Government inefficiency

AP Exclusive: Applying for health care not easy

WASHINGTON (AP) — Applying for benefits under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul could be as daunting as doing your taxes.

The government's draft application is now on the Internet.

It runs 15 pages for a three-person family. The online version has 21 steps, some with added questions.

At least three major federal agencies, including the IRS, will scrutinize your application.

That's just the first part of the process, which lets you know if you qualify for financial help.

You'd still have to pick a health plan.

Some fear that consumers will be overwhelmed and give up. Administration officials say the application form is being refined.

Still, the idea that picking a health insurance plan could be as simple as shopping on the Internet is starting to look like wishful thinking.

This is another example of how to grow government. Make the process so complex that you will need government workers to advise civilians and doctors how to comply. Of course, you also get tons of new IRS agents to play Gestapo. More paperwork makes for higher costs. As the Europeans are learning economic growth is not synonymous with a vast bureaucracy.