Day: October 21, 2013

Categories
ObamaCare Politics

It’s More Than Just a Website

More than just a websiteOn October 1st, even as the federal government was shutting down, HealthCare.gov — the new Health Insurance Marketplace where people can find and apply for affordable health insurance plans as part of Obamacare — opened for business nationwide.

As you may have heard, the website launch hasn’t gone nearly as smoothly as it should have. And with nearly 20 million visits to the site in the first several weeks, the problems were aggravated by the website’s popularity.

But even in spite of those problems, thousands of Americans are currently signing up and saving money. Nearly half a million Americans have already applied for health insurance through the federal and state Marketplaces. It’s not hard to see why: Once people get through the door, they overwhelmingly like the benefits and cost of the products available to them — especially when compared with the discriminatory private market that was previously the only game in town.

Some of the best and brightest are now doing everything they can to fix the site as quickly as possible. People are working overtime, 24/7, and we’ve brought in some of the best IT experts from across the country to join the team at the federal agency responsible for running the Marketplace. And as President Obama said today, “Nobody’s madder than me about the fact that the website isn’t working as well as it should, which means it’s going to get fixed.

“It’s also important to remember that the website is not the only way to enroll. You can dial the call center at 1-800-318-2596 and apply directly over the phone. Typically, it takes about 25 minutes for an individual or about 45 for a family. You can also find local “navigators” who can help you enroll in person at LocalHelp.HealthCare.gov.

Learn more about what we’re doing to make the site better and enrollment easier.

The President is the first to admit that the website’s problems are unacceptable. But Obamacare is more than just a website. Most Americans already have health insurance through their employer, Medicare, or Medicaid, and they don’t need to go to the Marketplace for new coverage. Instead, the health care law provides new benefits and increased protection: Young people can stay on their parents’ insurance plans until they are 26, seniors are receiving more affordable prescription medicine, and preventive care like mammograms are free.

So while there are major improvements to make on the new website, millions of Americans are already benefiting from the health care law. And we’re making sure that those who don’t have access to affordable health insurance today can sign up — online, on the phone, and even in person.

Here are some of the things we’ve done in the meantime to make the process easier. Take a look, and pass this message along to those you know who are trying to sign up for health care:

You can now preview plans and prices available in your area without filling out the online application.

You can find out, with an improved calculator, whether your income and household size may qualify you for lower costs on your monthly premiums and out-of-pocket costs.

You can apply for coverage 4 ways: by phone, online, by mail with a paper application, or with the help of an in-person assister.

Thanks, and stay tuned for more updates

Categories
ObamaCare Politics

President Obama Catches Fainting Woman at ObamaCare Speech

During a speech this morning by President Obama on Obamacare, a woman standing directly behind the president began to wobble back and forth as if she was about to faint.

Luckily, Obama realized there was something going on behind him and immediately turned around to catch the woman, making sure she remained steady on her feet.

Good catch Mr. President!

Apparently the woman was attending the speech as a guest who was a beneficiary of the Affordable Care Act.

“This is what happens when I talk too long,” the president said after helping her get escorted off the stage.

Watch it:

Categories
ObamaCare Politics

Video – What ObamaCare Means For You

This is must see TV!

Categories
Featured shooting

Another School Shooting – Teacher Killed, Others Injured

A student at Sparks Middle School shot and killed a teacher and wounded two other students Monday morning before fatally turning the gun on himself, police said.

Two unidentified males were wounded in the shooting and were taken to Renown Regional Medical Center in critical condition, a spokeswoman said. The Reno Gazette-Journal is trying to confirm the identity of the shooter and the teacher, who was reportedly a popular math teacher there, according to eyewitness accounts. Police said the teacher who was shot was trying to protect students.

Police said the shooting happened at 7:15 a.m. and students were evacuated to nearby Agnes Risley Elementary School and then to Sparks High School, where parents picked up their children.

At an 11 a.m. press conference, officials said of the two injured students, one was out of surgery and the other was doing well.

Eyewitness Kyle Nucum, 13, an eighth-grader at the middle school, said he was at the basketball court outside when the shooting happened.

“We heard a pop, like a loud pop, and everybody was screaming and the teacher came to investigate,” Nucum said Monday morning. “I thought it was a firecracker at first, but the student was pointing a gun at the teacher after the teacher told him to put it down, and the student fired a shot at the teacher and the teacher fell and everybody ran away.

“And we ran across the field to get somewhere safe and while we were running we heard about four or five more shots and we just got somewhere safe. This lady let us into her house.”

