If you went without health insurance during 2014, you’re now facing a modest financial penalty of $95 or 1% of your income. Next year, that penalty will increase. All of this is news to some uninsured people. That’s why, as predicted, the federal government and some state exchanges are creating an extra open enrollment period to help these people out. [More]
healthcare.gov
What Is An 834 Transaction, And Why Should I Care?
By 12.5.13
The good news is that Healthcare.gov, the health insurance marketplace for states that haven’t set up their own exchanges, is now up and functional. Well, the front end is working. Now that eligible people in need of insurance are able to log in and sign up, the next step is for the site to send their information over to the health insurance companies. That’s where things might go very wrong. [More]
The Cover Model Of Healthcare.gov Rollout Speaks Out
By 11.13.13
Imagine having millions of people, everyone from frustrated citizens to prominent comedians, making jokes about your appearance and speculating about your life story based on one photo. That’s what life has been like for Adriana, a woman who sat to have her picture taken for a stock photo and ended up as the face of a government fiasco. [More]
BitTorrent To Saturday Night Live: “We’re Not A Website & We Don’t Pirate Movies”
By 10.28.13
While people are always saying “I BitTorrented that movie” or “I used BitTorrent to get my hands on some sweet porn,” they’re not talking about a website or a service. Instead, they’re talking about the method through which the shared file was obtained. This distinction was apparently lost on the writing staff at Saturday Night Live this weekend. [More]
Healthcare.gov Thinks I’m Ineligible For Insurance Because I’m In Jail?
By 10.24.13
The good news is that lots and lots of people were interested in signing up and shopping for health insurance once exchanges opened on October 1st. The bad news was that the site and its identity-verification services weren’t up to the task. So the Department of Health and Human Services apologized in a blog post…a post that accepts user comments. These comments make interesting reading. [More]
Gov’t Healthcare Site Reps Get The Wrong Script, Tell Callers To Reset Their Passwords
By 10.11.13
Many call centers rely on scripts so representatives know what to do when customers call with problems. Which is fine, it’s not like people actually expect a flock of experts waiting to provide their own spin on a situation. But using a script can turn a resource into a source of confusion if the call center reps are reading off the wrong script. We’re looking at you, Healthcare.gov. [More]
