Trust But Verify

Trust but verify.

Ronald Reagan, 1987

Healthcare.gov has yet to verify itself.  So President Obama still has a problem – public distrust. A CNN/ORC poll, just released, finds only 53% find Obama trustworthy and honest.

Much of this distrust stems from those twin fiascos – the botched rollout and accompanying health plan cancellations. The improvements in the website, announced yesterday,  do not resolve the trust issue. 

Yes,  the website is more consumer friendly.  You can sign in quicker.   But for the most part, you can’t enroll and pick the plan you want.

 And health plans can’t verify who you are, who your new doctor and hospital will be,  what your new rates will be compared to your old plan, and whether your personal information will be protected.

You may be able to enroll by December 23, the drop dead date,  but your insurer may not know you are on board.  You may be  an orphan in a brave new health care world. You may not know if you’re covered next year or if you remain in health care limbo.

To sum up,  the front end of the website works better but the back end doesn’t.  The website may work better,  yet  it doesn’t work from end-to-end, and whole process may be unworkable.  

It’s a “dramatic improvement, “ asserts Kathleen Sibelious,  the Obama’s girl Friday at CMS. 

But “dramatic” may be “anticlimactic” if you still don’t know what your future holds.

It’s a classic dilemma.  You want to trust healthcare.gov but those health plans can’t verify.  The White House is declaring victory, and David Plouffle (rhymes with shuffle and kerfuffle ) says not to worry, ObamaCare will work really well by 2017.  Where does that leave you for 2014?

Please, Mr. President,  Trust but verify what your associates and true events are telling  you.

Tweet:  Healthcare.com is improved, we are told. You can now sign on quickly.  However, you can’t verify what you need to know to pick a plan.