Need Help With Obamacare? Don't Call Your Repug Congress Critter

Republican members of Congress are vowing to make it impossible for working people to get affordable health insurance, but you don't have to subject yourself to their lies and misdirection; you can get plain, honest directions from the Commonwealth at the click of a mouse.

Mary Meehan at the Herald:

An animated video produced by the state promotes signing up for health insurance under the new health care reform act as being "as easy as going online to book airline tickets or book a hotel."

That remains to be seen. But the video is part of an $11 million information campaign aimed at telling Kentuckians how to enroll for health care through what's being called an online "exchange" at Kynect.ky.gov.

The messages about the online service will become more frequently seen — on billboards, newspaper, radio
 and television ads and online — in the coming months.

The audience the state's campaign is trying to reach is vast. An estimated 640,000 Kentuckians, or nearly 15 percent of the state's population, are currently uninsured. That number includes 300,000 Kentuckians who don't have insurance and will for the first time be eligible for Medicaid.

Everyone, with very few exceptions, is required to have health insurance by March 31, 2014, or pay a penalty.

Enrollment begins Oct. 1, but recent interviews with local and state health officials, health care advocacy groups and representatives of Lexington's major hospitals indicate there are still many questions unanswered.

For example, a legion of health care "navigators," who will help people determine whether they are eligible for care and help them enroll, has not been identified. Gwenda Bond, a spokeswoman for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said that bids for that contract are currently being reviewed.

It's also unclear what kind of medical help those signing up for insurance for the first time might need precisely because they haven't been in the health care system. Dr. Rice Leach, Lexington's commissioner of health, has been working to get Fayette County's medical community together to share information and to answer questions such as what kind of care might be needed. Leach, known for his often blunt assessment of any given situation, said the change is going to be difficult.

"It is likely going to be very confusing and very annoying and very distressing," he said.

 And repugs are doing everything they can to make it a thousand times worse.

Steve Benen at Maddowblog:

Reuters reports this (week), in a matter-of-fact sort of way, that when it comes to implementation of federal health care law, Republicans and their allies "are mobilizing ... to dissuade uninsured Americans from obtaining health coverage."

I hope folks will pause to let that sentence sink in for a moment. Unlike every other industrialized democracy on the planet, the United States -- easily the wealthiest nation on earth -- tolerates a significant chunk of its population to go without basic health care coverage. These Americans and their families can't afford to see a doctor and are one serious illness from financial ruin.

After nearly a century of politicians talking about the problem, President Obama actually signed the Affordable Care Act into law three years ago, giving working families a level of health-care security they've never had before, and throwing a life preserver to the uninsured. Now, Republicans aren't just actively trying to sabotage the law, they're telling struggling Americans it's better to drown than accept the life preserver.

Writing in National Journal overnight, Norm Ornstein accurately describes the GOP efforts as "contemptible" and "spinning out of control."

It is important to emphasize that this set of moves is simply unprecedented.... For three years, Republicans in the Senate refused to confirm anybody to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the post that McClellan had held in 2003-04 -- in order to damage the possibility of a smooth rollout of the health reform plan. Guerrilla efforts to cut off funding, dozens of votes to repeal, abusive comments by leaders, attempts to discourage states from participating in Medicaid expansion or crafting exchanges, threatening letters to associations that might publicize the availability of insurance on exchanges, and now a new set of threats -- to have a government shutdown, or to refuse to raise the debt ceiling, unless the president agrees to stop all funding for implementation of the plan. [...]

What is going on now to sabotage Obamacare is not treasonous -- just sharply beneath any reasonable standards of elected officials with the fiduciary responsibility of governing.

For the unhinged right, there's apparent confusion over these criticisms. "We hate the health-care reform law," they argue, "so it's hardly outrageous for us to try to stand in its way."

Useless as repugs members of Congress are in passing legislation to create jobs, repair infrastructure or otherwise promote the general welfare, you could count on them to at least help you when you call their office about navigating federal law and regulations. That's what we pay them for.

Not any more.

First, congressional Republicans are actively trying to undermine the federal health care system by refusing to help their own constituents navigate the system.

People regularly call their representatives for help with Medicare, Social Security and other government programs. Yet, Republicans believe healthcare reform spells doom for the federal budget, private businesses and the U.S. healthcare system. They're also enormously frustrated that the law has persevered through two elections and a Supreme Court challenge and believe a botched implementation could help build momentum for the repeal movement.

Some Republicans indicated to The Hill they will not assist constituents in navigating the law and obtaining benefits. Others said they would tell people to call the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

"We know how to forward a phone call," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah). He added, "[A]ll we can do is pass them back to the Obama administration. The ball's in their court. They're responsible for it.

Constituent services are the most basic of tasks for congressional offices, but we now have some -- not all, but some -- congressional Republicans who simply don't want to help constituents who need a hand with information about federal health care benefits.

Got to Kynect.ky.gov. Get the facts and answers to your questions. And tell your obstructionist repug congress critter For Shame.