Covered California Navigator Program: Fill & Download for Free

You simply do what everyone else does: How Do I Sign Up for Obamacare in California?The easiest way to sign up for a health plan under the Affordable Care Act is to go to the online health insurance marketplace for California. If you're not ready to enroll right now, you can get more information online, over the phone, or in person.Where's the California Health Care Exchange?You can find the health insurance exchange for California at Covered California. This is where you can learn about the various health insurance options available to you under Obamacare. If you see a plan you like, you'll be guided through the enrollment process online. Or, if you prefer, you can download and complete a paper application.You might not see any mention of Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act when you visit the exchange website, but rest assured you’ve landed in the right place. The exchange was established solely for the purpose of informing consumers about the Affordable Care Act and providing plans under the law.Getting In-Person Help with EnrollmentIn California, if you need help understanding your options for coverage under Obamacare or signing up for a plan, you can get free assistance from a certified enrollment counselor, certified insurance agent, or from a “navigator” at a local human services agency.According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, navigators “provide unbiased information to consumers about health insurance, the new Health Insurance Marketplace, qualified health plans, and public programs including Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.”Navigators and certified counselors aren’t allowed to recommend a plan for you. Rather, they can explain your options, answer your questions, and help you apply for the plan you choose. Private insurance agents or brokers can also help you understand your health care coverage options under Obamacare. Unlike government-trained navigators and counselors, they are allowed to suggest the best plan for you.To find in-person help in California, go to Get Help at Covered California. You can then search for a navigator, certified enrollment counselor, or certified agent in your area.Getting Help Online or by PhoneIf you want to get answers online or over the phone, Covered California offers the following options:Online chat. Click here to initiate an online chat with a support representative.Telephone support. The toll-free number for Covered California is 1-800-300-1506. If you are hearing impaired, please call the TTY line: 888-889-4500.Service Center hours ar 8AM to 8PM Monday through Friday and 8AM to 6PM on Saturdays.

We could tell you, but then we'd . . . be in violation of a non-disclosure agreement.That said, I will share some of my thoughts without straying into the confidential portions. I know various portions are in the open domain already through autobiographies and the like. I take the NDA seriously not because I'm worried they'll come after me or something, but because SERE is an excellent and important training program that substantially depends upon those in training not knowing what to expect.I attended the Navy's two-week SERE school in December 2009 before deploying with a Marine Reconnaissance Battalion to Afghanistan in 2010. Other services have their own versions and I am not entirely sure how much they differ. Our class was a mix of Marine and Navy personnel. The Marines were mostly from the Reconnaissance and MARSOC communities while the Navy personnel ranged from air crew to EOD to SEALs (while the SEALs developed their own SERE program at some point, they still send some of their personnel through the Navy's program). The training is broken into two segments: the first week is classroom instruction and the second week is application in the field.The instruction covered our legal and ethical obligations as members of the American military in various types of hostile control scenarios: ranging from a POW camp in WWII (i.e. The Great Escape) to being captured by rogue hostiles (Black Hawk Down) or terrorists (Homeland)). We were also taught various strategies to employ while being interrogated. The week of instruction was very laid back throughout.The week of field application was a mix of low intensity learning to high intensity "application" all heightened by continual food and sleep deprivation. Also, they limit everyone to entirely insufficient warming gear for high altitude California in December. We were taught various types of wilderness survival and basic land navigation (mainly for the air crew types). This part was actually pretty enjoyable for those who were used to operating in harsh conditions. The material was interesting and the great outdoors beats an office any day, the gnawing hunger, unyielding cold, and insufficient sleep notwithstanding. The field learning portion soon gave way to the field application portion, which included increasing degrees of exertion, stress, disorientation, and pain.Without giving too much away, we had the opportunity to apply what we had learned in surprisingly realistic scenarios. When you read about the "enhanced interrogation techniques" adopted after 9/11 against enemy combatants (some of which have since been discontinued), they were adapted from the techniques that had long been in use in SERE school. My class was one of the first* after water-boarding was discontinued. We were actually disappointed, which will seem crazy to some and understandable to others. Nevertheless, the remaining techniques were designed to disorient, break-down, isolate, and exploit us in our weakened state. Regardless of how successfully you apply what you've learned, everyone is pretty miserable.When the training finally ended, they gave us a brief about the physical and even mental/emotional injuries that we were likely to have. They told us that nightmares and hallucinations were likely the first night or two but that if they, or the physical pain, continued that we should let them know. I didn't think I had any hallucinations but my wife begged to differ. Everyone lost substantial weight. I think 10 lbs for me. To prevent us from gorging ourselves right away, they eased us back onto food for a day before we were left to our own devices.One of the best things about the Marine Corps is that it makes you appreciate the little things in life. Being warm. Sleeping in a bed. Having a hot meal. Most Americans don't stop to appreciate or enjoy these luxuries throughout the day. But after an experience like SERE (or really most of the other training schools I attended ranging from OCS to the Infantry Officer Course to parts of the Basic Reconnaissance Course), it's impossible not to savor the simple and wonderful things that we otherwise take for granted.*See the comment below indicating that a class six months before mine did not include water-boarding.

