TomCADem
TomCADem's JournalTPM -"CBS Ran Misleading Story On HealthCare.gov Security Issues"
Another example of CBS getting caught simply pushing Republican talking points without any verification.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/cbs-news-ran-misleading-story-on-healthcare-gov-security-issues
CBS News aired a misleading report on Monday about security issues concerning the federal health insurance exchange website based on leaked partial transcripts of a health care official's testimony, according to the Washington Post.
CBS reported that Henry Chao, lead project manager of Healthcare.gov at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, had been unaware of two major security holes in the website that could lead to identity theft.
"CBS News has learned that the project manager in charge of building the federal health care website was apparently kept in the dark about serious failures in the website's security," the CBS report reads. "Those failures could lead to identity theft among buying insurance."
When questioned by Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-VA) Wednesday at a House Oversight and Government Reform committee hearing, it became apparent that the security flaws that the CBS report discussed could not actually lead to identity theft.
"Obamacare Scare Stories Obscuring Fact That Many, Like Bob, Are Finding Better Coverage"
The MSM would probably just portray this as another example of someone "losing" their coverage.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wendell-potter/obamacare-scare-stories-o_b_4260695.html
He could barely believe what he heard: he could get better coverage than the policy being discontinued -- and pay less -- thanks to Obamacare.
"The overall cost of the plans I'm considering is cheaper than the plan I am currently paying for," he wrote me this week. "My total cost for coverage now, including premiums and out of pocket costs, is about $9,800. Two of the plans I'm seriously considering for next year have total costs of $8,400. I'm shocked, but in a good way." So not only did Robert not experience the sticker shock he had been expecting, he will save $1,400 next year on health insurance.
The plan he is leaning toward -- a top-of-the line "platinum" plan -- will have a higher monthly premium, but he will still save on average about $117 a month because of the way his out-of-pocket costs will be calculated.
Robert is among many who are losing their current coverage but in the end will be better off. In fact, considering that many folks buying coverage on the individual market have at least one pre-existing condition -- which insurers can no longer take into consideration when pricing their policies -- it's likely that more people will get more for their insurance buck next year than less.
Tech pros hit Issa for taking Park away from HealthCare.gov
Source: CNN
Washington (CNN) - A group of technology experts has a message for Rep. Darrell Issa, the Republican Oversight Committee chairman who last week disregarded the White House’s insistence that U.S. technology chief Todd Park is too busy to testify about his efforts to repair HealthCare.gov.
“Let Todd Work,” the group proclaims on a website launched after Issa issued a subpoena for Park to appear before his panel on Wednesday.
“Now, instead of continuing to fix HealthCare.gov (a mess he did not make), Mr. Park has to spend his hours preparing for his testimony,” declares the website on its homepage, before listing some of Park’s accomplishments.
“Mr. Park is a fantastic civil servant, who cares about making government more effective and accountable, just like Mr. Issa,” the group writes. “We hope that they can work together on solving the policies that enabled HealthCare.gov to fail in the first place. No matter what side of the aisle you sit on, Todd is one of the good guys. Let him do his job.”
Read more: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/10/tech-pros-hit-issa-for-taking-park-away-from-healthcare-gov/
Of course, Issa is not interested in trying to figure out what is going on. Rather, he is busy playing gotcha by asking witnesses about documents that they have never seen, then leaking edited transcripts to advance his right wing talking points. Issa is the poster boy for what is wrong with the Republican party and Congress.
It’s not quite time to freak out over Obamacare’s enrollment number
Once again, a little perspective to offer in contrast to the latest MSM right wing talking points:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/11/12/its-not-quite-time-to-freak-out-over-obamacares-enrollment-number/
Massachusetts eventually saw a really big spike in enrollment right before the individual mandate kicked in. You can see that in this chart from the New England Journal of Medicine (which Adrianna McIntyre discusses in an aptly titled post, "This chart should be getting more attention."
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We can also look at Medicaid enrollment, which has outpaced some observers' expectations. There have been at least 440,000 Medicaid enrollments so far, according to Avalere. That would put Medicaid about 5 percent toward a projected enrollment of 9 million in 2014.
