...and the (Obamacare) nightmare continues

Time for an update to my quest for health insurance under Obamacare:

As of January first 2014 my family is uninsured. After talking to and corresponding with numerous people in the department of health and human services (HHS), it appears the federal government simply has no mechanism for forwarding healthcare application information to the state of Arizona. The fact that I had successfully completed an application at www.healthcare.gov on 21 November 2013 doesn't matter. The system is not broken - it doesn't even exist.

Finally, on January 5th, I managed to complete the application process again, this time directly through the state of Arizona. Within a few minutes I received a status update. Myself and 2 other family members "Potentially eligible for advanced premium Tax Credit - Application Transferred to www.healthcare.gov. Really?!? So...the feds have no mechanism to transfer this information to Arizona, but Arizona can transfer the application back to the feds??? My oldest daughter, 19, was "Potentially eligible for AHCCCS (Arizona Heal Care Cost Containment System) Medical assistance Effective January 2014." So...now i may be able to (eventually) buy health insurance for my family through the marketplace, but not for my eldest daughter as she may be eligible for medicaid? Emailed my "favorite"  HHS caseworker (again) along with a screenshot of the summary. Not much of a response there. Not surprised at this point.

January 5th:

January 6th - updated status (((?))):

A day later I checked the Arizona site for updates and found all 4 of us listed as "AHCCCS Medical Assistance Effective January 2014 - Decision Pending Review" and listed the program as sliding scale fee 143%. I called the people at  AHCCCS and after only an hour and a half on hold, was able to speak to a person. The operator was trying to be optimistic and helpful, but was not able to answer any of my questions. Why is it I can complete the application process and your system won't let me verify my account using my information? Are you really able to forward the application to the federal website? Why did the status change from may be eligible for tax credit to AHCCCS effective January 2014? What do you mean a decision could take up to 45 days? What does the status change mean? I specifically requested electronic communication in my preferences, what do you mean you mailed a letter? After not being able to tell me anything meaningful she transferred the call to a level 3 agent.

After only about another 20 minutes on hold I got to speak to the level 3. Again, not a single meaningful answer to be had. So, after very close to 2 hours on hold to speak with level 2 and level 3 specialists, the only 2 things that I am quite clear on is that the healthcare.gov web site cannot transfer data to Arizona and that Arizona can take up to 45 days to make a decision.

Even tried writing my congressman, Ron Barber. the only response from his office has evidently been to add me to his bulk mailing list even though I requested to not receive those emails. Mr Barber and his staff may not remember my email, but rest assured, my family and I will remember the complete and utter lack of response when he is up for election again.

On the bright side - I just made my last 2013 healthcare insurance premium payment a few days ago. But while I'll see more money on each paycheck starting in late January I've still got a family of 4 with no healthcare insurance.

~Happy New Year~