Thanks to the [Compulsory] Affordable Care Act ([C]ACA) 129 million Americans nationwide can no longer be denied health coverage because of pre-existing conditions such as cancer, asthma or diabetes. In New Mexico, 862,000 individuals including 122,000 children will finally be protected from discrimination based on their health status.

Sam Bregman, Chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico (DPNM) commented:

“New Mexicans can finally have peace of mind that they won’t get dropped by their insurance or be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions. Ensuring that millions of Americans have this security should be a priority for lawmakers in Washington.

Unfortunately Republicans across the country are determined to see this healthcare law fail at any cost. If they get their way those 862,000 New Mexicans and 129 million Americans will go back to living without health care or paying exorbitant amounts for high deductible, low quality coverage that doesn’t fit their needs.

Instead of boycotting and trying to repeal a law that is working for New Mexicans and giving people quality, affordable healthcare, Rep. Steve Pearce and the Republican Party need to get back to working on important issues pending that are affecting our country – comprehensive immigration reform, the farm bill and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).”

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But contrary to what the Democratic Party of New Mexico is saying, New Mexicans are finding [C]ACA aka Obamacare to be one big mess.

SANTA FE — The Obama administration insists the troubled healthcare.gov website is working better, but a 60-year-old lawyer from Los Lunas says his application for individual coverage has been stuck in limbo for more than two months.

“This thing (healthcare.gov ) does not do what it’s supposed to do at all,” Guy Dicharry told New Mexico Watchdog. “I’m frustrated because this thing was not ready. The whole system is not working; it’s not working for me.”

A self-employed attorney who also works as a part-time registered nurse, Dicharry and his wife were happy with their old health coverage, which cost $317 a month with $5,000 deductibles for each person and vision and dental coverage.

But under the requirements of the Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as Obamacare, the couple’s coverage through Presbyterian Healthcare Services was canceled because it did not meet the more robust standards of the ACA.

Dicharry says his new plan through Presbyterian will cost three times more. He believes he’s eligible for federal subsidies to help lower those premiums, but his application has not gone through, even though he has logged onto healthcare.gov repeatedly since Oct. 5.

The problem appears to be that the website is unable to verify Dicharry’s identification.

Repeatedly, Dicharry says he receives messages like this one:

“I keep waiting for them to send me an email saying, we’ve confirmed your identity,” said Dicharry, who said he originally supported the aims of Obamacare. “It shouldn’t be that hard to do. I’m 60 years old and I’ve been filing income tax returns since I was 15.”

The clock is ticking.

Old policies like Dicharry’s expire at the end of the year, and applications must be approved by the federal government by Dec. 23 to go into effect Jan. 1.

“If I go from having health insurance for 20, 30 years, getting my coverage canceled and to now go to being on the verge of being uninsured (it’s frustrating),” Dicharry said. “I’m going through everything they wanted me to go through.”

Cross-posted from watchdog.org.

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Only 4,000 people, less than 1% of the entire state’s population, have signed up on the NMHIX website.  

The Democratic Party of New Mexico should take a look at the NMHIX Facebook page.  It is filled with confused and frustrated New Mexicans.  We are fed up.  New Mexicans do not need this CACA!

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