Fools and our tax dollars are like water: Always seeking to rest at the lowest point.
Two weeks after President Barack Obama signed the big health care overhaul into law, Americans are struggling to understand how — and when — the sweeping measure will affect them.
Questions reflecting confusion have flooded insurance companies, doctors’ offices, human resources departments and business groups.
“They’re saying, ‘Where do we get the free Obama care, and how do I sign up for that?’ ” said Carrie McLean, a licensed agent for eHealthInsurance.com. The California-based company sells coverage from 185 health insurance carriers in 50 states.
McLean said the call center had been inundated by uninsured consumers who were hoping that the overhaul would translate into instant, affordable coverage. That widespread misconception may have originated in part from distorted rhetoric about the legislation bubbling up from the hyper-partisan debate about it in Washington and some media outlets, such as when opponents denounced it as socialism.
“We tell them it’s not free, that there are going to be things in place that help people who are low-income, but that ultimately most of that is not going to be taking place until 2014,” McLean said.
I went in to Frau Doktor my bi-annual check up about two weeks ago. She works out of an office that was probably built in the early 70’s and gets a lot of traffic from people on the government dime (I go to her even though she’s 20 miles away because she is THAT good with her diagnoses).
While in the lobby filling out the requisite paperwork and whipping out the cash for my co-pay, the receptionist made mention that my secondary health insurance provider would cover the co-pay required by my primary. I took notice that the other two people in the office were glaring at me when I sat down and waited for my name to be called. I returned their glare with a look of “What? Don’t be pissed at me for taking care of myself.”
Some people’s children.