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Re: Millennials turning against Affordable Care Act, trending less Democratic: Harvard poll

Posted by WillD on Wed Dec 4 21:02:48 2013, in response to Re: Millennials turning against Affordable Care Act, trending less Democratic: Harvard poll, posted by italianstallion on Wed Dec 4 20:42:31 2013.

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Re: Millennials turning against Affordable Care Act, trending less Democratic: Harvard poll

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The www.healthcare.gov site is only a little bit behind the Federal Register (uses 3½" diskettes)

Posted by Olog-hai on Sat Dec 7 12:44:39 2013, in response to Universal Health Care is HERE in these USA! Apply Now. www.healthcare.gov, posted by SMAZ on Tue Oct 1 13:19:06 2013.

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Slowly They Modernize: A Federal Agency That Still Uses Floppy Disks

By Jada F. Smith
Published: December 6, 2013

The technology troubles that plagued the HealthCare.gov website rollout may not have come as a shock to people who work for certain agencies of the government — especially those who still use floppy disks, the cutting-edge technology of the 1980s.

Every day, The Federal Register, the daily journal of the United States government, publishes on its website and in a thick booklet around 100 executive orders, proclamations, proposed rule changes and other government notices that federal agencies are mandated to submit for public inspection.

So far, so good.

It turns out, however, that the Federal Register employees who take in the information for publication from across the government still receive some of it on the 3.5-inch plastic storage squares that have become all but obsolete in the United States.

Now government infrastructure experts are hoping that public embarrassments like the HealthCare.gov debacle will prompt a closer look at the government’s technological prowess, especially if it might mean getting rid of floppy disks.

“You’ve got this antiquated system that still works but is not nearly as efficient as it could be,” said Stan Soloway, chief executive of the Professional Services Council, which represents more than 370 government contractors. “Companies that work with the government, whether longstanding or newcomers, are all hamstrung by the same limitations.”

The use of floppy disks peaked in American homes and offices in the mid-1990s, and modern computers do not even accommodate them anymore. But The Federal Register continues to accept them, in part because legal and security requirements have yet to be updated, but mostly because the wheels of government grind ever slowly.

Davita Vance-Cooks, the head of the Government Printing Office, which prints The Federal Register and publishes it online, spoke at a congressional hearing on Wednesday about her department’s attempts to make its work remain relevant in a post-print world. Despite creating mobile apps, The Federal Register still requires agencies to submit information on paper, with original signatures, though they can create a digital signature via a secured email system.

Agencies are also permitted to submit the documents on CD-ROMs and floppy disks, but not on flash drives or SD cards. “The Federal Register Act says that an agency has to submit the original and two duplicate originals or two certified copies,” said Amy P. Bunk, The Federal Register’s director of legal affairs and policy. As long as an agency does that through one of the approved methods of transmission, she said, “they’ve met the statutory requirement.”

But the secure email system — which uses software called Public Key Infrastructure technology — is expensive, and some government agencies have not yet upgraded to it. As a result, some agencies still scan documents on to a computer and save them on floppy disks. The disks are then sent by courier to the register.

Ms. Bunk said that although many agencies did use the secure email system, The Federal Register could not require it until Congress made it compulsory by law.

“There are limits as to how far we can make the agencies do everything in lock step,” said Jim Bradley, the assistant public printer for the Government Printing Office. Federal budget cuts, he said, had helped slow down any modernization.

“We’ve got to accommodate the funding and everything else,” Mr. Bradley said. “Some agencies move forward with technology, and that’s great. Other agencies aren’t ready to go this year, maybe not next year.”

A spokesman for The Federal Register would not say which agencies still used floppy disks. But at The Register’s office, a modest space on North Capitol Street in sight of the Capitol dome, couriers were recently seen coming in and out as an employee pulled a floppy disk from one package and at least two CD-ROMs from others.

