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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Time to ask some questions

Time to ask some questions

by Tim F|  June 26, 201311:56 am| 46 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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As mentioned two days ago, GOP reps face a tough dilemma between serving their constituents and hating the Affordable Care Act like it shot their dog. At the same time the pary as a whole needs the ACA to fail in every possible way, a lot of single Reps will have a hard time with re-election if people see them playing political games with the health and livelihood of individual constituents. I can think of several terrible Republicans at the Senate level, Jesse Helms and Rick Santorum being two, who stayed afloat not in small part due to a reputation for great constituent service.

There are three ways that a GOP Rep can go with this. Some of them will talk tough to the press but do their job like a grownup when real constituents call with real problems to address. Some other faction, most I would guess, will punt either by not answering or passing the caller off to HHS. Most of all we need to keep an eye out for the fabricators, liars and true believers whose staff genuinely believe the pap in the morning blast fax from Glenn Beck.

October is still some time off, so let’s start with questions that everyone should know. Say that I have a pre-existing condition and cannot get an individual market plan for any price. Can I buy one in October? How would I do that? The correct answers are yes and it depends on the state; in most cases we do not know the full details yet. If you feel like testing their bad faith, tell them you heard there will be death panels. I will not offer a script because you should really use your own words for this. Staffers’ interest often ratchets way down when they start hearing the same wording twice. Try being polite but a little slow and ask for clarification when possible.

Many thanks to readers for offering links to the excellent summary of the ACA from the Kaiser Family Foundation. You can find a lot of useful questions, no doubt including some that are relevant to your own situation, at their FAQ.

Does that sound good? Yes? Now make it happen. One call won’t change the world but a lot of calls to the right people at the right time can move mountains. Trust me on this.

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Reader Interactions

46Comments

  1. 1.

    Yatsuno

    June 26, 2013 at 12:13 pm

    I live in a solid Dem district in a solid blue state. I could use my parents’ address and torment Doc Hastings, but he lives and dies by constituent service (and Hanford pork) so I have a feeling he’d be in the cooperative side. McMorris-Rodgers, though, is a true belieber.

  2. 2.

    kindness

    June 26, 2013 at 12:14 pm

    My local Congressman is a Tea Party lunatic. I should call his office to see how they handle it.

  3. 3.

    Poopyman

    June 26, 2013 at 12:20 pm

    My rep is Steny Hoyer. I’m just going to assume my many wingnut fellow constituents are already tying up the staff’s time.

  4. 4.

    Forum Transmitted Disease

    June 26, 2013 at 12:21 pm

    @kindness: Please do and post the response. It will be hilarious in either a surreal or tear-jerking way, I’m betting.

  5. 5.

    Violet

    June 26, 2013 at 12:21 pm

    Is this just for Representatives or is it Senators as well?

    Also, the two Kaiser links go to the same place. Was that the intent?

  6. 6.

    evap

    June 26, 2013 at 12:26 pm

    My representative is John Lewis, a solid blue district in a solid red state. Given the gerrymandering in my state (GA), I bet that serving constituents or not makes no difference to the voters. That R next to the candidates name will get them elected every time. I hope I’m wrong.

  7. 7.

    Villago Delenda Est

    June 26, 2013 at 12:31 pm

    The temptation to tell constituents who are asking for help to fuck off and die in regards to the ACA must be very strong among the teatards. I mean, they seem to think that “their supporters” don’t need health care, are never in a situation where they might need health care, and generally give Ron Paul his applause lines when Paul suggests that these people needing health care should just die already and get the fuck out of the way of the teatard supermen.

    The question is, will enough people be told to fuck off and die in the face of their own individual personal problems punish these assholes on election day?

  8. 8.

    Villago Delenda Est

    June 26, 2013 at 12:34 pm

    @Yatsuno:

    My personal situation is one similar to yours…reliable blue district in a reliable blue state (DeFazio, who has superb constituent service, is my rep). It’s hard from my own perspective to imagine anything different, but I’m sure others less fortunate in their place of residence have wildly different experiences than you or I do.

  9. 9.

    WereBear

    June 26, 2013 at 12:35 pm

    I am blessed in a Blue State, but if I pretended to be Louie Gohmert’s constituent (I can do the accent if I practice) I would soooooooo have fun with this.

    Anyone know a radio-prank caller?

    It’s gold, Jerry. Gold!

  10. 10.

