Sometimes, the private sector DOES do it better

There's a lot of nonsense about competition and how it makes everything better. Competition makes the under-performers fail, which may not matter much if you are buying soap, but is another matter altogether if you are talking about your community school. But, to be fair, sometimes the private sector does do a lot better.

I hate to admit it, but Vermont's version of Obamacare is one case. If you want to sign up for private health insurance, you can fill out the forms in 15-30 minutes, and you've got it. If you want to sign up at Vermont Health Connect, it will take a little longer. I spent an hour or two trying to figure out which plan was right for me. Then I spent an hour filling out the online forms.

"How many persons are in your household?" 3

 "Enter their names. To add another name, click add another name." Brian Carrie Isabelle
"Which of these persons are eligible to apply for insurance?" Brian Carrie Isabelle
"Which of these persons are applying for insurance?" Brian Carrie Isabelle
"Is 123 Main St the address of your primary residence?" Yes
"Does Brian reside at 123 Main St?" Yes
"Does Carrie reside at 123 Main St?" Yes
"Does Isabelle reside at 123 Main St?" Yes

Then I hit a snag:

"Did any of these people lose health insurance in the past 60 days?" Yes.
"Which of these people lost health insurance?" Brian
"When did Brian lose health insurance?" June 30
"ERROR: That date is in the future. Please enter a date in the past."

So I called the help line. Sorry, they're closed, have to call back between 8 and 5.

So I called the next day at lunch. "The process will take 45 minutes to an hour, and can't be continued. If we can't finish, you have to start from the beginning. Do you have 45 minutes to an hour?" No. Who has an hour free between 8 and 5?

"Can I apply before I've lost my insurance?" Yes, absolutely.

Next day, another hour on the website. "Did any of these people lose health insurance in the past 60 days?" No, not in the past.

Confirm this information is correct. Yes.

You are eligible for a policy but not for the premium assistance.

"Why not?" No reason.

Call the help desk. "Because you still have insurance." "But I won't, I'm losing it." "Okay. Do you want me to update the information in your application?" "Yes." "Okay. How did you answer half of the questions on the form, which I will now read to you." "Okay."

By this time, I am literally dozing while she types in my answers.

"I'm having technical difficulties, one moment please."

Doze. Dream. No, wake up, if she starts talking and you are asleep she'll hang up! Oh...

One hour later. "Okay, I've put in all the corrections, but I'm having a technical problem on every question. But I've got all the information, and I've referred it to our data team. They hope to have everything resolved in two billing cycles."

What's a billing cycle? "About a month."

So they hope to have me signed up by August 1. I need my insurance July 1.

You can try re-entering the information online, or call back another day.

I have been signing up for health insurance for 4 hours now. And I still don't have it.