Babaamaajimowinan (Telling of news in different places)

Citizens' Council for Health Freedom: A Quick Online Deal for Obamacare Coverage Will Result in Higher Costs, Compromised Care and Privacy Risks

ST. PAUL, Minn.—Just last week, one of the major health insurers, UnitedHealth Group, announced it may pull out of Obamacare exchanges in 2017, citing rising costs and enrollment numbers well below projections.

Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF, http://www.cchfreedom.org) says this is a natural consequence of a complex process to apply for a government product with poor coverage and high costs, particularly for the young and healthy.

Obamacare enrollment opened on Nov. 1, and with Black Friday being the biggest shopping day of the year, many may find themselves in front of a computer, searching out deals for health care coverage, too.

But beware, says Twila Brase, president and co-founder of CCHF, a patient-centered national health freedom organization based in St. Paul, Minn., existing to protect health care choices, individualized patient care, and medical and genetic privacy rights. The downfalls and risks of entering the “marketplace” for coverage from a faulty government health care system outweigh any benefits.

“With open enrollment just a few weeks underway, many of the uninsured may be tempted to shop online for coverage,” Brase said. “But we should take a hint from UnitedHealth Group, which is seriously considering exiting the federal health care system because of rising costs and the fact that the financial burden of insuring older and sicker patients is becoming too much to bear because not enough young and healthy are opting for Obamacare coverage. The uninsured need to realize that Obamacare is a transfer of hard-earned dollars from the well to the sick.

“And besides the higher costs and fewer choices within the health plans’ increasingly narrow networks,” she added, “the personal and financial data shared for enrollment purposes can be shared, stored and used by other government agencies—without consent.”

Since the inception of Obamacare in 2010, CCHF has been educating Americans about three legal ways to avoid signing up for government-run health care coverage altogether:

Buy private insurance outside of the government exchanges, such as a private policy, employer-sponsored coverage or a private insurance exchange.

Pay the penalty tax for being without coverage in 2016—2.5% of net income or $695, whichever is greater.

Claim one of the 9 Obamacare exemptions, which include 14 possible hardship waivers.

In fact, CCHF has embarked on several campaigns over the years to encourage Americans to “Refuse to Enroll” in Obamacare. Last spring, the patient privacy organization launched a billboard campaign in five major markets across the U.S., in Denver, Houston, Minneapolis, Nashville and Orlando. The giant orange, burgundy, yellow and black “Hunger Games”-themed signs sent the message of “Obamacare Games—Where the Odds are Never in Your Favor,” encouraging all to refuse to enroll in Obamacare. With the release of the final film in the “Hunger Games” franchise just this past weekend, the billboards live on through social media. Visit CCHF’s Refuse to Enroll billboard campaign page for more information.

For more information about CCHF, visit its web site at http://www.cchfreedom.org, its Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/cchfreedom or its Twitter feed, @CCHFreedom.

Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom, a patient-centered national health freedom organization based in St. Paul, Minn., exists to protect health care choices, individualized patient care, and medical and genetic privacy rights. CCHF sponsors the daily, 60-second radio feature, Health Freedom Minute, which airs on approximately 350 stations nationwide, including 200 on the American Family Radio Network and 100 on the Bott Radio Network. Listeners can learn more about the agenda behind health care initiatives and steps they can take to protect their health care choices, rights and privacy.

CCHF president and co-founder Twila Brase, R.N., has been called one of the “100 Most Powerful People in Health Care” and one of “Minnesota’s 100 Most Influential Health Care Leaders.” A public health nurse, Brase has been interviewed by CNN, Fox News, Minnesota Public Radio, NBC Nightly News, NBC’s Today Show, NPR, New York Public Radio, the Associated Press, Modern Healthcare, TIME, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The Washington Times, among others. She is at the forefront of informing the public of crucial health issues, such as intrusive wellness and prevention initiatives in Obamacare, patient privacy, informed consent, the dangers of “evidence-based medicine” and the implications of state and federal health care reform.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 
Rendered 03/26/2024 05:54