    EconWatcher

    June 26, 2013 at 12:39 pm

    This sounds like a great “i-team” investigation for local news channels: Pose as someone with health problems who needs help, and see if you get accurate info from the local Congressman.

  11. 11.

    Capri

    June 26, 2013 at 12:43 pm

    I’d wager that my representative (Rokita) is like the majority of R’s – he’d be classified as solidly in the teabag because he votes with all the R’s and he regurgitates talking points on cue. But he was a decent public servant before he got elected to national office and he’ll probably tell his constituents the truth if asked one on one.
    He did vote for the Ag Bill – and I’d submit that’s the tell for republican representatives.

  12. 12.

    Villago Delenda Est

    June 26, 2013 at 12:43 pm

    @EconWatcher:

    Well, if the local news was about something other than who was arrested for what, it might be a great investigation.

    Which is why I don’t think it will be done.

  13. 13.

    Goblue72

    June 26, 2013 at 12:46 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: the core of the GOP are relatively well off, straight white males. In a word, assholes. The more poor people dying or having a lower quality of life, the harder their dicks get.

  14. 14.

    Mnemosyne

    June 26, 2013 at 1:00 pm

    @Goblue72:

    There’s one small caveat to that, though — they only like to see people they don’t know suffer. If one of their family or friends needs PPACA benefits, they’ll go apeshit if that person doesn’t get the help they need.

    This is how my parents could simultaneously decry Obamacare and praise Medicaid to the skies.

  15. 15.

    Villago Delenda Est

    June 26, 2013 at 1:01 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    “Keep the federal government’s hands off my Medicare/Medicaid!

    /facepalm

  16. 16.

    Roger Moore

    June 26, 2013 at 1:05 pm

    @EconWatcher:

    This sounds like a great “i-team” investigation for local news channels: Pose as someone with health problems who needs help, and see if you get accurate info from the local Congressman.

    Too explicitly political. The news station would have to judge who was giving accurate information, which would risk getting them labeled as Liberal Media. Much easier to target unsanitary restaurants.

  17. 17.

    jeffreyw

    June 26, 2013 at 1:15 pm

    From a pal via Chatzy:

    best thing I’ve seen written about the DOMA thing: ” Millions of gays and lesbians suddenly getting calls from their mothers to remind them how old they’re getting.”

  18. 18.

    Shakezula

    June 26, 2013 at 1:19 pm

    I just want to emphasize that the Kaiser Foundation and Kaiser Permanente are two distinct entities. Think of them as twins, one good, one evil.

    @Poopyman: Same here. Still, can’t hurt to call and give some love.

  19. 19.

    raven

    June 26, 2013 at 1:21 pm

    @jeffreyw: U still doin that??

    guess so

  20. 20.

    Amir Khalid

    June 26, 2013 at 1:24 pm

    @WereBear:
    Off-topic, but have you seen this?

  21. 21.

    IowaOldLady

    June 26, 2013 at 1:31 pm

    My rep is a Democrat. I suppose I could call Grassley’s office, but god, do I have to?

  22. 22.

    The Moar You Know

    June 26, 2013 at 1:41 pm

    This sounds like a great “i-team” investigation for local news channels: Pose as someone with health problems who needs help, and see if you get accurate info from the local Congressman.

    @EconWatcher: That would require spine of a level I’ve never seen displayed by ANY of my local “news” outlets, most of which are now owned by a local Catholic billionaire asshole who is about as progressive as Fred Phelps.

  23. 23.

    Biscuits

    June 26, 2013 at 1:47 pm

    I am so jazzed for Obamacare! Come October, we will have insurance. Yay! We are currently working as “contractors” in employment terms, because my husband is a middle aged type 1 diabetic, we have endured every kind of abuse from insurance companies that their cold dead hearts can dream up. F*ckers. Yes, I will be so very happy and more or less stress free. Woohoo!

  24. 24.

    Mnemosyne

    June 26, 2013 at 1:51 pm

    @jeffreyw:

    I’m hoping the Illinois legislature gets off their hands and votes in favor of marriage equality so I can sit down with my brother-in-law this summer and say, “Isn’t it about time you found a nice boy and settled down? You manage a pharmacy, don’t you ever meet any single doctors?”

  25. 25.

    Steeplejack

    June 26, 2013 at 2:00 pm

    @Shakezula:

    What’s wrong with Kaiser Permanente? They seem to have a pretty good care model: it’s not fee-for-services, and they seem to promote preventive care.

