Dear WWII Vets, Forget About the Monument, They Are Gunning for Your Social Security

Dear WWII Vets, Forget About the Monument, They Are Gunning for Your Social Security
"As the government shutdown marches on and the dangerously real deadline of the federal debt limit approaches, it is increasingly clear that the fight over "Obamacare" is merely an opening salvo. The real goal of the hostage takers is a "Grand Bargain" on the budget that would include cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

This has been the long-term agenda for debt crisis-monger Pete Peterson and government haters David and Charles Koch for many decades."

Fallen Soldiers' Families Denied Benefits

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Congressional Chaos

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

104 Republicans Who Are In Congress Today Voted To Increase The Debt Ceiling Under Bush Without Hostage Threats

104 Republicans Who Are In Congress Today Voted To Increase The Debt Ceiling Under Bush Without Hostage Threats: Boehner says Republicans "are not going to pass a clean debt limit increase" but had a very different story in 2004.

GOP Delusions Of Grandeur

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Meet The GOP Members Burning Down The House

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Why The Debt Ceiling Isn't Your Family Budget

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Debt Ceiling Fight Isn't Business As Usual

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Koch Brothers’ ‘Samson Option’

www.consortiumnews.com/2013/10/08/the-koch-brothers-samson-option/
"The fiscal crisis in Washington is not simply a threat to economic and government stability, as serious as that is. It is a premeditated scheme to carve out a new constitutional structure that gives the Koch Brothers and other right-wing billionaires the power to void the democratic process"

'Unreasonable Demands' For Ending GOP Government Shutdown

'Unreasonable Demands' For Ending GOP Government Shutdown
"Who exactly is being unreasonable here?"

Boehner Frantic For Shutdown Exit

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Public Record Shows Votes To End Shutdown

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Cuccinelli Hurt By Shutdown, Polls Suggest

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Effects Of Shutdown Continue To Mount

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Government Shutdown Has Cost $1.6 Billion So Far

The Government Shutdown Has Cost $1.6 Billion So Far: The shutdown will cost $2 billion by October 9, the same as the damage of the flooding ravaging Colorado.

Any Room For Compromise For Boehner?

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Arizona Legislator Compares President Obama To Hitler Because National Parks Are Closed

Arizona Legislator Compares President Obama To Hitler Because National Parks Are Closed: An Arizona state representative is angry that "thugs" from the National Park Service are keeping people out of parks, closed due to the federal shutdown.

Is This the Dumbest Thing a Republican Has Said During the Shutdown Mess? | Alternet

Is This the Dumbest Thing a Republican Has Said During the Shutdown Mess? | Alternet
"Rep. Ted Yoho has a novel theory of what failing to raise the debt limit would do."

 

GOP Rep Blames Cruz For Shutdown: 'He Took A Lot Of Folks Into The Ditch'

www.talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/gop-rep-blames-cruz-for-shutdown-he-took-a-lot-of-folks-into-the-ditch
"A Republican congressman said Monday that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is largely responsible for the first government shutdown since 1996."

There is No Tea Party Only a Collection of Billionaires

Obamacare Is Right-Wing Proxy For Social Security and Medicare

Obamacare Is Right-Wing Proxy For Social Security and Medicare
"Despite all the sound and fury about Obamacare, here's the truth: It's not the prime target of the right. The real targets are Medicare and Social Security, as Rep. Barton admits in the video above when he says he wants "real reforms in entitlements"."

Just 18 Percent of the American Population Is Extorting Ransom From the US Government

Just 18 Percent of the American Population Is Extorting Ransom From the US Government
"the congressional districts that are the home seats of 80 GOP congressional reps who wrote an August 21 letter to Boehner. The FreedomWorks-inspired appeal to shut down the government is widely credited with precipitating Boehner's insistence on not allowing a "clean vote" on the budget. Half of these districts are in the South, of course, which as a region -- ironically -- receives far more back in federal tax dollars than it pays in (Mississippi, for instance, receives as much as $1.80 back from DC for every dollar its residents pay in US taxes, with the blue states generally subsidizing financial needs of the deep South)."

Rep. Grayson Hammers Tea Partier on Health Care

Rep. Grayson Hammers Tea Partier on Health Care
"During Friday's episode of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL) takes a mere 60 seconds to show the deficiency of insurance companies, explain Obamacare and show the inhumanity of the Tea Party position on health care."

Business Leaders Terrified That GOP Representatives They Helped Fund May Force Default

Business Leaders Terrified That GOP Representatives They Helped Fund May Force Default: A growing number of CEOs are sounding the alarm on the "catastophic" impact of a federal debt default.