No Matter the Purchase Price, I know I will Never Own a Maserati Again.Look at this amazing Maserati Quattroporte; a beautiful touring sedan…72.2% depreciation, about a $97,178 difference between New and Used…WHY? One Answer Maybe…The Service DepartmentPublic Humiliation: Destroying a new Maserati Quattroporte in PublicA man in China, so distraught over the cost of service (I believe the bill was less than $400) hired a gang to destroy his new Maserati in front of a crowd entering the Auto Show. He was upset about the quality of the build, believed the Chinese people deserved better. His public display was carried worldwide.I understand. I sued the manufacturer over my Maserati. And won.My Personal Story: Why I Sued the Manufacturer and How I Won.(Warning: Contains Car Enthusiast lingo Urban Dictionary: Car Enthusiast)Maserati practically invented the “GT” almost 75 years ago. The history of racing, Formula 1 massive success. These cars were historic, amazing, and the feeling of Adventure…I got a job offer to work for Lucas Film. Dream job. How to celebrate? Buy a dream car, of course. My wife needed a new car and to celebrate, we bought a Maserati.Growing up, I Always Loved the Maserati as a Beautiful Supercar Underdog…The year was 1990 Following the Iraq invasion of Kuwait Desert Shield Begins as the United States and the UK send troops to Kuwait. The US enters a bad recession which will have repercussions over the next few years throughout the world. "The Simpsons " is seen for the first time on FOX TV. Following the Berlin Wall falling East and West Germany reunite. Tim Berners-Lee publishes the first web page on the WWW and it is proven that there is a hole in the Ozone Layer above the North Pole, also the First in-car GPS Satellite Navigation System goes on sale from Pioneer. AND Maserati builds a more affordable roadster!Now, there was one within reach. Lee Iaccoca who was responsible for the Mustang, Carole Shelby, and the Ford GT program (See Ford vs. Ferrari…excellent car movie)had bought Maserati as Chrysler's CEO and made the Maserati TC! Iacocca again teamed up with Maserati's Alejandro de Tomaso…(they created the Pantera together) What a team! This car will have to be exceptional! Image, producing a “breakthrough sporty coupe”; the Maserati/Chrysler TC! Its engine was a 250-hp, 16-valve Maserati engineered Mitsubishi-built 3.0-liter V-6.We bought this…The two-seater had a hard and soft-top (like the Mercedes 450 SL), was built in Milan, Italy, (from 1989 to 1991), the base TC starting at around $33,000 in 1989 (nearly $69,000 in today's dollars). (Ok car folks, I know in retrospect it was an Italian Edsel, but at the time, it was damn sexy, on the cover of magazines!)Ours was a Royal Cabernet Pearl exterior and a buff-colored interior. It came with a removable hardtop with portholes, like the 1955 Ford T-Bird. It had every option including a 10-speaker sound system with a CD player(!), six-way power-adjustable Italian leather bucket seats, leather-covered instrument- and door-trim panels, and more. There was more leather in this car than my Rolls Royce! More leather than in an S&M Bar! It was puffy and soft and felt like what we imagined were the interiors of private jets (that turned out later to be much more spartan!).When the Dream Becomes a Nightmare…Within weeks, the problems began. trips back into the service department. We had a problem with shoes getting eaten by some kind of acid. You don’t know what hell is until your Sicilian wife has her Monolos scared.I kept insisting that they (the dealer) were not solving the problem. The dealer detailed the car and said all good. It wasn’t. The home-front was not happy! Another pair of spike healed, overpriced, painful testimonies to fashion idiocy got ruined. I needed help!The third trip, a discovery!Service Department: “It’s brake fluid from