I just got back from a town hall meeting in the Blinn College Student Center. There were approximately 70 to 75 people in attendance. The newspaper said it would not be “a debate over the merits of the program”. I gathered a few questions and decided to attend.
The young man presenting the program told us he was with Enroll America, a 501c3 group that was not in any way partisan. He said that the group he worked for was trying to help people become aware of the Affordable Care Act and how to navigate the process. He stated that this grassroots movement, also called Get Covered America was just an advocacy group for those uninsured. The presenter said he wanted to present just the facts!
I did a little digging and found that Anne Filipic, the President of the group, worked in the White House as Dep. Dir. under Kathleen Sebelius as well as others before being made President of this group. The Managing director is a guy named Chris Wyant. Apparently Mr. Wyant worked on Obama’s campaign and an ardent supporter of Pres. Obama. The Texas State Director is one Mimi Garcia. Ms. Garcia was Director of Healthcare Organizing and Organizer/Caucus Lead at Texas State Employees Union/CWA Local 6186.
http://www.enrollamerica.org/about-us/who-we-are
http://www.enrollamerica.org/about-us/who-we-are/senior-leadership/anne-filipic
We then got in to the terms, “Market Place and Exchanges”. He said that people sometimes get those two mixed up and went on to explain how the Market Place works. He assured everyone that these were private insurance companies and the Government was not a part of it! You can imagine the grumbling starting now. Everyone was polite for the most part but the room was not full of a bunch of rubes. Navigators and Certified Application Counselors were the next topic, he told us that those people were there to help guide us through the system. A lady asked him how a person could get that help, if she was unable or didn’t know how to handle a computer. The very nice gentleman told her she could just go on line and ask for help…..after a few chuckles she was told she could always call the 800 number. I did ask about the security clearances done on the Navigators and asked whether or not they would be able to come to our homes or if they cold called. The presenter said that they did not do that and if someone came to our door and tried to help us sign up, we should turn them away.
He then went on to explain that to get a tax credit for any insurance program bought, you had to meet certain thresholds. This is where it went off into the weeds a bit. He keep saying that preventative care appointments would be free. I questioned his use of the term free….I stated that a premium was paid, correct? He said, well yes, so he went on and continued with his misuse of the term. Others started correcting him and he finally used the proper term.. out of pocket expenses.
As a TEA Party member, I felt like I needed to ask questions so that if asked, I would have the correct information. There were also members of the group that were not able to attend and I tried to field questions for them. The TEA Party is generally freedom loving, self-reliant and small government minded. I personally believe in helping your family and neighbors, and keeping big brother out of my business as much as possible. The answers that I was getting confused me. It seems as though the group is non-partisan and only wants to help un-insured people. Yet the answers so far were contradictory and when pressed, the presenter did not have the information and said he would have to check into them. For instance, the penalties that will be imposed was to be 95 dollars. Only after an audience member press him did he say that the penalty would go up each year until 2017. One lady asked about lack of coverage due to her illness and income. The presenter told her that she would not be able to enroll based on his understanding of the rules. After more prodding, he said she would be able to but would have to start filing taxes so the government can verify her status. I thought he said that the government was not involved? These were private carriers.
The issue of private carriers came up again and the presenter finally clarified and said that the insurers are private but had been chosen as able to participate in the Market Place? One of his slides actually showed an increase in payment with a tax credit….he apologized and said he would have to correct his slide. The tax breaks he spoke of in the beginning of his presentation are also not given to any except those that choose the Market Place plans.
A member of the audience, who appeared to be an insurance agent, brought up the fact that the presenter kept ignoring the fact that insurance agents could help people navigate the system and it did not have to be only “Navigators or Certified Application Counselors” Which brought me to a question raised by a member. She wanted to know why her agent had not been able to find out any information on the plans. I was told the agent must take a certified class through the government in order to access the information.
All in all, I left having more concerns than ever. I went to the web site that the presenter gave us and I look through it carefully. The news link shows that they can and have approached homes….the board members are all on one side of the aisle and have worked within the government. There was also the page about organizing and moving people. Then I saw this sentence near the end of my search and thought I should pass it along. “Educating stakeholders about the critical activities that must take place this year to keep enrollment efforts on track for the coverage expansion in 2014.”
Whatever each of us does with this information, is your business. We must be an informed society to be able to do our duty!
If anyone wants to discuss this, please email our group at washingtoncountyteaparty2010@gmail.com and we can talk over coffee!
http://www.enrollamerica.org/states/texas
http://www.enrollamerica.org/about-us/news-room
Keeping the Faith!
S
washcotexasteaparty 