Meanwhile, experts say that an administration that prided itself on its technological savvy has a long way to go in updating the computer technology of the federal government. HealthCare.gov and the floppy disks of The Federal Register, they say, are but two recent examples of a government years behind the private sector in digital innovation.

Mr. Soloway, of the Professional Services Council, said that the government’s technology was also causing it to fall behind in cooperation with the private sector. “It’s undoubtedly inhibiting the expansion” of what corporations are willing to do with the government, Mr. Soloway said. “And it remains an inhibitor for the next generation of companies.”

Correction: December 7, 2013

An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported the agency that oversees The Federal Register. It is the National Archives, not the Government Printing Office. The Government Printing Office prints The Federal Register and publishes it online.

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The www.healthcare.gov site is only a little bit ahead of the Federal Register (uses 3½" diskettes)

Posted by Olog-hai on Sat Dec 7 12:45:17 2013, in response to Universal Health Care is HERE in these USA! Apply Now. www.healthcare.gov, posted by SMAZ on Tue Oct 1 13:19:06 2013.

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Slowly They Modernize: A Federal Agency That Still Uses Floppy Disks

By Jada F. Smith
Published: December 6, 2013

The technology troubles that plagued the HealthCare.gov website rollout may not have come as a shock to people who work for certain agencies of the government — especially those who still use floppy disks, the cutting-edge technology of the 1980s.

Every day, The Federal Register, the daily journal of the United States government, publishes on its website and in a thick booklet around 100 executive orders, proclamations, proposed rule changes and other government notices that federal agencies are mandated to submit for public inspection.

So far, so good.

It turns out, however, that the Federal Register employees who take in the information for publication from across the government still receive some of it on the 3.5-inch plastic storage squares that have become all but obsolete in the United States.

Now government infrastructure experts are hoping that public embarrassments like the HealthCare.gov debacle will prompt a closer look at the government’s technological prowess, especially if it might mean getting rid of floppy disks.

“You’ve got this antiquated system that still works but is not nearly as efficient as it could be,” said Stan Soloway, chief executive of the Professional Services Council, which represents more than 370 government contractors. “Companies that work with the government, whether longstanding or newcomers, are all hamstrung by the same limitations.”

The use of floppy disks peaked in American homes and offices in the mid-1990s, and modern computers do not even accommodate them anymore. But The Federal Register continues to accept them, in part because legal and security requirements have yet to be updated, but mostly because the wheels of government grind ever slowly.

Davita Vance-Cooks, the head of the Government Printing Office, which prints The Federal Register and publishes it online, spoke at a congressional hearing on Wednesday about her department’s attempts to make its work remain relevant in a post-print world. Despite creating mobile apps, The Federal Register still requires agencies to submit information on paper, with original signatures, though they can create a digital signature via a secured email system.

Agencies are also permitted to submit the documents on CD-ROMs and floppy disks, but not on flash drives or SD cards. “The Federal Register Act says that an agency has to submit the original and two duplicate originals or two certified copies,” said Amy P. Bunk, The Federal Register’s director of legal affairs and policy. As long as an agency does that through one of the approved methods of transmission, she said, “they’ve met the statutory requirement.”

But the secure email system — which uses software called Public Key Infrastructure technology — is expensive, and some government agencies have not yet upgraded to it. As a result, some agencies still scan documents on to a computer and save them on floppy disks. The disks are then sent by courier to the register.

Ms. Bunk said that although many agencies did use the secure email system, The Federal Register could not require it until Congress made it compulsory by law.

“There are limits as to how far we can make the agencies do everything in lock step,” said Jim Bradley, the assistant public printer for the Government Printing Office. Federal budget cuts, he said, had helped slow down any modernization.

“We’ve got to accommodate the funding and everything else,” Mr. Bradley said. “Some agencies move forward with technology, and that’s great. Other agencies aren’t ready to go this year, maybe not next year.”

A spokesman for The Federal Register would not say which agencies still used floppy disks. But at The Register’s office, a modest space on North Capitol Street in sight of the Capitol dome, couriers were recently seen coming in and out as an employee pulled a floppy disk from one package and at least two CD-ROMs from others.

