The Healthcare deadline is today! So I hear on the radio.
As both a taxpayer and small business owner, I’ve received no written information about the Affordable Care Act. I get mail from the IRS and from the State of Vermont about all sorts of things, but not once has any information about any changes to laws regarding healthcare come my way. Not even a postcard with a website address.
It seems to be assumed that everyone is required find out about this and take action on their own. In a busy era, it would be easy to put this off and not pay much attention at all.
Let’s assume I was busy and, receiving nothing in the mail, didn’t give it a second thought. Let’s assume I didn’t bother to spend any time going to healthcare websites or comparing plans.
Waking up today to a newscaster announcing “deadline today,” my first question would be “are you talking to me?” When did you send me information about this?
Am I supposed to do something? Today? How do I know I’m supposed to do something? I didn’t get a form in the mail like a tax return. If I didn’t get one in the mail, can I assume I am exempt?
What exactly is it I’m supposed to do? It seems like I’m supposed to buy health insurance from a web site or something. Am I exempt as a small business owner? Am I supposed to do something for employees? Contractors? Part-time? Full-time? When did you send me information about this?
What if my budget is such that I can exactly pay for my food, shelter, and clothes and have no disposable income. Is this new healthcare free? If not, where am I supposed to find the extra money to pay for it? Skip meals to pay for healthcare? When did you send me information about this?
What if I prefer to pay for healthcare on a cash basis? Can I do that instead?
What if I don’t want to buy insurance? Is there a penalty? Will I be jailed? Reported to a credit agency? Wages garnished? Given a scarlet letter to wear? When did you send me information about this?
The “open enrollment period” ends today. What does that mean? Will enrollment open again? What’s the difference between it being open and closed? Price? Quality? Why can someone sign up for insurance today and not tomorrow? When did you send me information about this?
What exactly am I enrolling in? My state has a web site selling health care plans, but so do other states. Can I shop around for the best deal? Am I obligated to use the Vermont site? Isn’t there a national site? Do I go to both?
What specific information is required of me? Name and social security number? Do I sign something? When did you send me information about this?
Comcast writes to me every few days with information about the services they’d like me to buy. I get emails from politicians and organizations with important information they’d like to share. The Town of Brattleboro sends me notification of being a fence viewer. The electric company sends me bills. A company I bought something from reminds me they exist and would like to keep doing business.
I’ve received no official information about the Affordable Care Act in the last year.
Next year, I’d suggest that if the government would like people to do something, the least they could do is notify those people. Especially if said government owns a postal service and knows where we live.
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The Healthcare deadline is today! Or maybe later this week, because people are having a hard time today. I think I heard something like that on the radio.
Well, no one was applying for
Well, no one was applying for any kind of health insurance today because application site went down and-according to the news I just read – is now only partially operative. But, you’re right about there being limited information going out to people. Other than a few really irritating commercials for the Vermont Health network there have been newspaper/media articles but no direct contact to people.