Obamacare in Humboldt

Rate hikes hidden in California enrollment numbers, a dog being successfully signed up for Obama care due to a clerical error, finally the truth is coming out. When you stop laughing or fuming (the latter if you are one of those Obama supporters yelling at me and accusing me of listening to Fox regardless of what I write) consider the real consequences for Humboldt.

Hey if Baxter was actually signed up when he was the answer to a security question, maybe Humboldt could be signing up many sativas and indicas before they catch on that it’s just a system error.

Even if we were to ignore the system glitches, the security risks, all of which should have been acknowledged without the typical excuses from our President and his team and fixed before this monstrosity was rolled out; the facts are that people’s plans have been cancelled and they cannot chose their own doctors. For me, that is the difference between being a productive member of society and being told disability is my only option. I was fortunate find  a doctor who provided me excellent care 3 years ago when others told me I could no longer work full-time. Financially right now I have to sign up for a plan I can afford but that may mean losing my doctor.

Despite claims it has been fixed, problems persist and while a majority of users can access it, not everyone can.  In California, the state with the largest uninsured population, most of those who have applied are older people with health problems. This will cause premiums and costs to go up. According to certain media reports, the registration numbers for California and the unemployment rate going down is exaggerated. There are very real life consequences for people in Humboldt, especially if you are poor, homeless or struggling.

In Humboldt if you patronize any of the low-income clinics, you know the months of waiting to see a doctor, the impossible quest to get a person on the line to make an appointment, and by then your mild condition has worsened into chronic. This is what sometimes results in people going to the ER and not a doctor. But that fact is ignored by political pundits who would rather spin reality.

Another problem with Obamacare is that many providers are not in the market exchange plans and there are limited choices. We are already limited here, our choice is Anthem or Anthem. So, you may be able to see a doctor in Redding or Santa Rosa, if you are lucky. By then you may have died, but hey what are you complaining about, you got healthcare coverage.

Now I am not as smart as the President and his wise team, but I have this silly notion that maybe having a job where I could actually pay for my own expenses, maybe even chose my own doctor might have been the way to go to get more people insured. A job usually means you can put a roof over your head on your own, feed yourself and take care of yourself. I know it is a novel concept and government taking care of me is clearly the better option. But that job creation stuff must be difficult. After all it’s the fault of those Republicans. Surely standing up to those darn Republicans and tea party to push through legislation and now a flawed execution of this historic program is easier.

In the next few months, if you are not exempt from Obamacare, and don’t fit into any exchange plans, don’t worry. You can chose between rent and Obamacare, food and Obama care, car insurance and Obamacare.  And if you can’t afford any of those, we will just tax those who have more and sign you up for programs for all of those.

Republicans aren’t always right but in this case, the President lied and misled. And if he had put half as much effort on job creation instead of partisan bickering, we would have less unemployed and uninsured. You could accuse me of partisanship, but I am not the President and did not make promises to the American people I did not keep. And having my team defend me and take the blame is not a sign of a leader.