How The Shutdown Will Hurt Virtually Anyone Who Lives In A Home

How The Shutdown Will Hurt Virtually Anyone Who Lives In A Home: The shutdown will disrupt the fragile housing recovery and be felt by nearly everyone from first-time buyers to renters.

The Complete Guide To The Rise Of The Debt Ceiling Truthers

The Complete Guide To The Rise Of The Debt Ceiling Truthers: The story of how the Tea Party candidates who swept into power after the 2010 midterm elections took over the debt ceiling debate.

A Federal Budget Crisis Months in the Planning

www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/us/a-federal-budget-crisis-months-in-the-planning.html?hp&_r=1
"A defunding “tool kit” created in early September included talking points for the question, “What happens when you shut down the government and you are blamed for it?” The suggested answer was the one House Republicans give today: “We are simply calling to fund the entire government except for the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare"." 

Supreme Court Hears GOP Challenge to Political Donation Limits

Supreme Court Hears GOP Challenge to Political Donation Limits
"The 2012 elections were the most expensive elections in history, thanks in part to the Supreme Court's 2010 ruling in the Citizens United case, which opened the floodgates for unlimited donations to independent groups like Super-PACs that influence elections with flashy campaigns and attack ads.
On Tuesday, the high court will hear oral arguments in a case that campaign finance reformers are calling "the next Citizens United" because the Republican-lead legal challenge could erode one of the last protections preventing wealthy donors from influencing elections and seeking political favors from politicians."

The Right’s Made-Up ‘Constitution’

www.consortiumnews.com/2013/10/01/the-rights-made-up-constitution-2/
"Behind the U.S. government shutdown is the Right’s erroneous belief that the U.S. Constitution tightly limits the federal government and carves out broad powers for the states, a bogus history that suggests the Tea Partiers don’t understand the Founding document"

John Boehner Loses It When He’s Caught In Several Shutdown and Debt Ceiling Lies

www.politicususa.com/2013/10/06/john-boehner-loses-melts-caught-debt-ceiling-lies.html
"On the three occasions in the transcript above Speaker Boehner was lying. He told other basic Republican lies about the ACA during the interview, but his defense of his own behavior was built on lies. Each time Boehner lied, he got angry and his voice changed.
The Speaker knows that he is lying. The votes are there in the House to pass a clean CR."

Fox Falls For Fake Story About Obama Personally Funding Muslim Museum During Shutdown

www.mediamatters.org/blog/2013/10/05/fox-falls-for-fake-story-about-obama-personally/196304
"Unfortunately for Kooiman, the claim that Obama offered to pay out of pocket for a "museum of Muslim culture" originated from the satirical website the National Report. As the fact-checking site Snopes.com points out, a now-removed disclaimer on the National Report noted: "National Report is a news and political satire web publication, which may or may not use real names, often in semi-real or mostly fictitious ways. All news articles contained within National Report are fiction, and presumably fake news"."

The Radical Christian Right and the War on Government | Common Dreams

The Radical Christian Right and the War on Government | Common Dreams
"There is a desire felt by tens of millions of Americans, lumped into a diffuse and fractious movement known as the Christian right, to destroy the intellectual and scientific rigor of the Enlightenment, radically diminish the role of government to create a theocratic state based on “biblical law,” and force a recalcitrant world to bend to the will of an imperial and “Christian” America. Its public face is on display in the House of Representatives."

Boehner: The Nation Will Be On ‘The Path’ To Default If Obama Doesn’t Accept GOP Demands

Boehner: The Nation Will Be On ‘The Path’ To Default If Obama Doesn’t Accept GOP Demands: Boehner agreed that the risks of defaulting on the debt would be "catastrophic," but said that they would become reality if Obama doesn't accept GOP demands.

Who Are You Working For, Congressional GOP?

Who Are You Working For, Congressional GOP?
"These un-American bastards are the ones who have commanded the GOP to take hostages because they lost in a Democratic battle. They lost. Unwilling to take "no" for an answer because they think their needs supersede 300 million other Americans, they reach into their deep pockets, they pour poison into the ears of their puppets in the conservative media to echo to through to the low-info voters, and they lean on the elected officials they helped fund into office and they essentially declare war on America.

So the question has to be asked and it's one that the GOP needs to answer: who are they working for? Because it sure doesn't look like they're working for their constituents or for the betterment of the country."