Is it easier to enroll people into a program such as Medicaid that does not charge premiums? Definitely. Is that program a key part of the health care law, responsible for more than half of the health law's coverage expansion? Yes. So, these high levels of Medicaid enrollment in the first few weeks do matter for the health law's insurance expansion.
Feinstein backs bill to allow Americans to keep health plans
Source: NBC
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., announced Tuesday that she will support legislation aimed at repairing the now-broken promise that the president -- and many senators -- made to Americans when the Affordable Care Act was passed: That if they liked their health insurance, they could keep it.
Feinstein will co-sponsor legislation that Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., announced last week. The bill would extend the so-called "grandfather" clause and require insurance companies to keep offering insurance plans they sold before the health care exchanges opened on Oct. 1.
Support from Feinstein, who represents a solidly blue state, illustrates that a growing number of Democrats are worried about what effect the health care law's turbulent rollout could have on the party. Earlier Tuesday, former President Bill Clinton said President Barack Obama should consider changes to the law to allow Americans who are losing their insurance plans to keep them if they desire to.
* * *
Landrieu said that her bill also has other supporters, many of whom are up for reelection; she named Sens. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., Mark Begich, D-Alaska, and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.
Read more: http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/12/21428322-feinstein-backs-bill-to-allow-americans-to-keep-health-plans?lite
Here is Feinstein's statement on her bill:
“I have decided to cosponsor Senator Mary Landrieu’s legislation: Keeping the Affordable Care Act Promise Act. This bill provides a simple fix to a complex problem. This bill will extend the grandfather date for individual insurance plans so that individuals who have insurance policies they like can keep them indefinitely, unless the individual chooses another plan or the insurer stops providing health insurance in the individual market.
“Specifically, the bill requires the following:
· Insurance companies must continue to offer—indefinitely—all currently existing insurance plans as of Dec. 31, 2013, on the individual market;
· Future renewal notices must clearly inform customers they have the choice to keep their current plan or shop for insurance in a health exchange, such as Covered California; and
· Insurance companies must clearly state why the plan does not meet new minimum benefit standards.
“Since the beginning of September, I have received 30,842 calls, emails and letters from Californians, many of whom are very distressed by cancellations of their insurance policies and who are facing increased out-of-pocket costs.
“For example, a father from Rancho Mirage called and said: ‘I work three jobs to pay the bills for my wife and daughter. I got a letter that my plan is going from $420 to $943. I went to HealthCare.Gov, then Covered California. I researched my premiums. A policy almost identical to my old one is being offered for $863. I’m now being forced to come up with over $400 a month with 30 days’ notice. Let me spell it out: I do not have the income to afford this.’
“Too many Americans are struggling to make ends meet. We must ensure that in our effort to reform the health care system, we do not allow unintended consequences to go unaddressed.
“I believe consumers should be allowed to choose their plans, and they should be adequately informed about those choices. Consumers must be told what their coverage does and does not include so families don’t find themselves paying for an insurance policy they believe is comprehensive when in fact it is not.
“The Affordable Care Act is a good law, but it is not perfect. I believe the Landrieu bill is a commonsense fix that will protect individuals in the private insurance market from being forced to change their insurance plan. I hope Congress moves quickly to enact it.”
"How Is Obamacare Affecting TPM?" - Interesting Small Employer Perspective
It is difficult to wade through the right wing talking points that are being pushed by the MSM, but here is a nice story that talks about a specific case study, Talking Points Memo's own experience using the ACA to provide insurance to its employees:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/how-is-obamacare-affecting-us
Sitting where I sit, "Obamacare" is a focus for me in two key ways - 1st, as the editor of TPM, in terms of our news coverage and my own opinion pieces and then 2nd, as the publisher and owner of TPM, as the purchaser of health insurance for more than twenty people in two jurisdictions. There are lots of people purchasing and paying for group health insurance plans. And there's no shortage of people in the media analyzing, reporting and pontificating about Obamacare. But I think I'm part of a pretty small population of people doing both. So, since we've had a number of questions about it, I wanted to give a few details about what our own experience has been with Obamacare as a small business.
First, a little background. TPM currently has just over 20 employees. And they're employed in two different jurisdictions - New York and Washington, DC. We pay 100% of the premiums and we provide pretty solid coverage. Not cadillac coverage, but solid coverage. I mention this because I think it plays a pretty key role in what our experience has been.