  26. 26.

    Ms. D. Ranged in AZ

    June 26, 2013 at 2:00 pm

    Say that I have a pre-existing condition and cannot get an individual market plan for any price. Can I buy one in October? How would I do that?

    This is precisely my problem. I’ve been turned down twice now. The first time for real pre-existing conditions and the second time for a pre-existing condition for which I was misdiagnosed. Now that misdiagnosis is on my record, I’m really screwed.

    My big fear is that come October even though legally they can’t turn me down I still won’t be able to afford it. Right now, a bare minimum plan is being quoted at $360 per month, which is exactly the amount by which my rent increased. So much for health care because I really need to keep a roof over my effin head. And I make decent money. I just don’t understand how anyone who makes less than I do could possibly afford this without giving up a lot. I mean, if I gave up my cable TV, my cell phone (which is my ONLY phone), AND turned up the temp dial in the house to 85 I STILL wouldn’t be able to save enough to pay for the health insurance. Maybe I’ll donate my eggs but who the heck wants the eggs of someone like me with my pre-existing conditions! I guess there is always prostitution or taking a second job that would allow me to work in the middle of the night while my kids are sleeping.

    I am seriously thinking about calling my Congressional Reps/Sens and asking them some questions as suggested. I’m getting conflicting results for my Rep. One site says it’s Ron Barber (D-AZ) and another says it’s Trent Franks (R-AZ). Senators is easy…..McCan’t and McFlake.

  27. 27.

    Botsplainer

    June 26, 2013 at 2:18 pm

    Garzon throws Snowden under the bus.

    http://wikileaks.org/Further-Statement-From-Baltasar.html

    This serves to state that the Law firm ILOCAD has decided not to represent Mr. Snowden, whose whereabouts are unknown. We continue to represent Mr. Assange and WikiLeaks as senior legal counsel in the defence of the fundamental right to freedom of information and expression. In this vein, we are satisfied with the recently approved draft resolution by the Committee Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly. It states that those who disclose criminal acts in the public interest should be protected from retaliation and persecution from those who commit them.

    Baltasar Garzón

    “And Jesus wept bitter tears, which were guzzled by Botsplainer and his fellow botsplainers, and deemed a good and tasty cocktail mixer for a rockin’-assed party.”

  28. 28.

    Sourmash

    June 26, 2013 at 2:19 pm

    How’s this for a good line of questions, which actually applies to me: my kids live in a different state and their mother cannot afford insurance and doesn’t know how to access the ACA. Who do I talk to so I can find out what are the national minimums of coverage, and how I can enroll my kids at a distance?

  29. 29.

    Soonergrunt

    June 26, 2013 at 2:22 pm

    Well, I’ll certainly be doing this. You all know who my Senators are. Tom Coburn might actually do useful stuff. It depends on whether or not it involves high school girls bathrooms. He’s worked with the President when he was in the Senate and has actually had nice things to say about Nancy Pelosi in town hall meetings here in OK, for which he was roundly vilified. Jim Inhofe won’t, I’m certain. My Congressman is Tom Cole, who is about as close to the center as you’re going to get in Oklahoma. He also has an extensive constituent services operation, and I don’t doubt that he’d steer a constituent right, regardless of what that means.

    Memnsyne–did you black hole your own comment? I can’t see why it would be in moderation unless you want it that way.–never mind. It’s up.

  30. 30.

    BruceJ

    June 26, 2013 at 2:25 pm

    This is the response of the local GOP establishment to Arizona’s successful Medicaid extension.

    Their motto: “Conservatism can never fail, it can only be failed.”

  31. 31.

    Botsplainer, fka Todd

    June 26, 2013 at 2:25 pm

    OT – Garzon throws Snowden under the bus.

    http://wikileaks.org/Further-Statement-From-Baltasar.html

    This serves to state that the Law firm ILOCAD has decided not to represent Mr. Snowden, whose whereabouts are unknown. We continue to represent Mr. Assange and WikiLeaks as senior legal counsel in the defence of the fundamental right to freedom of information and expression. In this vein, we are satisfied with the recently approved draft resolution by the Committee Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly. It states that those who disclose criminal acts in the public interest should be protected from retaliation and persecution from those who commit them.

