Patterico's Pontifications

6/6/2013

L.A. Times: ObamaCare Spurring Hiring Blitz!! . . . of People to Explain the Law to Consumers

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:18 am



They actually have an entire story devoted to this.

Screen Shot 2013-06-06 at 7.14.35 AM

Here’s how the article starts:

The nation’s complicated healthcare overhaul is proving to be a surprising source of work: People are needed to explain the law’s provisions to consumers.

In addition to the expected demand for more nurses and doctors to treat millions of newly insured patients, the federal Affordable Care Act is feeding a cottage industry in call centers.

This is our current solution to unemployment: pass a law that is so complicated, you need to hire people to explain it.

So we have lost hundreds of thousands of jobs under Obama. How many jobs will this wonderful initiative to explain ObamaCare gain us?

The law, which represents the biggest expansion of health insurance in nearly half a century, has spawned a hiring blitz by the state, major health insurers and many community groups that have to decode a lot of insurance lingo in a short amount of time to an incredibly diverse population.

A hiring BLITZ, you say!

Before it rolls out its health insurance marketplace, called Covered California, the state is hiring hundreds of people at three call centers set to open this fall when enrollment begins Oct. 1.

Hundreds!!!!!!11!1!!!1!

Screen Shot 2013-06-06 at 7.08.05 AM

Bonus: it’s government work, so we get to pay for this staggering new employment.

The story also says that nonprofit groups working with the state need 20,000 “enrollers” to explain options and penalties to people, and that the “enrollers” will get $58 for each “sign-up,” whatever that means. This sounds very transitory and not very helpful to the economy as a whole — but there I go, being a Gloomy Gus again.

If we can just pass a few hundred more impenetrable and freedom-crushing laws, we’ll need an army of explainers, and unemployment will disappear! Oh, except for all the layoffs that will be caused by the laws themselves. Kinda lost in the story about the “hiring blitz” is any mention of the crushing new burdens faced by businesses, and the inevitable spike in unemployment that everybody (except L.A. Times readers) knows will occur as a result. And by “kinda lost” I mean “not mentioned at all, anywhere in the story.”

72 Responses to “L.A. Times: ObamaCare Spurring Hiring Blitz!! . . . of People to Explain the Law to Consumers”

  1. the “enrollers” will get $58 for each “sign-up”

    granted they’ll be hiring butt-stupid morons to do these jobs, but sooner or later one of the brighter ones will figure out this is an inducement to fraud

    and that one will teach the other monkeys

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  2. There was a time that I believed the masses had an intrinsic value. They were decent and good. They were not to be treated with disrespect by the elitists. They were not to be referred to as the “unwashed”…

    But after having read that essay referred to by Ace, I now know what a fool I’ve been all this time. They are Bieber-loving, low-info-voting, monkeys.

    Bets (717964)

  3. Its a shame someone didn’t think to hire some people to explain Obamacare to the members of Congress back in the day…

    gramps (13e453)

  4. In the future there will be two jobs: IRS Enforcer and Obamacare Explainer.

    Tyranny: makes life simple.

    Patricia (be0117)

  5. great comment, gramps

    I don’t know if this is the same job, but I’ve read elsewhere that the epople to be hired to help folk sign up for ObamaCare have few job qualifications requirements, including no need of HS diploma, no need to pass a criminal background check, no need to not have a record of being an ID thief

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  6. Well, of course the implementation will create “demand for more nurses and doctors to treat millions of newly insured patients”!
    How’s the supply-side of that equation working out?
    And what happens to prices when demand outstrips supply?
    Hmmm . . .

    Icy (e6f6e4)

  7. It would help if Republicans had an alternative to Obamacare. They don’t. Meanwhile we have upwards of 50 million uninsured, many of whom get their care from emergency rooms, the most expensive alternative there is. This makes sense?

    Surely we can expect Obamacare to have kinks which need fixing, like SS and Medicare did.

    What are your alternatives, people?