So far, I can only speak about the situation in New York. And the upshot is that to go into the most comparable plan to our own, which is in the Gold category on the New York State exchange, would be a small increase in what we pay per person, about a $14 increase per month. In nominal terms, that's a price hike. But when I normally hear people talking about this stuff, I wonder if the people talking about it have ever purchased a group plan. Because in recent years I don't think we've ever had a year when the prices didn't up by double digits year over year - often significant double digits. Like 30%. So the price going up $14 bucks a person seems like a savings.
So, in those terms, it seems arguable that Obamacare may have already saved us money since the increase is nominal compared to last year.
Armed protesters rattle Texas moms' gun-control meeting [Updated - Police Were Called]
Source: USA Today
The sudden appearance of about 40 armed men outside a Dallas-area restaurant this weekend was the latest confrontation between an open-carry gun-rights group and a mothers group advocating gun control that was meeting inside.
Police monitored the incident at the Blue Mesa Grill in Arlington, Texas, but took no action because it is legal to carry long guns openly in Texas.
"We are aware that a group did gather in a shopping area in Arlington Saturday," Tiara Ellis Richard of the Arlington Police office of communication said in an e-mail to USA TODAY. "Officers were notified and arrived at the location. There were no issues that we are aware of, and no arrests occurred."
One of four women who were meeting Saturday tried to file a police complaint on Monday but failed because she was told that no law had been violated, a spokeswoman for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense said Monday.
Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/11/moms-demand-action-open-carry-texas-guns-rifles/3497895/
This was reported earlier, but there were no reports in the initial stories about police. Several folks posted on an earlier thread that this was either a false flag operation or that the story was bogus because no police were called or arrived at the scene.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024011323
This updated story shows that police were called, but did nothing because open carry laws are legal in Texas, and that the manager did call 911 shortly after the armed group arrived. Thus, even the manager thought that the group looked threatening. Of course, the gun group insisted that there were peacefully assembling albeit with their guns drawn.
I guess next thing we will have the KKK say that they were just peacefully burning a cross and waving confederate flags in front of the home of an African American, but they secured the proper permits for an open fire, so it was okay.
Purposeful Confusion Over Sponsored Content: A Mainstream Media Conspiracy
One troubling trend that has grown in the past few years is the purposeful confusion between content generated by a media outlet and sponsored content. Indeed, as this story in the Washington Post illustrates, even journalists can be confused regarding what is a paid ad or political propaganda versus an actual story or editorial by the media outlet:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2013/07/25/sponsored-content-confusion-politifact-r-i-raps-buzzfeed-for-toothpaste-thing/
It’s a challenge of which fact-checking trainees dream. On July 14, BuzzFeed published a list — 11 Awesome Facts You Never Knew About Rhode Island — that included one hilarious assertion: “In Providence, R.I., it’s illegal to sell toothpaste and a toothbrush to the same customer on a Sunday.”
PolitiFact Rhode Island went to town. It checked Providence ordinances. It checked with a city archivist. It checked state law. It checked with BuzzFeed for its source. All of that checking turned up no evidence that such a restriction exists. A BuzzFeed spokesperson defended the contention, noting that, “It seems like it’s a commonly referenced piece of information.” A bogus one at that, concluded PolitiFact Rhode Island, which gave BuzzFeed a rating of “pants on fire” for the toothpaste-toothbrush contention.
Okay, so? What’s the big deal here?
That PolitiFact Rhode Island termed the list a “feature,” which suggests that it considered the item part of BuzzFeed’s news presentation. In fact, it’s part of BuzzFeed’s formidable sponsored-content offensive. The site confirms that no editorial staffers were involved in producing the item.
Signage notwithstanding, the folks at PolitiFact Rhode Island didn’t consider what sort of silo housed the content. Timothy Murphy, an assistant managing editor at the Providence Journal and editor of PolitiFact Rhode Island, told the Erik Wemple Blog that the sponsored nature of the list didn’t come up in the editing process. “It was brought to our attention by a reader who was just curious and amused by it, and it was published on their Web site,” says Murphy. “It’s not clear to me whether it’s sponsored content or what it is.”