Meanwhile, experts say that an administration that prided itself on its technological savvy has a long way to go in updating the computer technology of the federal government. HealthCare.gov and the floppy disks of The Federal Register, they say, are but two recent examples of a government years behind the private sector in digital innovation.

Mr. Soloway, of the Professional Services Council, said that the government’s technology was also causing it to fall behind in cooperation with the private sector. “It’s undoubtedly inhibiting the expansion” of what corporations are willing to do with the government, Mr. Soloway said. “And it remains an inhibitor for the next generation of companies.”

Correction: December 7, 2013

An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported the agency that oversees The Federal Register. It is the National Archives, not the Government Printing Office. The Government Printing Office prints The Federal Register and publishes it online.

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Re: The www.healthcare.gov site is only a little bit behind the Federal Register (uses 3½'' diskettes)

Posted by SelkirkTMO on Sat Dec 7 13:47:06 2013, in response to The www.healthcare.gov site is only a little bit behind the Federal Register (uses 3½" diskettes), posted by Olog-hai on Sat Dec 7 12:44:39 2013.

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Re: The www.healthcare.gov site is only a little bit ahead of the Federal Register (uses 3½'' diskettes)

Posted by SelkirkTMO on Sat Dec 7 13:51:51 2013, in response to The www.healthcare.gov site is only a little bit ahead of the Federal Register (uses 3½" diskettes), posted by Olog-hai on Sat Dec 7 12:45:17 2013.

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Re: The www.healthcare.gov site is only a little bit behind the Federal Register (uses 3½'' diskettes)

Posted by gp38/r42 chris on Sat Dec 7 13:52:54 2013, in response to The www.healthcare.gov site is only a little bit behind the Federal Register (uses 3½" diskettes), posted by Olog-hai on Sat Dec 7 12:44:39 2013.

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Re: The www.healthcare.gov site is only a little bit behind the Federal Register (uses 3½'' diskettes)

Posted by SelkirkTMO on Sat Dec 7 13:54:09 2013, in response to Re: The www.healthcare.gov site is only a little bit behind the Federal Register (uses 3½'' diskettes), posted by gp38/r42 chris on Sat Dec 7 13:52:54 2013.

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Re: The www.healthcare.gov site is only a little bit ahead of the Federal Register (uses 3½'' diskettes)

Posted by italianstallion on Sat Dec 7 15:26:11 2013, in response to The www.healthcare.gov site is only a little bit ahead of the Federal Register (uses 3½" diskettes), posted by Olog-hai on Sat Dec 7 12:45:17 2013.

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ACA "healthcare" a "hard sell" to Floridians in spite of "big market"

Posted by Olog-hai on Tue Dec 10 18:14:23 2013, in response to Universal Health Care is HERE in these USA! Apply Now. www.healthcare.gov, posted by SMAZ on Tue Oct 1 13:19:06 2013.

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Despite Big Market In Florida, Obamacare Is A Hard Sell

by ERIC WHITNEY
December 10, 2013 3:52 PM

Getting people to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act remains an uphill battle in much of Florida.

Politicians in the state erected roadblocks to the law from the beginning — from joining in the 2010 lawsuit to thwart the law to placing restrictions on what insurance helpers called navigators can tell people seeking advice.

Even so, advocates have been trying to get the word out to an estimated 1.6 million Floridians who qualify for new subsidies to make coverage more affordable. Florida has the second-highest rate of uninsured residents in the U.S., yet it seems many who could benefit the most aren't interested in listening.

The message will be hardest to get across, many say, in the Florida Panhandle, where sandy white beaches on the Gulf Coast back up to vast pine forests. Towns are small and scattered. The area is closer both politically and geographically to neighboring Georgia and Alabama than faraway Miami.

At local events like the recent Florida Forest Festival and the self-proclaimed World's Largest Free Fish Fry in Perry, it's not hard to find people like Elijah Mott, an itinerant heavy equipment operator who says he doesn't know much about the health care law, and that most of what he's heard is bad.

