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AP Exclusive: Will nation's uninsured get lost in long application for Obama health care plan?

By: Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, The Associated Press

Tuesday, Mar. 12, 2013 at 12:16 PM | Comments: 0

FILE - In this May 13, 2009 file photo, Families USA's executive director Ron Pollack poses for a picture at PhRMA's headquarters in Washington. Pollack, executive director of the advocacy group Families USA, is a leading supporter of President Barack Obama’s health care law. But he says the government’s application for health insurance benefits is too complicated, and he’s concerned many uninsured people will simply give up. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

WASHINGTON - 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.

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