    Gramps2 (2ce516)

  8. 20,000 enrollers? Obviously this is one of the efficiency benefits of Obamacare — private insurers could never have gotten by with so few agents in a state the size of California.

    BTW, do we count the agency jobs lost, too?

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  9. granted they’ll be hiring butt-stupid morons to do these jobs, but sooner or later one of the brighter ones will figure out this is an inducement to fraud

    As in :

    “Hmmm … if they have to pay they won’t sign up and phony naems would be expensive, but if Huey, Dewey and Louie are all fully subsidized who cares if they really exist. FIFTY-EIGHT DOLLARS!!@1!!!”

    Given the subsidies, and the lack of benefits given to non-existent people, the insurance companies will be thrilled, too.

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  10. One question for the explainers:

    How come coverage for everyone just went up to HIPAA rates? We don’t ALL have cancer. And no, the fact that deadbeats also get a subsidy (and better coverage!(PDF)) doesn’t sway me.

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  11. Gramps2 sounds a lot like Perry.

    JD (20406c)

  12. Gramps:

    A better plan would have been mandatory portability, where after some number of years of paying into the system, an individual gained must-issue/flat-rate status. This coupled with mandatory pediatric coverage (kids don’t choose to be covered or not) with a parent’s policy would have solved most of the locked-out-of-the-market problems.

    There would have been an added cost for this kind of partial whole-life approach, but not nearly as much as the “free and better insurance for deadbeats” policy that Obamacare envisions. Not only do privately insured people get hit with much higher rates under Obamacare, but everyone will get hit with MASSIVE tax increases when the bills come due.

    And this is really only a waystation to single-payer. When Obamacare breaks down, that’s the planned fix.

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  13. BTW, Republicans offered several plans that had many of the features I outlined. The Democrat response?

    “We won!”

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  14. And the hits just keep on coming:
    Ondray Harris, a former deputy chief in the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice, wrote in his March 24 letter that two members of the Public Employee Relations Board opposed his decision to hire a qualified white, politically conservative attorney.
    Harris, who is black, writes in the letter that Don Wasserman, who is white, “demanded” that he “refrain from hiring white men.”

    In an interview with The Washington Examiner on Monday night, Harris said, “When I first came on to the agency there was no diversity in the agency.”

    Harris said he was initially reluctant to go public with his complaint.

    “I’m interested in politics. This is not necessarily something I wanted to make public,” he said. But, he added, “I couldn’t sit idly by and let this happen.”

    Harris wrote that another white board member, Ann Hoffman, criticized Harris’ decision to hire the conservative attorney because she had work experience, “which they perceived as being conservative or politically right-of-center.”

    Icy (e6f6e4)

  15. And the hits just keep on coming:
    Ondray Harris, a former deputy chief in the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice, wrote in his March 24 letter that two members of the Public Employee Relations Board opposed his decision to hire a qualified white, politically conservative attorney.
    Harris, who is black, writes in the letter that Don Wasserman, who is white, “demanded” that he “refrain from hiring white men.”

    In an interview with The Washington Examiner on Monday night, Harris said, “When I first came on to the agency there was no diversity in the agency.”

    Harris said he was initially reluctant to go public with his complaint.

    “I’m interested in politics. This is not necessarily something I wanted to make public,” he said. But, he added, “I couldn’t sit idly by and let this happen.”

    Harris wrote that another white board member, Ann Hoffman, criticized Harris’ decision to hire the conservative attorney because she had work experience, “which they perceived as being conservative or politically right-of-center.”

    — Has anyone purchased the domain name “Daily Scandal” yet?

    Icy (e6f6e4)

  16. Oh Good, more Public-Employee Union members.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  17. Apologies for double-posting. As per usual, I blame Cupertino.

    Icy (e6f6e4)

  18. Kevin, Republicans offered no legislation, only criticism. What good was that?

    Your comment on massive tax increases and much higher rates is pure speculation on your part. If not speculation, then what is your information source?