Authorities released few details about the shooting during a 9:15 a.m. press conference at Agnes Risley Elementary School.

Michelle Hernandez, a student at the middle school, said she saw the shooter Monday morning.

“I heard him saying, ‘Why you people making fun of me, why you laughing at me,’” Hernandez said.

Seth Hinchberger, an eighth-grader at Sparks Middle School, said the shooter “pulled out a weapon and just shot it. And scared all of us and we just started running.”

Categories
House of Representatives Politics

New Poll: More Americans Want Democrats Controlling the House

Just over half the public says that it’s bad for the country that the GOP controls the House of Representatives, according to a new national poll conducted after the end of the partial government shutdown.

And the CNN/ORC International survey also indicates that more than six in 10 Americans say that Speaker of the House John Boehner should be replaced.

The poll was conducted Friday through Sunday, just after the end of the 16-day partial federal government shutdown that was caused in part by a push by House conservatives to try and dismantle the health care law, which is President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement.

According to the survey, 54% say it’s a bad thing that the GOP controls the House, up 11 points from last December, soon after the 2012 elections when the Republicans kept control of the chamber. Only 38% say it’s a good thing the GOP controls the House, a 13-point dive from the end of last year.

Categories
Movies Television

The Walking Dead Recap – Its Flu Season

It’s flu season on The Walking Dead! And boy is it a doozy. That’s what killed the nerdy young Patrick last week, a death that immediately sparks a rather gruesome massacre in Cell Block D. This particular strain of flu apparently makes your face explode, and can be fatal within 24 hours even for young and healthy people — which would be dangerous enough on its own even if it didn’t immediately turn their corpses into dangerous killing machines. When you consider that the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic managed to infect a third of the global population and kill an estimated 50 million people, it’s not looking great for our survivors.

And as the extinction of humanity looms even larger than before, it’s no surprise that their primary concern seems to be children — both protecting them and protecting their innocence, goals that ultimately prove to be incompatible.

“Why don’t you wear your hat anymore?” Michonne asks as Carl, shortly before hearing the gunshots. “It’s not a farming hat,” Carl replies, because he and Rick are farming farmers who farm now, in case you missed the many, many mentions of their farming over the last two episodes. Accordingly, they don’t wear cowboy hats anymore, nor do they carry guns, all because of an incident where Carl maaaaybe gunned down a (possibly dangerous) stranger in cold blood. Concerned that his son might be taking a one-way trip to Psychotown, Rick is now obsessed with trying to give Carl back his childhood, which in Rick’s mind means 1) farming (obviously) 2) refusing to let Carl take part in any zombie-related duties and 3) insisting he read comic books and go to storytime with the little kids.

Which isn’t entirely fair, and you can see how badly playing the role chafes for Carl. Like many of the survivors, he had to become a very different person in order to stay alive, and he hasn’t really been a child for a long time. But he’s trying with all his heart to act like one anyway because Rick wants him to, because he can tell that his father needs it far more than he does. Rick doesn’t want Carl to carry a gun because he wants to believe that Carl doesn’t need to carry a gun. And of course, that’s not true.

Categories
edward snowden Politics

The Edward Snowden Effect: America’s Allys Angry

One can only wonder if this was the outcome Snowden wanted all along.

The United States’ ambassador to France Charles H. Rivkin has been summoned by the French foreign minister following claims made by the Le Monde newspaper group Monday that the National Security Agency spied on millions of French citizens.

Le Monde made the allegations it said based on documents it secured from the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters at a European Union foreign ministers meeting that the ambassador has been asked to go to the foreign ministry in Paris “immediately” to explain the allegations.

According to the report, over a 30-day period between December last year and January 2013 the NSA’s top-secret “US-985D” program intercepted data on over 70 million phone calls made in France.

“When a telephone number is used in France, it activates a signal which automatically triggers the recording of the call. Apparently this surveillance system also picks up SMS messages and their content using key words,” the French newspaper reported, explaining how the NSA collects the information.

Le Monde said that when it presented its evidence to authorities in the U.S. no comment was offered.

France’s Interior Minister Manuel Vallas was said to have described the revelations as “shocking.”

On Sunday, a report by the German news magazine Der Spiegel, also based on documents leaked by Snowden, said that the U.S. had infiltrated the e-mail system of former Mexican President Felipe Calderon. The Mexican government vowed to send what the Associated Press called a “diplomatic note” to the Washington as a result.

Thanks Eddie!

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