"I think it sucks," he says.

The median household income in this county is about $40,000 a year. Lots of jobs here don't come with health insurance. That means many here like Mott, who doesn't have steady work at the moment, probably qualify for subsidies to help them afford coverage.

But Mott isn't buying the idea that the health law could possibly be good for his family. "I would have to say no," Mott says, "I haven't investigated deep enough to know if there is anything."

Mott and 41-year-old Michael Dees of Mayo, who works in a paper mill, have mostly heard that Obamacare is going to increase the price of health insurance, making it more unaffordable for people like them.

Dees says he expects to be laid off soon, and worries about how he's going to buy coverage for his family.

"Who can afford $700 a month?" he asks. "It's easier to pay for the damn penalty at the end of the year the IRS is going to charge you than pay $500 a month."

Dees says it's news to him that the health law offers people making less than $45,960 a year help paying monthly premiums.

"I really hadn't heard about the subsidy," he says.

Guys like Dees and Mott are exactly who health law advocates like Karen Woodall are trying to reach. A longtime lobbyist for children's and family issues in Florida's capital, Tallahassee, she says it's tough to convince people here that the law might help them.

"It's challenging to overcome messages that are coming out of elected officials' offices and a governor's office," she says.

Florida said no to both the law's Medicaid expansion, and to tens of millions of dollars to advertise new subsidies for those with incomes between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level

Privately funded groups like Enroll America are trying to supply the outreach and education in Florida. That includes partnering with churches like the Sanctuary at Mt. Calvary in urban Jacksonville, on Florida's Atlantic coast about three hours east of Perry.

Pastor John Allen Newman invited Enroll America representatives to address his congregation one recent Sunday. From the pulpit, he warns his flock of several hundred against misinformation he says opponents of the law are spreading.

"People perish for what?" he asks.

"Lack of knowledge," comes the practiced response.

Newman tells congregants that the law helped him get coverage after a large private insurer turned him down because of a pre-existing condition. "This Affordable Care Act is saving lives," he says.

The message hits home with 23-year-old truck driver Anthony Person. "I never knew what it was before until I started coming to this church," Person says. Pastor Newman, he says, "started explaining it to us the way I could understand it."

Person left his contact information at the Enroll America table in the church's lobby to get help signing up for new Obamacare coverage.

"My job is one that does not have the best benefits, so I need health insurance to cover myself," he says.

And then, there are those who might just fall through the cracks.

Back in the Panhandle, Karen Ray wishes subsidies to help working people afford coverage had been available when she was running her small business out of Delray Beach.

"There hasn't been a realization how many people out there are the working poor," she says, "working hard and not getting health care. And just living paycheck to paycheck and hoping nothing goes wrong."

Things went wrong for Ray in a big way after the BP oil spill in 2010.

"I had a beach wedding business, and it kind of went downhill after the oil spill," she says. "I've just been trying to get back on my feet since then."

Even before the oil spill, her business never generated enough income to provide health insurance, says Ray, 60. She used to get coverage through her husband's job.

"I lost my business, and my marriage and my house, at the same time," she says, laughing wryly.

That's left her uninsured. She knows about the law — and she also knows that because she lives in Florida, she is unlikely to benefit from it.

If Ray lived in one of the 25 states expanding Medicaid, she would qualify for new coverage. But because Florida isn't expanding, being poor alone isn't enough to get Medicaid here. Benefits here are reserved primarily for children, pregnant women and the disabled.

And because Ray has no income, she won't qualify for new Affordable Care Act tax credits designed to help the working poor afford private health coverage.

"I could maybe scrounge up the money to go get a mammogram. What if it comes back positive? What happens to me? It's not like you can show up in the emergency and say, 'Ooh! I have an emergency lump!' That won't happen," says Ray.

"I think a lot of us are gonna fall through the cracks," she says, "and I'm very irate about that, very irate about that."