    Gramps2 (2ce516)

  19. Great news! The gub’mint is now hiring thousands of new identity thieves.

    Steve57 (4d92c0)

  20. Gramps2, the doctor said your heart condition requires rest and that you should avoid excitement and agitation.
    That means you need to stop looking at the sexy girls who present the prizes on ‘The Price is Right !’

    Elephant Stone (6a6f37)

  21. Gramps2 is Perry. Tsk tsk banned asshat.

    JD (20406c)

  22. Why can’t we just sell health insurance like we sell auto insurance?

    Patricia (be0117)

  23. Oh No….not periwinkle again?

    Say, if there are no real qualifications required for these “new hires”, this is a tremendous opportunity for the Progs to reach out to the “undocumented” community by getting them (1) on the public teat as state workers, and (2) signed up for free CalCare – which I’m sure comes with a fresh EBT card, a DL (thank you One-Bill Gil), and registration as a Democrat, not to mention subsidizing their attendance at a CA institution of higher learning.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  24. JD–What was your first clue? Was it the famous and discredited “upwards of 50 million uninsured” line?

    elissa (e32d90)

  25. You got to give it credit, it refuses to discard those Soros-generated talking-points.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  26. “Why can’t we just sell health insurance like we sell auto insurance?”

    In essence, this is what Obamacare is: mandatory insurance.

    Gramps2 (2ce516)

  27. For the record, Your Honor: “gramps” (original gramps, comment 3) is NOT gramps2.

    I yield the floor.

    gramps (13e453)

  28. In essence, this is what Obamacare is: mandatory insurance

    Bullshit. With penalty for not signing up so low compared to the cost of insurance, o-care will not cause anything mandatory.

    lyle (5559e9)

  29. 26. “Why can’t we just sell health insurance like we sell auto insurance?”

    In essence, this is what Obamacare is: mandatory insurance.

    Comment by Gramps2 (2ce516) — 6/6/2013 @ 10:55 am

    Except auto insurance isn’t mandatory. We don’t make people show financial responsibility unless they engage in a voluntary activity. We don’t even make everyone who owns and drives a car buy auto insurance, as insurance is just one method of demonstrating financial responsibility.

    This lame analogy has been used before and it fails every time. Why do idiots keep bringing it up?

    Steve57 (4d92c0)

  30. In a related story, crime creates jobs for police, guards, jail construction, FBI agents, ATF agents, marshalls, etc.

    Government should continue to make more conduct criminal in order to create more jobs. Oh wait, …

    John (3f493f)

  31. And Obamacare isn’t even insurance. It’s a heist. The Obamacare proponents bring up “free riders.” Typical of liberals, they accuse others of doing what they’re doing. Obamacare requires everyone to buy insurance or pay a fine in order to subsidize the free riders they’re creating.

    You need to buy insurance in order to subsidize someone else’s health care. As Max Baucus (D-MT) put it in his drunken rant following the bill’s passage, it’s a wealth transfer.

    Steve57 (4d92c0)

  32. “Why can’t we just sell health insurance like we sell auto insurance?”
    In essence, this is what Obamacare is: mandatory insurance.

    Perry – as Steve noted above, and has been pointed out 527848386446738 times previously, this is abject BS.

    JD (20406c)

  33. Gramps2 (Perry),

    This is the problem with you lefties—you don’t even understand the arguments.

    When we talk about medical insurance being more like auto insurance, we’re talking about catastrophic coverage.
    Your auto insurance doesn’t pay for your oil change, a new battery, new brakes, or even having the bulbs for your turn signals replaced. YOU pay for all of that. The insurance pays for crashes or damage you may incur against another vehicle. Otherwise, if your insurance had to pay for your oil change, can you even guess how much more expensive it would be ? And can you guess how frequently belts and hoses would “need to be replaced.” Auto mechanic upsells and fraud would skyrocket if a third party (the auto insurance) were expected to pay for it. And then the auto insurance company might want to send an agent out to inspect those alleged “needed” repairs before authorizing the repair.
    Good Allah, it would be two weeks before you’d get your car repaired !

