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Fighting the ‘Spin’ War Over Obamacare
by WENDELL POTTER on DECEMBER 2ND, 2013
The tech team that has been working around the clock to fix the website said it can now handle 50,000 users at a time — and up to 800,000 a day — without crashing. And if folks have trouble with the site during particularly busy times, they can leave an email address to be notified later when fewer users are online trying to enroll.
It will be a largely seamless experience for most, and hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of people who were previously uninsured or underinsured will have quality, affordable coverage beginning January 1, many for the first time.
But that doesn’t mean those who have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to scare people about the reform law — including health insurers — will throw in the towel. On the contrary, we can expect them to double down, at least through 2014.
That’s because this is about politics. It is not about making sure that all Americans have access to solid medical care when they need it. It is about which political party will control the House and the Senate after the midterm elections eleven months and two days from now.
It will be a largely seamless experience for most, and hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of people who were previously uninsured or underinsured will have quality, affordable coverage beginning January 1, many for the first time.
But that doesn’t mean those who have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to scare people about the reform law — including health insurers — will throw in the towel. On the contrary, we can expect them to double down, at least through 2014.
That’s because this is about politics. It is not about making sure that all Americans have access to solid medical care when they need it. It is about which political party will control the House and the Senate after the midterm elections eleven months and two days from now.
While most insurers like the requirement that Americans have to buy coverage from them, they don’t like the profit-limiting consumer protections in the law. They know they will have a better chance of weakening or getting rid of them if the GOP can take control of both the House and Senate next November.
Democratic consultants have developed a few talking points of their own, of course, but I have not observed the same level of message discipline among Democrats as I have seen among Republicans. Unless they figure out how to adapt the GOP playbook to their own advantage, they will continue to be on the defensive about Obamacare for months to come.
Democratic consultants have developed a few talking points of their own, of course, but I have not observed the same level of message discipline among Democrats as I have seen among Republicans. Unless they figure out how to adapt the GOP playbook to their own advantage, they will continue to be on the defensive about Obamacare for months to come.
http://wendellpotter.com/2013/12/fighting-the-spin-war-over-obamacare/
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If I had to choose one person as my "go to" person regarding health insurance info it is Wendell Potter.