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Re: ACA ''healthcare'' a ''hard sell'' to Floridians in spite of ''big market''

Posted by italianstallion on Tue Dec 10 18:55:02 2013, in response to ACA "healthcare" a "hard sell" to Floridians in spite of "big market", posted by Olog-hai on Tue Dec 10 18:14:23 2013.

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Re: ACA ''healthcare'' a ''hard sell'' to Floridians in spite of ''big market''

Posted by GP38/R42 Chris on Tue Dec 10 18:56:31 2013, in response to Re: ACA ''healthcare'' a ''hard sell'' to Floridians in spite of ''big market'', posted by italianstallion on Tue Dec 10 18:55:02 2013.

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Re: ACA ''healthcare'' a ''hard sell'' to Floridians in spite of ''big market''

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Re: ACA ''healthcare'' a ''hard sell'' to Floridians in spite of ''big market''

Posted by SMAZ on Tue Dec 10 21:54:55 2013, in response to ACA "healthcare" a "hard sell" to Floridians in spite of "big market", posted by Olog-hai on Tue Dec 10 18:14:23 2013.

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Re: ACA ''healthcare'' a ''hard sell'' to Floridians in spite of ''big market''

Posted by 3-9 on Wed Dec 11 06:29:43 2013, in response to Re: ACA ''healthcare'' a ''hard sell'' to Floridians in spite of ''big market'', posted by SMAZ on Tue Dec 10 21:54:55 2013.

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ACA broken promises named "Lie Of The Year" by Politifact; "real hit to (POTUS') credbility"

Posted by Olog-hai on Fri Dec 13 00:53:38 2013, in response to Universal Health Care is HERE in these USA! Apply Now. www.healthcare.gov, posted by SMAZ on Tue Oct 1 13:19:06 2013.

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Obama health care promise named 'Lie of the Year'

December 12, 2013

Fact-checking organization Politifact has named their “Lie of the Year,” and it’s bad news for the White House and the Affordable Care Act.

President Barack Obama’s often-repeated assertion that “If you like your health care plan, you can keep it,” won the ignominious honor for 2013, the group announced.

In a blog post, Politifact — which is affiliated with the Tampa Bay Times — said Obama’s promise was “impossible to keep” and has resulted in a “real hit to his credibility.”

“So this fall, as cancellation letters were going out to approximately 4 million Americans, the public realized Obama’s breezy assurances were wrong,” editor Angie Drobnic Holan wrote. “Boiling down the complicated health care law to a soundbite proved treacherous, even for its promoter-in-chief. Obama and his team made matters worse, suggesting they had been misunderstood all along.”

She added that readers in an online poll “overwhelmingly” agreed with the decision.

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Re: ACA broken promises named ''Lie Of The Year'' by Politifact; ''real hit to (POTUS') credbility''

Posted by SelkirkTMO on Fri Dec 13 01:17:34 2013, in response to ACA broken promises named "Lie Of The Year" by Politifact; "real hit to (POTUS') credbility", posted by Olog-hai on Fri Dec 13 00:53:38 2013.

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Re: ACA broken promises named ''Lie Of The Year'' by Politifact; ''real hit to (POTUS') credbility''

Posted by DAnD124 on Fri Dec 13 01:31:06 2013, in response to ACA broken promises named "Lie Of The Year" by Politifact; "real hit to (POTUS') credbility", posted by Olog-hai on Fri Dec 13 00:53:38 2013.

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Re: ACA broken promises named ''Lie Of The Year'' by Politifact; ''real hit to (POTUS') credbility''

Posted by Olog-hai on Fri Dec 13 01:45:59 2013, in response to Re: ACA broken promises named ''Lie Of The Year'' by Politifact; ''real hit to (POTUS') credbility'', posted by DAnD124 on Fri Dec 13 01:31:06 2013.