    We should consider the “catastrophic-coverage only” approach to medical insurance. We should pay for our check-ups, our shots, our X-rays, our slings and braces for our dislocated elbows and sprained ankles, and then the insurance would pay just for catastrophies—you get cancer, you fall off a roof, you need your appendix taken out, or you suffer a heart attack upon reading about the latest Obama Scandal.

    But this notion that the proverbial three hundred dollar monthly premium (which thanks to ObamaDon’tCare, now costs five or six hundred dollars a month) should entitle an adult to all the check-ups, x-rays, trips to specialists, and surgeries they can consume during the course of a month is just horrible math.

    Elephant Stone (6a6f37)

  34. 29. In a related story, crime creates jobs for police, guards, jail construction, FBI agents, ATF agents, marshalls, etc.

    Government should continue to make more conduct criminal in order to create more jobs. Oh wait, …

    Comment by John (3f493f) — 6/6/2013 @ 11:13 am

    The kali prison guard union that spent millions lobbying pols to pass the three strikes law that would in turn swell their membership would no doubt just like to get it over with and turn the whole state into a prison and advocate building a wall around the borders of the state and hiring thousands of new union members to staff the towers.

    And boats!

    Except that way the illegal aliens might not be able to get in.

    Kali is an asylum run entirely for the benefit of its keepers and the LAT is demonstrating the kind of headwork that shows the world why that is.

    Steve57 (4d92c0)

  35. Why do idiots keep bringing it up?

    Because they’re idiots…and leftist true believers.

    “THIS TIME IT WILL WORK.”

    Patricia (be0117)

  36. This reminds me of a time in which I was interviewing for an attorney position. The lawyer asked me why my former engineering firm would not hire me on in-house once I got my JD. I pointed out that they typically had exactly two attorneys: a VP/General Counsel, and one in-house person. Absent a spike in their workload, they would have no need for another full-time attorney; it would only increase overhead expenses.

    Blonde attorney: “Lawyers aren’t overhead! We help clients to make money!”

    bridget (84c06f)

  37. They’ll also be pushing them to register to vote. Call this the ACORN voter fraud full employment jobs program.

    cedarhill (32fb80)

  38. don’t mix ammonia and bleach-got it
    food good/fire bad..check
    clean underwear-yup
    never eat anything bigger than your head/ok

    pdbuttons (06201c)

  39. Mr. buttons! I hope you are having a great summer spring came and went with very few sightings of you

    happyfeet (c60db2)

  40. not fur nuttin-to hijack thread-but i am in a 3rd world country! ha! think.. begins w/costa..
    ends with rica..my bob dylan playlist is muy rico!

    pdbuttons (06201c)

  41. I used to rely on those blog rolls on the sidebar. Most of my favorite blogs do not update this very often.

    It would be very cool if there was a discussion thread where people could suggest a few blogs they enjoy, with a quote from a favorite post, perhaps leading to some updates to the side bar.

    Dustin (303dca)

  42. Comment intended for another thread. 🙁

    Dustin (303dca)

  43. wow I bet it’s so beautiful there

    is fall yes?

    if you wander south into south america try to go here maybe

    http://eyesoncolombia.wordpress.com/2010/06/13/tequendama-falls-the-haunted-hotel/

    i’ve wanted to go for many moons – it’s a daytrip from bogota

    keep me posted and be safe

    happyfeet (c60db2)

  44. 7. Comment by Gramps2 (2ce516) — 6/6/2013 @ 9:46 am

    It would help if Republicans had an alternative to Obamacare. They don’t. Meanwhile we have upwards of 50 million uninsured, many of whom get their care from emergency rooms, the most expensive alternative there is. This makes sense?

    There you go again, sort of. You are assuming there is some kind of a free market and that whatever price is charged is what it should be.

    Emergency rooms are profit centers for hospitals.

    There could hardly be anything mnore efficient.

