Health Reform Online

WebMD this morning has news of a video starring President Obama that gives an overview of the website healthcare.gov which is designed to give an overview of the benefits of the health reform law. A quick glance at the website shows that its main consumer function is a state-specific portal to get health insurance quotes and ways to determine if you are eligible for transitional assistance via the uninsurable/high risk poll monies until pre-existing conditions will be banned and the state-specific insurance markets fully operational in 2014.

Also, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of North Carolina has a new health reform in NC website. Roughly speaking, the one the Prez is talking about is designed to make clear what the new reform law has done, both immediately and in the near future. The BCBS NC one is designed to mostly say what the law hasn't done (enough to deal with costs, and has too weak an individual mandate) but it is in the guise of we will work it out with you, and does also identify what they (BCBSNC) consider to be the positives of reform (namely expanded access to insurance coverage). More on these sites later as I have a chance to look them over.