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Access Health CT website chock-full of misinformation (touted as ACA success story by WH)

Posted by Olog-hai on Fri Dec 13 02:33:53 2013, in response to Universal Health Care is HERE in these USA! Apply Now. www.healthcare.gov, posted by SMAZ on Tue Oct 1 13:19:06 2013.

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Misinformation Marred First Month Of State Health Website

By Louisa Moller
10:40 p.m. EST, December 11, 2013

More than 2,400 Connecticut customers who bought health plans on Access Health CT were given incorrect information about their insurance plans, in one case underestimating the maximum out-of-pocket by at least $4,000.

The website for Access Health CT, the state's new health exchange, had incorrect information online about deductibles and co-insurance impacting all 19 individual health plans from the three insurance companies that offer those plans through the exchange: Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Connecticut, ConnectiCare, and HealthyCT. The 12 small-group plans were unaffected.

Access Health CT would not say how the problem started, or who was responsible. The exchange did say that the problem was discovered in late September and was fixed by Oct. 30.

The exchange said a letter was mailed to 2,408 people who bought plans from the starting date of Oct. 1. A spokeswoman did not respond to a request Wednesday for the number of enrollees who changed their plans after receiving the letter.

Access Health CT said in its letter that benefits listed on the shopping screen were inaccurately described and in some cases incomplete. For example, it said, cost-sharing for out-of-network benefits should apply only after the deductible is met.

"Another was pharmacy tiers were not labeled appropriately," Access Health CT spokesperson Kathleen Tallarita said in an email Wednesday. She emphasized that prices for the plans were not in error.

The website problem runs counter to a national narrative that Connecticut's exchange has been held up as a model case for how the Affordable Care Act marketplaces should work. President Barack Obama singled out the plan as a positive example at an event at the White House Rose Garden in October.

Keith Stover, a lobbyist and spokesman for the Connecticut Association of Health Plans, said he thinks the inaccuracies are troubling but not surprising given the complexities of a system-wide overhaul of the nation's health system.

"I think we have a tendency given what the national debate has been over the last few months, to assume that every glitch is a catastrophe," Stover said.

John Javaruski, a 62-year-old retired actuary from Farmington, said he received a letter dated Nov. 1 after he signed up for an Anthem plan with a $2,000 out-of-pocket maximum and zero deductible. According to the revised schedule of benefits attached to the letter, Javaruski's plan jumped to $6,250 out of pocket and a $3,000 deductible.

"The thing I worry about is a lot of those 2,400 people may not know that they had to read that letter and take it seriously. And, I'm thinking Access Health Connecticut owes it to those people to at least give them a quick phone call," Javaruski said.

Courant staff writer Matthew Sturdevant contributed to this story.

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Re: Access Health CT website chock-full of misinformation (touted as ACA success story by WH)

Posted by Dan Lawrence on Fri Dec 13 07:57:07 2013, in response to Access Health CT website chock-full of misinformation (touted as ACA success story by WH), posted by Olog-hai on Fri Dec 13 02:33:53 2013.

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Re: Millennials turning against Affordable Care Act, trending less Democratic: Harvard poll

Posted by Olog-hai on Fri Dec 13 13:02:05 2013, in response to Re: Millennials turning against Affordable Care Act, trending less Democratic: Harvard poll, posted by SelkirkTMO on Wed Dec 4 21:42:41 2013.

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Re: Millennials turning against Affordable Care Act, trending less Democratic: Harvard poll

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Re: ACA broken promises named ''Lie Of The Year'' by Politifact; ''real hit to (POTUS') credbility''

Posted by italianstallion on Fri Dec 13 22:12:13 2013, in response to ACA broken promises named "Lie Of The Year" by Politifact; "real hit to (POTUS') credbility", posted by Olog-hai on Fri Dec 13 00:53:38 2013.

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Re: Access Health CT website chock-full of misinformation (touted as ACA success story by WH)

Posted by italianstallion on Fri Dec 13 22:15:08 2013, in response to Access Health CT website chock-full of misinformation (touted as ACA success story by WH), posted by Olog-hai on Fri Dec 13 02:33:53 2013.