    There is no reason for emergency room visits to cost as much as it does, or come anywhere close.

    People do have alternatives, or some people do, but the Speaker of the House wants no controversy, and he keeps the House passing simple repeal bills.

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  45. when quinn the eskimo gets here
    the pigeons will run to him

    pdbuttons (06201c)

  46. Speaking of lawyers, a caller said to bill bennett this morning,
    “Think like a lawyer, but don’t act like one…”

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  47. There is no reason for emergency room visits to cost as much as it does, or come anywhere close.

    Hospitals actually lose more money on Medicaid patients than they do on the uninsured. Medicaid covers so little of the actual cost of treatment that a lot of clinics and doctors won’t take Medicaid patients (and increasingly Medicare patients for the some reason).

    Medicaid patients pretty much have to go to the emergency room even for non-emergencies. And then hospitals have to make up the shortfall by overcharging patients with insurance.

    This is the real “free rider” problem and Obamacare just makes it far worse.

    Steve57 (7895a0)

  48. i’d apply for one of these “j*bs”, but as soon as they saw that i was a straight, white male veteran, my application would be 86’d.

    redc1c4 (403dff)

  49. feets, between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer, there is minimal difference between the “seasons” – just variations of hot.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  50. Folks. Settle the HELL down. This is simply the…..SKIM…..it’s how CHICAGO OPERATES.

    Gus (694db4)

  51. If monkeys had wings instead of tails, they could swim in the water like rabbits.

    ropelight (14942e)

  52. The Obama recovery has in essence created as many part time jobs while as destroying full time jobs. This is why the employment stats nominally are the same.

    Problem is 1) National Income is down, 2) There are 8-10 MM folks no longer looking for work who don’t count as unemployed, 3) We still have a 7.5% unemployment rate.

    Shitty though getting better.

    Rodney King's Spirit (ae12ec)

  53. #7 LOL. I like when an appeal to compromise starts with a lie about 50mm uninsured.

    Rodney King's Spirit (ae12ec)

  54. Now hiring at the Ministry of Silly Walks!

    Colonel Haiku (101cd9)

  55. Surely you jest, Patterico. These enrollers will be like the contraception mandate: They won’t cost the taxpayers a dime.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  56. of course, if idiots like Perry Gramps2 hadn’t insisted on passing laws that require ER’s to treat every patient that walks in the door, regardless of acuity or ability to pay, there wouldn’t be a problem with people going in with a hangnail and expecting to be treated like Congress royalty.

    as usual, the biggest problems in healthcare, as with other industries, are regulations and other burdens enacted by various levels of government.

    redc1c4 (403dff)

  57. Its a shame someone didn’t think to hire some people to explain Obamacare to the members of Congress back in the day…

    Comment by gramps (13e453) — 6/6/2013 @ 7:54 am

    They couldn’t because they had to pass it first so we could then know what was in it!

    peedoffamerican (ee1de0)

  58. That was EMTALA, which ‘unexpectedly’ did not solve the problem, arguably that’s been true since the HMO act of 197q

    narciso (3fec35)

  59. This lame analogy has been used before and it fails every time. Why do idiots keep bringing it up?

    Comment by Steve57 (4d92c0) — 6/6/2013 @ 11:11 am

    Raises hand. Oooh! Oooh! Oooh! Oooh! Oooh! Oooh! Oooh! Oooh! Oooh! Oooh! Oooh! Oooh! Oooh! Oooh!

    I know the answer to that question. It’s because they are Idiots!

    peedoffamerican (ee1de0)

  60. so you’re saying there’s no such thing as costa rican foliage tours

    nobody tells me anything

    happyfeet (c60db2)

  61. “It would help if Republicans had an alternative to Obamacare. They don’t. Meanwhile we have upwards of 50 million uninsured, many of whom get their care from emergency rooms, the most expensive alternative there is. This makes sense?

    Surely we can expect Obamacare to have kinks which need fixing, like SS and Medicare did.

    What are your alternatives, people?”

