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Sunday, October 6, 2013

I think this is about what you would expect

The mainstream media, ever since the launch of Obamacare on October 1, has been desperate to find success stories, people who didn't have insurance before but found  affordable, easily accessed insurance that suited their needs, just like the president promised.

Fail.

After searching high and low, they found one:
On October 1, Chad Henderson successfully signed up for a health care exchange as part of the Affordable Care Act. He was instantly catapulted into the national spotlight as the White House and every single media outlet in America sought to both confirm his story and celebrate his success. 
Media folks were excited. They followed Chad like a bitch in heat:
I’ve now been interviewed by The Wall Street JournalWashington Post,Chattanooga Times Free Press, The Huffington Post, Enroll America, and POLITICO!! Those stories will be published in the coming days. I have a press conference call with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services later tonight. Also, local folks….. my interview with Kimberly Barbour Wrcb-tv will be aired TONIGHT at 5:30pm on WRCB Channel 3 Eyewitness News so be sure to check it out thanks for all your support! 
Oddly enough,  there arose doubts about whether Chad was legit:
Once in, Henderson said, he purchased two policies -- one for himself, and one for his father. He could have gone on his father’s insurance, at a heavily subsidized rate, because his father makes $24,000 a year selling shave ice. But “he's old school, so he wants me to take responsibility," the younger Henderson told HuffPo. Henderson said he purchased a $175 bronze plan for himself. Since he makes only $7,000 a year, that’s a big sacrifice. If Georgia had passed the Medicaid expansion, he could have gone on Medicaid for free, but Georgia, like most Republican states, declined. Ironically, his father, who has a much higher income, is eligible for the tax subsidies. Chad said his dad would be paying $250 a month.
But there was some weirdness about the story. In the run-up, many reports said that the exchanges were going live at 8 a.m. on Tuesday -- how was it that the only person anyone could find who had bought insurance managed to get in five hours early? Not impossible -- the servers could have been brought up early, or the reports could have been wrong -- but lots of people had been trying to log in starting at midnight, and no one else had gotten through. Yet Henderson had apparently created not one but two accounts. And why, if he had gotten insurance at 3 a.m., did he wait more than half a day to tweet about it?
This morning, Reason magazine reporter Peter Suderman -- aka the Official Blog Spouse --spoke with Bill Henderson, Chad’s father.
Bill Henderson told me that both he and his son were interested in getting coverage, but that he had not enrolled in any plan yet, and to his knowledg neither had his son. He also said that when they do enroll, getting the most coverage for the least money would be the goal, and that he expects that he and his son will get coverage under the same plan.
The local Blue Cross website says that the cheapest bronze plan available in Chad Henderson’s county costs more than $225 without subsidies, even for a 21-year old. Meanwhile, the price quoted for his father is too high -- with subsidies, Obamacare's subsidy formulas say, his policy should cost no more than 6.61 percent of his income, or about $130 a month. A subsidy calculator shows that he could add Chad to that policy for at most another $90 a month.
So, maybe Chad wasn't just a guy who was enjoying the bounty that is Obamacare. Maybe Chad is an Obama For America volunteer:
UPDATE: It turns out Henderson’s knowledge of OFA was not the result of his astuteness or political acumen. According to his LinkedIn profile, he is a current OFA volunteer. Maybe those many media outlets who spoke with him will make note of this seemingly relevant fact.
Maybe "volunteer" doesn't mean what it used to. Ace finds that Chad is maybe making a little change on the side from being such an Obamaphile:
So who's the bad guy here? Chad Henderson was not coy about his passionate support of Barack Obama, or his volunteer (???) position with OFA.
And here, he says "Something you should know about me..." and then discloses he's paid to post advocacy stuff.
All emphases added. And the (sic)'s, of course.  
I'm often labeled "the guy who always talks about politics" and it normally has negative effects lol so I'm here to clear things up: If you were to hang out with me one night and you'll see (sic) I'm not that obsessed with politics at all. Yes, I do post political stuff on here and other social networking sites. But it's for a good reason. For one, I think it's good if people get some insight into the world they live in. Secondly, I work for an organization that pays me quarterly to posts (sic) the political stuff as "advocacy" (so it's kind of my job). 
So, Chad, apparently the only man in America to successfully sign up for Obamacare on the first day, is a liar and a paid Obama shill. Surprised, anyone?

Hat tip to AceHot Air. They gave me the links I followed.

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