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Federal judge: Catholic groups can't be forced to implement ACA contraception mandate

Posted by Olog-hai on Wed Dec 18 02:08:41 2013, in response to Universal Health Care is HERE in these USA! Apply Now. www.healthcare.gov, posted by SMAZ on Tue Oct 1 13:19:06 2013.

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Brooklyn federal judge says Catholic groups don’t have to assist in providing third party contraceptive care

Judge Brian Cogan issued a permanent injunction exempting four organizations with ties to the Roman Catholic Church from complying with a rule to provide its employees with contraceptive health care coverage through a third party. There are at least 75 similar lawsuits filed around the country.

BY JOHN MARZULLI / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
PUBLISHED: MONDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2013, 2:28 PM
UPDATED: MONDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2013, 2:28 PM

A Brooklyn federal judge has handed religious groups a huge victory in the war over contraceptive care.

Judge Brian Cogan issued a permanent injunction Monday exempting four organizations with ties to the Roman Catholic Church from complying with a rule to provide their employees with contraceptive health care coverage through a third party.

The decision affects more than 25,000 employees at two high schools, six hospitals, three nursing homes and several nonprofits in the metropolitan area.

The lawsuit, filed last year, challenged an accommodation to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act allowing groups that object to the requirement that health insurance plans cover contraception and related services fill out a form so employees can get that care through a third party.

Cogan granted the relief to the four plaintiffs, which had argued that merely requiring them to fill out a form stating they should be exempt from the mandate for religious reasons forces them to be complicit in a “scheme” to arrange a third-party provider of contraceptive services.

Roughly 75 similar lawsuits have been filed nationwide by nonprofits and religious groups seeking relief from the mandate, said Jennifer Lee, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union.

Lee said this is the first permanent injunction issued by a federal judge to her knowledge.

Cogan dismissed government lawyers’ argument that filling out the form is not a big deal and doesn't place a burden on the plaintiffs’ religion.

“They (the plaintiffs) consider this to be an endorsement of such coverage; to them, the self-certification compels affirmation of a repugnant belief,” Cogan wrote in a 41-page decision released Monday. “It is not for this Court to say otherwise.”

The plaintiffs are Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx, Monsignor Farrell High School in Staten Island, the ArchCare group of nonprofits that provide health care to the poor and disabled, and Catholic Health Services of Long Island, which oversees six hospitals, three nursing homes and a hospice.

“While religious liberty is fundamental, it does not give employers the right to impose their beliefs on employees by denying contraceptive coverage and discriminating against their women employees,” Lee said.

The U.S. Justice Department can appeal Cogan’s ruling.

The Archdiocese of New York applauded the ruling for upholding “religious freedom rights.”

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Re: Federal judge: Catholic groups can't be forced to implement ACA contraception mandate

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Re: Federal judge: Catholic groups can't be forced to implement ACA contraception mandate

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Re: Federal judge: Catholic groups can't be forced to implement ACA contraception mandate

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Re: Federal judge: Catholic groups can't be forced to implement ACA contraception mandate

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Re: Federal judge: Catholic groups can't be forced to implement ACA contraception mandate

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Re: Federal judge: Catholic groups can't be forced to implement ACA contraception mandate

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Re: Federal judge: Catholic groups can't be forced to implement ACA contraception mandate

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Re: Federal judge: Catholic groups can't be forced to implement ACA contraception mandate

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Re: Federal judge: Catholic groups can't be forced to implement ACA contraception mandate

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Re: Federal judge: Catholic groups can't be forced to implement ACA contraception mandate

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Re: Federal judge: Catholic groups can't be forced to implement ACA contraception mandate

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"Pajama Boy" not helping the ACA; inspires scorn, ridicule; sets Twitter on fire

Posted by Olog-hai on Thu Dec 19 05:28:34 2013, in response to Universal Health Care is HERE in these USA! Apply Now. www.healthcare.gov, posted by SMAZ on Tue Oct 1 13:19:06 2013.