Rep. Peter King Admits Republicans Are the Ones Who Shut the Government Down

Rep. Peter King Admits Republicans Are the Ones Who Shut the Government Down
"Rep. Peter King, who has been outspoken against Sen.Ted Cruz's tactics (Peter King: Ted Cruz Has Tapped Into a Dark Strain of the American Political Psyche) joined Chris Wallace and Rep. Tom Graves on Fox and admitted the obvious to the beltway false equivalency media. Republicans did shutdown the federal government plain and simple."

MTP Gives Tea Party Terrorist Rand Paul Platform For Unchallenged Ransom Demands

MTP Gives Tea Party Terrorist Rand Paul Platform For Unchallenged Ransom Demands
"Today's Sunday show theme: Terrorists wrecking our government parade across Sunday shows telling horrible lies while their host looks on with bemused complicity. Evidently they're clinging to their claim that they have no duty to actually correct lies with facts.

This clip features Rand Paul making the fatuous claim that the House has been passing clean continuing resolutions, and default on the nation's debt limit is just no big deal."

Get Ready for Extra Helpings of Feces, Pus and Chlorine on Your Plate — America is Deregulating Its Meat Industry | Alternet

Get Ready for Extra Helpings of Feces, Pus and Chlorine on Your Plate — America is Deregulating Its Meat Industry | Alternet
"Fecal contamination is not the only risk posed by the new, laissez-faire system. Under the new HACCP/HIMP rules, bruises, scabs, sores, blisters, infections and tumors on chickens will no longer be considered "Other Consumer Protections" (OCPs) and removed. Already, when half a bird's body is "covered with an inflammatory process" it may still be "salvaged" for food, says an anonymous poultry inspector who is against the new system."

How John Boehner Engineered An Ohio Gerrymander To Save His Speakership

How John Boehner Engineered An Ohio Gerrymander To Save His Speakership: Two years ago, then-Ohio state Senate President Tom Niehaus (R) pledged to deliver a redrawn map of Ohio's congressional districts "that Speaker Boehner fully supports." Boehner's team made sure Niehaus delivered.

Cruz Insists that He has 'Not Remotely' Hurt the Republican Party Brand

Cruz Insists that He has 'Not Remotely' Hurt the Republican Party Brand
"Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Sunday asserted that his crusade to kill President Barack Obama's health care law by shutting down the U.S. government had not damaged the Republican Party in any way."

House GOP Flounders To Explain Shutdown

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Republican Senators Distance Themselves From House GOP: ‘Defunding Obamacare Didn’t Work’

Republican Senators Distance Themselves From House GOP: ‘Defunding Obamacare Didn’t Work’: Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Mike Johanns (R-NE) accused their colleagues of misleading on Obamacare and the government shutdown.

Don't Call It the 'Tea Party' -- Its Real Name Is 'Libertarian Billionaire Agenda' | Alternet

Don't Call It the 'Tea Party' -- Its Real Name Is 'Libertarian Billionaire Agenda' | Alternet
"With Fox So-Called News pumping out pro-Tea Party propaganda, and other news outlets either too cowed or too busy laughing to look closely at who was really behind it all, it seemed, for a while at least, that the Tea Party was, indeed, a grassroots popular uprising.

But as the smoke cleared, it became clear that the Tea Party was far from a democratic grassroots movement and even far from reflecting traditional American values. In fact, it was the very opposite of grassroots and democratic. It was the creation of billionaires intent on destroying our government, preventing Americans from getting access to healthcare, and sabotaging any attempt to regulate Wall Street or the oil industry. The small handful of oil and Wall Street groups behind the Tea Party, groups like FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity, were all front organizations for the billionaire oil tycoons and banksters who wrecked the economy."

The Republican Party As A Brick Tamland

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

GOP Congressman Berates Park Service Worker

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

7 Signs America Has Regressed Back To the Harsh, Cruel 19th Century | Alternet

7 Signs America Has Regressed Back To the Harsh, Cruel 19th Century | Alternet
"Of course they shut the Federal government down. Tea Party Republicans long for the days when there were no government authorities to enforce laws and restrain the power of unchecked wealth, the days when there was no Justice Department, no SEC, no other agencies protecting Americans from the misdeeds of bankers and corporate titans."

How A Rand Paul Republican From Alabama Learned To Love Obamacare

How A Rand Paul Republican From Alabama Learned To Love Obamacare: Joshua Pittman doesn't believe that Obamacare is perfect, but says Republicans in Congress should stop trying to repeal the law and give it a chance to work.

