I am sick of hearing about Obama's website and how he failed as a President because his website did not magically fix the entire healthcare system over night. His use of technological tools are better than almost every other politician out there, but for some reason we demand he be a tech god and the US government the best tech support outfit in the world, better than Silicon Valley and Bangalore combined. This is why all this anti-Obamacare/healthcare.gov website coverage is embarrassing, "journalists," because you gave so much air time to the loser Republicans.
"Wah, wah, the website is broken! Someone is trying to hack into it! Look how incompetent the President is at building a very important website," they whine like children.
Meanwhile, inside Illinois,
"Cook County Health and Hospitals Systems has achieved its goal of 115,000 applications initiated for CountyCare, an early rollout of the Affordable Care Act for Cook County, Illinois, more than two months ahead of schedule."
115,000 people for the early version! That's a fifth of the number currently being cited everywhere (500,000) by the media! 115,000 people ALONE in Cook County, this size of an area!
Given that, more than 500,000 people have to have signed up for healthcare under the ACA. It's statistically impossible for it to be just "500,000." But anyway, it's not the numbers that are important, it is all these people who are now able to get affordable insurance.
So cool it on the anti-ACA website coverage please.
Here's the rest of the press release, sent to me on November 13th, for those that are curious:
Officials noted that applications are coming in from every corner of the county.
“While we are proud of the grassroots approach we took in outreach, what the numbers really demonstrate is the tremendous demand for health care throughout our county. This is a humbling but enormously rewarding day for us as we provide thousands of people with access to high quality health care for the first time,” said Dr. Ram Raju, CEO, Cook County Health & Hospitals System.
The Cook County Health & Hospitals System provides more than $500 million in uncompensated care annually. CCHHS has a charity care program in place called CareLink, designed to ensure that people who cannot afford to pay or can only pay for a portion of their healthcare are not saddled with the financial burden of paying bills they cannot afford. Officials recently attributed a 28 percent decrease in CareLink discounts provided to people enrolling in CountyCare.
Once a CountyCare member, members receive covered services at no cost to them. Covered services include prescription drugs, regular and specialty visits within a broad network of doctors, hospitals, laboratory and x-ray services, mammograms, mental health treatment, public transportation, and other services.
To qualify, applicants must live in Cook County, be 19-64 years of age without dependents at home, have a Social Security number and be a legal immigrant for at least 5 years or a U.S. citizen. Yearly income must be below $15,282 for an individual or $20,628 per couple. Applicants must not be receiving or eligible for Medicaid, Medicare or CHIP. Learn more about CountyCare by calling 312.864.8200 or visit www.CountyCare.com.
"Wah, wah, the website is broken! Someone is trying to hack into it! Look how incompetent the President is at building a very important website," they whine like children.
Meanwhile, inside Illinois,
"Cook County Health and Hospitals Systems has achieved its goal of 115,000 applications initiated for CountyCare, an early rollout of the Affordable Care Act for Cook County, Illinois, more than two months ahead of schedule."
115,000 people for the early version! That's a fifth of the number currently being cited everywhere (500,000) by the media! 115,000 people ALONE in Cook County, this size of an area!
Given that, more than 500,000 people have to have signed up for healthcare under the ACA. It's statistically impossible for it to be just "500,000." But anyway, it's not the numbers that are important, it is all these people who are now able to get affordable insurance.
So cool it on the anti-ACA website coverage please.
Here's the rest of the press release, sent to me on November 13th, for those that are curious:
Cook County Health & Hospitals System Announces 120,000 Medicaid Eligible Adults Apply for CountyCare
Senator Durbin Applauds Health System for Early Roll Out of Affordable Care Act
CHICAGO
- Cook County Health & Hospitals System (CCHHS) Chief Executive
Officer, Dr. Ram Raju today announced the health system has
initiated120,000 applications for CountyCare, an early roll out of the
Affordable Care Act (ACA). This means CCHHS has exceeded its original
goal of initiating 115,000 applications by Dec. 31 more than two months ahead of schedule.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle noted the County’s early implementation of the ACA will help transform the health system and improve the health of residents.
“CountyCare was a vision of what health care should look like in this country. Today, that vision is reality in Cook County," Preckwinkle said. "The Affordable Care Act is doing its job here and providing health care to tens of thousands of Cook County residents.”
CountyCare is an Illinois Medicaid program approved under the federal government’s 1115 Medicaid Waiver, which permits CCHHS to early-enroll individuals who will be eligible for Medicaid in 2014 through the Affordable Care Act.
“CountyCare’s
success shows yet again the demand for and benefits of expanded access
to healthcare here in Illinois. I have worked throughout my career to
support Cook County’s health system and the people it serves, which is
why I’m pleased that this is also just a taste of what’s to come in
2014, when the full benefits of the Affordable Care Act will be realized
and 700,000 more Illinoisans will gain access to health insurance.
CountyCare will serve as a national model for the success of the
Affordable Care Act, increasing low-income residents’ quality of care
and saving money by reducing costly emergency room visits. I commend
President Preckwinkle and Dr. Raju for their steadfast commitment to
expanding access to affordable care,” U.S. Senator Richard Durbin said.Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle noted the County’s early implementation of the ACA will help transform the health system and improve the health of residents.
“CountyCare was a vision of what health care should look like in this country. Today, that vision is reality in Cook County," Preckwinkle said. "The Affordable Care Act is doing its job here and providing health care to tens of thousands of Cook County residents.”
CountyCare is an Illinois Medicaid program approved under the federal government’s 1115 Medicaid Waiver, which permits CCHHS to early-enroll individuals who will be eligible for Medicaid in 2014 through the Affordable Care Act.
Officials noted that applications are coming in from every corner of the county.
“While we are proud of the grassroots approach we took in outreach, what the numbers really demonstrate is the tremendous demand for health care throughout our county. This is a humbling but enormously rewarding day for us as we provide thousands of people with access to high quality health care for the first time,” said Dr. Ram Raju, CEO, Cook County Health & Hospitals System.
The Cook County Health & Hospitals System provides more than $500 million in uncompensated care annually. CCHHS has a charity care program in place called CareLink, designed to ensure that people who cannot afford to pay or can only pay for a portion of their healthcare are not saddled with the financial burden of paying bills they cannot afford. Officials recently attributed a 28 percent decrease in CareLink discounts provided to people enrolling in CountyCare.
Once a CountyCare member, members receive covered services at no cost to them. Covered services include prescription drugs, regular and specialty visits within a broad network of doctors, hospitals, laboratory and x-ray services, mammograms, mental health treatment, public transportation, and other services.
To qualify, applicants must live in Cook County, be 19-64 years of age without dependents at home, have a Social Security number and be a legal immigrant for at least 5 years or a U.S. citizen. Yearly income must be below $15,282 for an individual or $20,628 per couple. Applicants must not be receiving or eligible for Medicaid, Medicare or CHIP. Learn more about CountyCare by calling 312.864.8200 or visit www.CountyCare.com.
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