ACA compliant new policy and I'm now paid to date.  With the exception of having to pay the first $250 of my daughters medication it seems like a pretty darn good policy that's only good for this year. :-(

*** Update March 26, 2014 - The last hurdle was my "Market Place" dental plan.  Turns out it's a HMO that not a single local dentist accepts.  It was supposed to be canceled when the health care was canceled but that didn't happen.

*** Update April 11, 2018 - My not ACA compliant plan was only good for one year and I ended up bypassing the Market Place and calling a local company and asking for a ACA compliant policy. I had that for just under three years and never used it... Never. Why? The deductibles were so high. It basically was a really expensive major medical plan.

In conclusion... I was hopeful that the ACA would work. I really wanted it to work. Bottom line it sucks and maybe it's time we get government and employers out of providing insurance. If everyone (except the young, old and military) had to buy their own coverage maybe market forces would work. The poor? Spend the billions we are waisting in the Market Place on free clinics!

The ACA Violates the Constitution

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) violated the Constitution’s Origination Clause because it raised revenue but did not “originate” in the House of Representatives.

Under the United States Constitution’s Origination Clause (Article I, Section 7, Clause 1): “All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.”

Senate Democrats attempted to satisfy the Origination Clause when passing Obamacare. The House of Representatives passed H.R. 3590, which was a small bill granting tax credits for veterans. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stripped out every word of the veteran tax credit bill and replaced it with the ACA that ultimately passed Congress without a single republican vote and was signed by President Obama. The ACA includes billions in new revenue which the Supreme Court ruled in NFIB v. Sebelius as taxes.

Senator Reed knew substituting every word of the veteran tax credit bill with the ACA was wrong but the only path he could take to get the ACA passed.  It doesn't surprise me that our President has also selectively implemented the ACA and many other laws during the last five years.  The President has "modified" or "suspended" laws that only Congress can change, further empowering the executive branch of government.

The republican's in the House fought long and hard to repeal the ACA but right before the government shut down they admitted defeat and sent the Senate a bill keeping the government open that included a delay in the implementation of the ACA's personal mandate. 

The Senate voted 54-46 to strip this language from the House funding bill which resulted in a sixteen day (the third longest) government shutdown.  A shut down that could have been adverted by a delay in the personal mandate that the President, under pressure from fellow Democrats, has since allowed but Executive Letter.

I think it's important to know that throughout history our government has been out of money for a total of 128 days and that Democrats have been responsible for the vast majority of this. 

Even with Pesident Carter, both the House and Senate controlled by Democrats the government ran out of money five separate times totaling 57 days. It's funny to note somehow the government really NEVER shut down during this time.