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Obamacare’s bespectacled, curly haired hipster in a flannel onesie draws scorn from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie

Known as 'Pajama boy' the model wears glasses and a flannel onesie both praised as 'snazzy' and derided as 'desperate.' But the real question is whether curly haired spokesman can help turn around public perception of the Affordable Care Act.

BY LESLIE LARSON / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
PUBLISHED: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2013, 9:20 AM
UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2013, 3:15 PM

The bullied Obamacare girl from the insurance website has been replaced and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is among the critics ridiculing the program's latest poster child.

The new face of health care reform is a bespectacled, curly haired hipster who embraces holiday cheer as he encourages young people to join the conversation about the Affordable Care Act.

The young man dons a flannel onesie and cradles a mug of hot cocoa to promote the #GetTalking hashtag, an effort to start the conversation about the changes in health care during the holidays, in one ad released on Barack Obama's Twitter account.

Yet another promo shows the model dressed in an ugly Christmas sweater, festive socks and reclining on a leather sofa.

So far the star of the effort is being referred to as "Pajama Boy" and has received mixed reviews on social media.

Some Twitter trolls praised the merriment and his "snazzy pajamas" while others chided the promotional effort as "desperate."

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took a swipe at the lounging lad, tweeting that people should "get out of your pajamas" and get to work to serve the underprivileged.

Fronting the President's health care program is not for the faint of heart.

The woman whose face appeared on the Obamacare website during in the initial rollout was ridiculed and said she felt bullied and intimidated during the backlash over the website's technical glitches.

"I don't know why people should hate me because it's just a photo. I didn't design the website. I didn't make it fail, so I don't think they should have any reasons to hate me," the woman, only identified as Adriana, told ABC News in November.

Her image has since been removed from the website.

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Federal judge grants 187 evangelical groups relief from ACA birth control mandate

Posted by Olog-hai on Fri Dec 20 21:56:35 2013, in response to Federal judge: Catholic groups can't be forced to implement ACA contraception mandate, posted by Olog-hai on Wed Dec 18 02:08:41 2013.

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December 20, 2013, 06:13 pm

Court deals new blow to birth-control mandate

By Ben Goad

A federal court on Friday granted almost 200 evangelical ministries relief from the Affordable Care Act’s so-called birth control mandate.

The ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma is the latest in a series of legal blows to the healthcare law’s requirement that workers be offered contraception as part of their employers' insurance coverage.

Under the ruling, 187 non-exempt religious groups that offer insurance through GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention are now protected from the mandate while their case proceeds.

“This is an overwhelming victory for GuideStone and the nearly 200 plaintiffs in this class-action lawsuit,” said Adèle Keim, an attorney for GuideStone. “Today’s ruling will allow hundreds of Baptist ministries to continue preaching the Gospel and serving the poor this Christmas, without laboring under the threat of massive fines.”

The mandate would have otherwise kicked in for the ministries on January 1, forcing them to either to begin offering contraceptive coverage or face penalties.

The ministries object to four out of twenty FDA-approved contraceptives, including the “morning after pill” and the “week after pill.”

To date, there are currently 89 lawsuits challenging the unconstitutional HHS mandate, according to plaintiffs in the case.

Earlier this year, the Christian-owned craft chain Hobby Lobby won a victory in the 10^th Circuit Court of Appeals after arguing that it should not be forced to offer its employees health insurance that covers birth control,

The case was a major victory for opponents of the requirement, who say that it compels employers who object to contraception to violate their principles.

The Oklahoma court cited that cases in Friday’s ruling, concluding that the defendant — the Department of Health and Human Services — was relying on the same flawed arguments.

“Upon consideration, the Court finds Defendants’ argument to be simply another variation of a proposition rejected by the court of appeals in Hobby Lobby,” the court found.

Ultimately, the matter is widely expected to by decided by the Supreme Court, which agreed last month to hear a challenge to the mandate.

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