    Comment by Gramps2 (2ce516) — 6/6/2013 @ 9:46 am

    A start would be a national market for health insurance and medical savings accounts, both pushed by the GOP since the 1980s. The uninsurable population due to preexisting conditions has been estimated at 150,000 so 300 million need to have their health insurance radically changed. There are funds for high risk pools that will not cost $6 trillion.

    The 50 million uninsured (including illegals, I assume) seems a bit high but give Obama another four years and we might hit that level.

    Mike K (dc6ffe)

  62. It would help if Republicans had an alternative to Obamacare. They don’t. Meanwhile we have upwards of 50 million uninsured, many of whom get their care from emergency rooms, the most expensive alternative there is. This makes sense?

    Surely we can expect Obamacare to have kinks which need fixing, like SS and Medicare did.

    What are your alternatives, people?

    Comment by Gramps2 (2ce516) — 6/6/2013 @ 9:46 am

    I think it was “Dad” who kept claiming that Obamacare solves the emergency room problem, thereby magically paying for itself, even after it was pointed out that under Romneycare there has been no reduction in emergency room usage in MA.

    Gerald A (82a59d)

  63. Gramps2, is there a reason you are repeating long debunked myths? Myths and fabrications by Democrats that were shown to be false four years ago?

    SPQR (768505)

  64. I used to get the Los Angeles Times but it was getting my driveway dirty.

    Funeral Guy (51a2fe)

  65. Surely we can expect Obamacare to have kinks which need fixing, like SS and Medicare did.

    Kinks!!?? What will you call it when Obamacare becomes a total nightmare? A speed bump?

    Funeral Guy (51a2fe)

  66. Gramps2, is there a reason you are repeating long debunked myths? Myths and fabrications by Democrats that were shown to be false four years ago?

    Silly SPQR, that is what Perry does.

    JD (20406c)

  67. seasons in Costa rica are more accurately described as “rainy” or “dry”
    though in some areas it rains most of the year, but in the dry season it only rains for a brief time in the early afternoon, which is kind of refreshing
    otherwise blue skies +/- fluffy white clouds

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  68. Isn’t that senator from montana or somewhere who was heading up the formation of Obamacare retiring before the mess hits the fan, as he himself as said?

    and I thought the new talking point, approved by those in power, was that ObamaCare was not progressing well because he wasn’t paying enough attention to it personally

    I know i read that, you guys missed the memo

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  69. Does anyone understand any more that jobs are a cost, not a benefit, a bug, not a feature? That in the real world a project is considered successful if the same production can be achieved with less labor? That every politician who crows about “creating jobs” is pig ignorant stupid and should be horse whipped?

    Fred Z (5d5d80)

  70. R.I.P. Esther Williams

    Icy (e6f6e4)

  71. Gramps2/Perry/idiot:
    It would help if Republicans had an alternative to Obamacare. They don’t.
    — Yeah they do; it’s called ‘No Obamacare’.

    Meanwhile we have upwards of 50 million uninsured
    — Gosh! I sure hope that at least some of them are young & healthy, or wealthy enough to pay out-of-pocket.
    many of whom get their care from emergency rooms,
    — And, many of whom just go to the doctor.
    the most expensive alternative there is.
    — Gee, if only there was some other alternative, such as the 10,000 urgent care centers located all across America.

    Surely we can expect Obamacare to have kinks which need fixing, like SS and Medicare did.
    — By which you are implying that those ‘kinks’ have all been worked out? ‘Kinks’ such as Medicare running out of money in 2026 and SS running out of money in 2033?

    Your comment on massive tax increases and much higher rates is pure speculation on your part. If not speculation, then what is your information source?
    — We know, you had to wait for them to pass it before you could know what’s in it.

    In essence, this is what Obamacare is: mandatory insurance.
    — What it is is a tax on breathing.

    Icy (c33448)

  72. Did you know that Anthony Weiner says (quoted in New York Times article today)that he coined the term “Obamacare?”

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)


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