patrick.net

This earlier thread about an Oregonian remains worth remembering, as it illustrates why the provider lobbies wrote Obamneycare the way they did.

Oregon had got "$305 million in federal grants to build the exchange...."

"Thanks, Obamacare!"

The idea of writing and operating 51 exchanges was idiotic from the beginning. What a waste of money.

bob2356 says

The idea of writing and operating 51 exchanges was idiotic from the beginning. What a waste of money.

bbbut federalism is freedom!

When I was studying real estate law the penny dropped that federalism was really about full-employment for lawyers first and foremost.

http://mediamatters.org/mobile/research/2013/10/09/wsj-cherry-picks-study-to-attack-medicaid-expan/196368

Bellingham Bill says

http://mediamatters.org/mobile/research/2013/10/09/wsj-cherry-picks-study-to-attack-medicaid-expan/196368

Ugh - another self-styled "progressive" attempt to resurrect a stinking corpse that should have been buried. The self-styled "progressive" Democrats have fetishized insurance, because that maximizes power for their patronage networks (including revenue for their newfound backers at PhRMA), and refuse to acknowledge that the insurance they're selling does not translate into actual health. They don't care. They use words like "health" as empty slogans to sell their mandatory subsidized insurance plan. When the data show more spending without actual health benefit, self-styled "progressives" reply with a quasi-religious rapture about spreading insurance. They are proselytizing for a cult and they won't take no for an answer, insisting that insurance is the light and the truth and the way regardless of what those pesky facts might disprove.

Bellingham Bill says

bob2356 says

The idea of writing and operating 51 exchanges was idiotic from the beginning. What a waste of money.

bbbut federalism is freedom!

When I was studying real estate law the penny dropped that federalism was really about full-employment for lawyers first and foremost.

So you think 50 states duplicating the federal government's website to run a federal government program is about freedom? There is far too much duplication of government services now because everyone has their little patch of turf to protect. The federal governments prime function should be coordinating with the states to get the best results for the money, not duplicating the states programs and the states duplicating the federal government. Ridiculous.

"The Failed Oregon Obamacare Website Is Just The Tip Of A $6 Billion Iceberg"

Good Grief. Just how hard is it to design a system like this? Who exactly did they hire to do the development work? Could it be H-1B's?

I guess going with the cheapest people is not always the best thing to do.

Mini Resume:

25+ years Tandem/HP Nonstop

COBOL, SCOBOL, TAL, C, TACL, PATHWAY, ENFORM, Enscribe, SQL, SQLCI, Reportwriter

jvolstad says

Good Grief. Just how hard is it to design a system like this? Who exactly did they hire to do the development work? Could it be H-1B's?

Probably ex microsoft people.

curious2 says

The self-styled "progressive" Democrats have fetishized insurance, because that maximizes power for their patronage networks (including revenue for their newfound backers at PhRMA), and refuse to acknowledge that the insurance they're selling does not translate into actual health.

OK, so what's your alternative plan?

Call it Crazy says

bob2356 says

The idea of writing and operating 51 exchanges was idiotic from the beginning. What a waste of money.

I thought Obama said it was 57???

I don't listen to Obama or anything about Obama so I wouldn't know.

curious2 says

This earlier thread about an Oregonian remains worth remembering, as it illustrates why the provider lobbies wrote Obamneycare the way they did.

Obamney care - love it!

As for your linked article, I pay $150/month for medical insurance for a family. My wife gave birth in December and stayed as long as she wanted in the hospital, where she was waited on hand and foot - and all rooms are private. She stayed for 5 months days (duh).

My co-pay for pre-natal care inc. bi-monthly doctor visits with an ultrasound each and every time, plus delivery by two European Doctors and 5 days in the hospital? $300.

My charge for a circumcision? $800 for one procedure - not very common, only one guy does 'em.

At least some people can see the humor in this situation.

I see the humor in your article, but it doesn't answer my question: What's your alternative plan?

It's not that there aren't plenty of problems w/the present law - there are - but I have yet to see one alternative besides single-payer that's worth a shit.

"Despite months of problems, Oracle kept assuring the state that everything would be fine, according to reports by Oregon's KATU-TV. On Oct. 2, 2013, one day after the exchange failed to go live, Oracle's official corporate Twitter account sung the praises of the website: "Check out this article from @InformationWeek discussing Oregon's successful #HIX, built on #Oracle technology." Not only was it not a success, it didn't even work.

No doubt, there's blame to be had at Care Oregon. Remember that positive InformationWeek story? Its report relied on statements from Cover Oregon CIO Karjala, who in the weeks before its launch gave no indication of major issues and in fact crowed to the press about the care his team took to do it right, surely as part of an Oracle-sponsored media effort. Karjala has since resigned from Cover Oregon at the request of the state's governor, after a review found significant management failures."

It's always a good idea to switch from bogus software that doesn't work to bogus software that doesn't work better, especially if it is cheaper.

Ceffer says

bogus software that doesn't work to bogus software that doesn't work better,

Bogus software to run a bogus plan promoted by a bogus president. I'm seeing a pattern here.

Oracle and Oregon are now suing each other, with Oregon also alleging potentially criminal misconduct:

Oregon's "126-page lawsuit was filed in Marion County Circuit Court Friday morning. It accuses the California software giant of fraud, false claims, breach of contract, and civil racketeering.

[Oregon's] filing comes two weeks after Oracle filed its own suit against Oregon in federal court, claiming its product worked by February, blasting the state for mismanagement, and demanding $23 million."

Still today there are ads for Programmers who have experience in software development for the healthcare industry. News flash, they need people with a new perspective on the "Way it's done now" the way it's done now, is a Nationwide system failure. From their IT bureaucratic mentality that defers any action until hundreds of man hours are wasted on meeting with people who have nothing to do with the programming. To the HR stupid Asses, who's Idea of the perfect candidate is someone who just graduated yesterday, but has 10 years of professional experience. They tend to chose candidates based on Resume Bingo.

To the overly complicated and convoluted libraries that they paint their developers into a corner to use. Then have impossible deadlines, that between the learning curve of the new technology then the dismal performance because it's so bloated. Every software launch in Corporate America across the board, is a horrendous complete failure, 80% of the time or more.

monkframe says

It's not that there aren't plenty of problems w/the present law - there are - but I have yet to see one alternative besides single-payer that's worth a shit.

You keep missing the point. The ever increasing cost of medical care is the problem, just like ever increasing cost of housing and education.
Insuring everyone through Obamacare only guarantees more money flow for the same group of people.