Many liberals have hailed the internet as a possible equalizer against the increasing consolidation of media outlets and the growth of media monopolies. However, many internet outlets, including DU if you were to notice some of the sponsored content that occasionally shows up on this page, have begun to rely on revenue from sponsored content providers, who purposefully confuse their paid advertising and propaganda with native content, thus allowing the advertiser to trade on the good will of the media outlet. As this story notes, the growth of this trend has been coupled with growing confusion between paid versus native content.
http://www.niemanlab.org/2013/11/the-texas-tribune-is-getting-into-sponsored-content-for-a-new-online-opinion-section/
As an exercise in sponsored content, what that means is the Tribune might see submissions from organizations like the Beer Alliance of Texas, AT&T, or Texans for Education Reform. But the goal is to round out the site with unpaid submissions from readers, officials, and others, Ramshaw said, and they’ve already reached out to 200 experts and other thinkers around the state to ask if they would be interested in contributing. There’s an audience of people who want to be involved with the Tribune, or use the Tribune as venue for ideas, she said. The site’s events business is one example of that, Ramshaw said. “People want to engage in person and online. They want a bigger platform and forum to do it,” she said. (Today is the first day of the Trib’s fifth year.)
The Tribune isn’t the only news organization working on combining op-ed DNA and advertising dollars; for instance, this summer, The Washington Post announced its “Sponsored Views” program. But Sponsored Views are limited to 600 characters and are attached to editorials from the paper. In format, they’re closer to an ad, or a privileged online comment.
As sponsored content has continued its spread across the media landscape, lots of companies are trying to adopt their own versions of the concept. That’s led to no small amount of confusion over labeling, as “sponsored content,” “branded content,” and “native advertising” blur together in some people’s minds. But no matter the label, the one seeming constant among organizations wading into sponsored content is fear over blurring the line between journalism and advertising.
“My gut reaction was: ‘Sponsored content? No. Of course not,’” Ramshaw said. “I think a lot of journalists have that response.”
Salon - "GOP’s newest demented crusade: War on mothers"
The GOP compares having a baby with buying a Porsche.
http://www.salon.com/2013/11/11/gops_newest_demented_crusade_war_on_mothers/
Conservatives continue to be outraged by the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that basic insurance policies cover maternity and newborn care. When Rep. Renee Ellmers, the chair of the House GOP Women’s Policy Committee, asked Kathleen Sebelius “Has a man ever delivered a baby?” she was introducing her party’s best new argument against Obamacare. Forget “death panels;” now we have “birth panels,” which force Americans to pay for the continuation of the human species whether they want to or not.
You would think the supposedly “pro-life” party would be happy to put the power of the government behind keeping pregnant women and unborn babies safe and healthy. We should never let her lack of access to prenatal and newborn care make a woman decide abortion is a better choice, right?
Wrong. In fact, the right’s campaign against maternity coverage has only gotten more strident. Just Monday morning, Harvard economist and George W. Bush Council of Economic Advisors chair Greg Mankiw argued against such coverage with the worst analogy yet:But having children is more a choice than a random act of nature. People who drive a new Porsche pay more for car insurance than those who drive an old Chevy. We consider that fair because which car you drive is a choice. Why isn’t having children viewed in the same way?
Health exchange: Utah family gets coverage for $123 a month
Source: Salt Lake Tribune
It took half-a-dozen tries over several days. But Phil Sherburne struck gold on Saturday — silver actually — with family health coverage purchased on the Affordable Care Act’s online exchange.
After plugging in particulars about his family of five, the Salt Lake City business owner was able to compare 38 plans and apply for tax credits to put toward his monthly premiums. He settled on a silver-level plan from Altius that retails for about $850 a month.
After tax credits, the Sherburnes will pay just $123 a month.
"It’s a great deal. I’m thrilled to have coverage, period," said Sherburne, who was previously shut out of affordable insurance due to a pre-existing condition, a shoulder injury. "Once I got onto the site it took about an hour, start to finish."
Read more: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56973885-78/family-health-exchange-plans.html.csp
The MSM will never feature any one of the thousands that benefit from the ACA, since it cuts against the right wing narrative, but here is surprising story on the Salt Lake Tribune.
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