a leaking master cylinder! No problem it's under warranty. Why don’t we do the first tune-up early while it's in? We will even give you a loaner car.”I am thinking this…We get this…(Lee Iacocca not included, your mileage may vary…)How it gets worse…They don’t have the parts in stock. They have to send to Italy…How long will that take? No time at all. We did your tuneup in advance.Me (something like): “Are we sure we needed it? The tune-up is a few thousand miles early. It's a new car. When can we get it back? ”Them: “Should be any day now…”Actually 4 Months of haggling and monthly car payments, as a Californian, I seek legal help from the DMV and enact the California Lemon Law;Now, I cannot use a lawyer, I have to represent myself. With intense work, advice from Berkeley Law and NOLO Press, I catch them in a lie and begin to get justice! Luckily I had time on my hands; the Lucas Film deal fell apart!We get a settlement and they give us back all our money, car payments, and everything. I give them back their insipid K-car. We’re even, right? WRONG.The Dealership Sues me in Small Claims Court for the Tune-up!The car that was a lemon, they tuned up without the brakes and then they sued me for the “repairs” on a car did not own! I never saw it. I prepared for my court date, hot under the collar. Again, no lawyer allowed…(thank goodness for NOLO Press!)There have been heated exchanges with the Dealership. Numerous lies and other issues. My last call was finished with a defiant, “I WILl SEE YOU IN COURT!” I enter with files, paperwork, and proof of the Lemon. I have visual aids prepared and an affidavit that I never took delivery on the car again.We arrive at the courthouse. I enter and wait to be called. There’s a guy in a double-breasted suit with a Hankie-poof sticking way out of his pocket. Gold Pinky ring and gold chains. You know the type. That’s my adversary. I prepare for our inevitable hours of back and forth.The following dialogue is dramatized as I cannot remember the actual words.Judge: “I see you are both here. Mr. Sanford, tell me about this case, you are being sued for not paying the Service Bill on your…(looks down) Maserati?!”Me: “Yes your honor. This car had faulty brakes that were being replaced but never were and they tuned it up while it was in the shop. It was there for months. Ultimately, the car was taken back, under California’s Lemon Law. I never got to drive it again, and…”Judge: ”Wait a minute. You never drove it or picked it up from the dealer? It was a lemon?”Me: “Yes, your honor.”Judge: “Is this true? Mr. Sanford never picked up his car?”Other Guy in the overstuffed suit: “Yes your honor. But I hardly see how that …”Judge (Dramatically): “The court finds in favor of Mr. Sanford. Dismissed.”OG: “But your honor, that’s not fair…”Judge (Admonishing): “You are talking about not fair? This man was without his car, a lemon, for months and you want to charge him for a tune-up on a car he never drove again?”That was it. It was over. I will never own a Maserati again!Post Script: I Got Called by NBC DatelineThe story of the car doesn’t end here. I got a call from a producer for NBC Dateline. Apparently, I was one of the very few people who actually won under the Lemon Law. They want to do a feature piece on it and this car. The dealership rolled back the odometer and sold the car as I’m not a demo for a second time! They never disclosed on the title (as required by law in the state of California) that it was purchased back under the Lemon Law. A woman who bought the car almost lost her life when the brakes went out. I thought long and hard about going on the show and decided (after discussions with my Chairman of the Board and Lawyers of my new company) that I didn’t need to “poke the bear” or “feed my ego”. (I did, however, appear on her behalf in court. What they did to her wasn’t right.)