This Video Explains Why HealthCare.gov Is a Dream Compared To the Private Insurance Market

As a supporter of health insurance reform I count myself among those who were initially thwarted at opening an account on Healthcare.gov to look for insurance for my son. The initial software glitches have been well documented. I decided to give it a week or two to resume my quest knowing that much of the problems had to do with the high volume of users attempting to access the system and that as with any software roll out the bugs would be corrected in due course. Nevertheless I admit to being disappointed.

Recently an article appeared on many of our local Patches, including this one, titled "This Video Explains Why Healthcare.gov Is a Nightmare". I made the mistake of skimming this headline without reading the story, assuming it was loaded with a fresh barrage of anecdotal evidence attempting to prove what a "train wreck"  the implementation of the Affordable Care Act has been.

Headline skimming is never a good idea so after seeing this particular headline hang around for several days I grudgingly decided to read the article preparing to be further demoralized. Much to my surprise as I watched the video to it's conclusion it was obvious that the videographer's intent was to prove that while he had experienced some minor frustrations with Healthcare.gov, his experience there was "dramatically better" than his attempt to purchase insurance in the private market. This is the exact opposite of what the headline proclaimed in it's theatrically dire tone.

I also found it odd that this particular article was presented as News and had been imported from the Windsor Terrace-Kensington Patch in New York state. It seems likely someone else may have been guilty of a little headline skimming too. As soon as I realized all of this I did what any conscientious news consumer would do and pointed it out in a comment to the misleading article. Then the darnedest thing happened.

Within minutes of my comment the article had vanished from the front page. At least from my local affiliate. Fortunately the original article can still be found deeper in the News section. Of course I realize that this timing is probably completely coincidental. Anyway, I felt compelled to write this post so that other headline skimmers might know the truth of the matter.  Don't take my word for it, I encourage you to read the article and watch the video. Then decide for yourselves.