    Baltasar Garzón

    “And Jesus wept bitter tears, which were guzzled by Botsplainer and his fellow botsplainers, and deemed a good and tasty cocktail mixer for a rockin’-assed party.”

  32. 32.

    ? Martin

    June 26, 2013 at 2:28 pm

    I would just like to say that California is having a really good year. First out of the blocks on ACA. Big improvements to Medi-Cal, to erase a lot of what got cut in the budget fight. Employment improving substantially (down to 8.6% unemployment – still high, but improving very quickly). Balanced budget. School funding being restored. Gay marriage back on the menu. High-speed construction should begin this summer. Our carbon market is working well, and raised $250M toward the state budget and $500M to keep electricity prices low for consumers. We are now 20% renewable (excluding hydro) and rates haven’t gone up nor are projected to go up through 2020.

    Lots still to fix, but fuck if things aren’t really all going in the right direction. Proud of my adoptive state right now.

  33. 33.

    ? Martin

    June 26, 2013 at 2:31 pm

    @Steeplejack: Yeah, we love Kaiser. Had them for 20 years now and they’ve been really good. My wife loves her doctors. Never had a problem getting a same-day appointment with the GP. No paperwork. Can’t expect much better than this, to be honest.

  34. 34.

    Jeff(the other one)

    June 26, 2013 at 2:34 pm

    @jeffreyw: I can imagine the conversations–“Tick-tock,tick-tock, I want grandkids….”

  35. 35.

    Yatsuno

    June 26, 2013 at 2:38 pm

    @Jeff(the other one): Have you been talking to my mother? :)

  36. 36.

    Roger Moore

    June 26, 2013 at 2:47 pm

    @? Martin:

    I would just like to say that California is having a really good year.

    Amazing what we can accomplish now that the Republicans aren’t able to throw a monkey wrench into everything.

  37. 37.

    Yatsuno

    June 26, 2013 at 3:00 pm

    @Roger Moore: Yeah. I’m looking for a good IRS or some other ebil gubmint job in the San Diego area just so I can work on voting that felon Issa out.

  38. 38.

    Roger Moore

    June 26, 2013 at 3:03 pm

    @Yatsuno:
    I’m sure that the high concentration of hunky Marines in the San Diego area has nothing to do with it…

  39. 39.

    Yet another Bob

    June 26, 2013 at 3:20 pm

    @Ms. D. Ranged in AZ:

    Have you checked to see how much you would be required to pay? It’s easy…

    http://kff.org/interactive/subsidy-calculator/

  40. 40.

    balconesfault

    June 26, 2013 at 3:21 pm

    I see them passing constituents off to HHS, then screaming “big government takeover” when HHS answers their questions.

  41. 41.

    Roger Moore

    June 26, 2013 at 3:24 pm

    @balconesfault:
    I’m sure you’re right; nobody has ever accused wingnuts of excessive intellectual consistency.

  42. 42.

    Ms. D. Ranged in AZ

    June 26, 2013 at 4:33 pm

    @Yet another Bob: Yes and it’s horrific. Over $6,000 on the silver plan and $4983 on the bronze plan. What’s the penalty for not getting it? It may be cheaper just to pay the penalty.

    BTW, this doesn’t take into account my pre-existing…I think that will still make a difference. I’m assuming this is for the entire year, correct? Then monthly would work out to be over $501 silver plan and bronze plan $415. Thanks but no thanks.

  43. 43.

    negative 1

    June 26, 2013 at 4:38 pm

    I hate to live up to my name, but hoping this jams Repub reps up is silly. There is absolutely no problem for them in serving the constituency and tanking this thing at the same time. Since their office doesn’t actually handle the implementation of healthcare exchanges or medicare or anything else in the ACA, they correctly point the person to HHS or the state version thereof. They can do it with an eyeroll, too. “OH, you have to try them over there, good luck trying to figure this one out”. It’s very easy to do.

  44. 44.

    WereBear

    June 26, 2013 at 5:02 pm

    @Amir Khalid: Yes, and I’ve tweeted it to my followers a couple of times. A lot of UK owners let their cats out; more than in the states, I think.

  45. 45.

    Gregory

    June 26, 2013 at 6:22 pm

    Since when do Republican representatives care about serving their constituents?

  46. 46.

    AHH onna Droid

    June 27, 2013 at 9:40 am

    @Roger Moore: Really? Im sure the congress crittur.could always blame staffers at the local office, making it a perfect journamalism ‘both sides’ story.

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