As the Obama-loving media continue their predictable victory lap following the passage of vastly unpopular healthcare reform, a state of mass confusion about how the bill impacts John and Jane Q. Public grips the nation.
"Questions reflecting confusion have flooded insurance companies, doctors' offices, human resources departments and business groups," wrote McClatchy's Margaret Talev Tuesday.
"'They're saying, "Where do we get the free Obama care, and how do I sign up for that?" said Carrie McLean, a licensed agent for eHealthInsurance.com. The California-based company sells coverage from 185 health insurance carriers in 50 states."
And those were just the first surprises from the historically liberal news outlet (h/t NB reader Tom 'Not the Actor' Hanks):
McLean said the call center had been inundated by uninsured consumers who were hoping that the overhaul would translate into instant, affordable coverage. [...]
"We tell them it's not free, that there are going to be things in place that help people who are low-income, but that ultimately most of that is not going to be taking place until 2014," McLean said.
Adults with pre-existing conditions are frustrated to learn that insurers won't have to cover them until 2014 (though those under 18 will be protected in late September); then they become both hopeful and confused upon learning that a federal high-risk pool for them will be established in the next few months. "Health insurance is so confusing. You add this on top of it and it makes it even more confusing," McLean said. [...]
A new wave of inquiries could come next month as federal COBRA subsidies for laid-off workers dry up. [...]
Many small business owners are nervous about requirements being phased in.
"Members are still trying to wrap their head around everything that's in this law," said Michelle Dimarob, the manager of legislative affairs for the National Federation of Independent Business, the small-business lobby.
Dimarob said the lobby's primary concern was that its costs would rise over the next four years as a result of fees, taxes and coverage mandates related to the overhaul. [...]
While Obama has been touting a tax credit for small businesses that offer employees health coverage, Dimarob said many small businesses wouldn't be able to participate.
Not exactly the picture being painted by most of the Obama-loving media, is it?
Of course, if news outlets had done their job by not only reporting the full details of what was being discussed on Capitol Hill while also grilling the President and Democrat leaders about exactly how this legislation was going to impact the citizenry, maybe votes wouldn't have occurred until the public was comfortable with enacting something that was going to affect one-sixth of the economy.
Unfortunately, so-called journalists got so wrapped up in what they saw as the historic nature of healthcare reform that they once again abdicated their responsibilities and became cheerleaders rather than watchdogs.
THEY wanted healthcare reform, and for THEIR sins, WE got it.
Though it certainly isn't too late for them to redeem themselves by holding the President's feet to the fire as he tours the country trying to sell to the public what the media shamefully bought sight unseen, I wouldn't hold my breath for that to happen despite this fair and balanced piece from McClatchy.
On the other hand, one has to wonder if these folks will be doing the same kind of post facto mea culpa they did after the Iraq War started as well as subsequent to Obama's election.
If you recall, some news outlets expressed great regret in the previous decade that they didn't do enough investigative reporting before the Iraq invasion to potentially stop America from going into what they now perceive was an unnecessary war.
We even saw a number of the same folks admit that they really didn't do a very good job of vetting presidential candidate Obama before the November 2008 elections.
With this in mind, will we be seeing the same kind of post facto hand-wringing years from now as this legislation does nothing to bring down costs while it expands the budget deficit exactly as Republicans warned?
Maybe more importantly, will these so-called journalists ever learn from their mistakes and actually do a better job in the future, or will their agenda always interfere with the nation's best interest?