Delicate GOP Feelings Complicate Shutdown

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Shutdown Pain Grows Harder For GOP To Ignore

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Bribery Scandal Could Cost Iowa 'First Role'

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

GOP Euphoria Over Shutdown Continues

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

GOP Uses Shutdown As Chance For Vet Photo Ops

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The GOP's Shutdown Tab: One Billion Dollars and Counting

The GOP's Shutdown Tab: One Billion Dollars and Counting
"Fox News' editors and television personalities have taking to describing the shutdown as a "slimdown." Their amusement won't be shared by the mothers of hungry children in Arkansas, where 85,000 meals for lower-income kids will not be served as a result of the GOP's actions."

GOP senators attack Ted Cruz

GOP senators attack Ted Cruz
"He may have Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck on his side, but as the government shutdown he largely caused drags on, Ted Cruz is finding himself increasingly unpopular among his Republican colleagues in the Senate."

The National Memo » Republicans Finally Admit What The Shutdown Is About: Making The Tea Party Feel Better

The National Memo » Republicans Finally Admit What The Shutdown Is About: Making The Tea Party Feel Better
"What is the shutdown about, then? What do Republicans want?

“We’re not going to be disrespected,” Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) told The Washington Examiner. “We have to get something out of this. And I don’t know what that even is.”

I repeat: “And I don’t know what that even is"."

Republicans Are Pushing Outrage Meters Into Red Zone

Republicans Are Pushing Outrage Meters Into Red Zone
"You know the lies. You've seen them a million times. The Koch machine shovels them out with alacrity. If we feed the billionaires first, the rest of us might get some crumbs. Trickle down, trickle on, trick us all. And yes, the Fox News, the Christian right, the KKK and the Muslim haters are all a part of the larger picture."

In Major Campaign Spending Case, Supreme Court Gives Oral Argument Time To Republican Senator

In Major Campaign Spending Case, Supreme Court Gives Oral Argument Time To Republican Senator: As if it weren’t already clear enough that the U.S. Supreme Court’s next money in politics decision is about money in Republican politics, the plaintiffs are spelling it out for you, giving Sen. Mitch McConnell argument time before the justices.

Finally, (Small) Class War: D.C. Restaurants Give Furloughed Workers Freebies But Charge Congressional Perpetrators Double For Their Sins | Common Dreams

Finally, (Small) Class War: D.C. Restaurants Give Furloughed Workers Freebies But Charge Congressional Perpetrators Double For Their Sins | Common Dreams
"Ha. Congress unpopular, much? The insanity in our nation's capitol has led sympathetic restaurants to offer furloughed government employees "shutdown specials," from free burgers, nachos, cookies and sandwiches to Olive Branch cocktails and $1 Raw Deal oysters. But the generosity doesn't extend to the perpetrators. Many have exemptedcongressmen or decided to charge them double for drinks and coffee."

PERRspectives: Kentucky's Success Makes a Mockery of GOP Obamacare Foes

PERRspectives: Kentucky's Success Makes a Mockery of GOP Obamacare Foes
Meanwhile in Republican-dominated states like Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and more, the GOP has manufactured a "coverage gap" ensuring that millions of their residents will needlessly be left without health insurance next year. But as Governor Steve Beshear shows, it doesn't need to be this way. As Mark A. Rothstein, a professor of law and medicine at the University of Louisville put it:

"If the law can go in Kentucky, it can go anywhere."

Live Mic Catches Senators McConnell and Paul Talking Strategy

Live Mic Catches Senators McConnell and Paul Talking Strategy
"An interesting glimpse into the machinations that go into political messaging. Rand Paul believes, as McConnell does, that if they keep saying they're willing to compromise (when all evidence is to the contrary) that this will be enough to sway public opinion because Democrats and the President have said they won't negotiate on the government shutdown."

The GOP’s Shutdown Tab: One Billion Dollars and Counting | Common Dreams

The GOP’s Shutdown Tab: One Billion Dollars and Counting | Common Dreams
"Forty million dollars an hour. A third of a billion every day. $1.6 billion every week. That’s a conservative estimate of the money Republicans are wasting by keeping the federal government closed down. And if pundits like Sean Hannity have their way, they’ll run up a much larger tab before this is all over."

Obamacare Is Working, Even For Republicans!

Obamacare Is Working, Even For Republicans!
"The people in the beginning of this video don't say whether they're Republican or Democrat. They're just excited to finally get health insurance they can afford. This is, of course, conservatives' worst nightmare and so they're still working (to the extent any of them actually work) to spin public opinion away from liking it."

GOPer’s quote of the day: “We have to get something out of this. And I don’t know what that even is”

GOPer’s quote of the day: “We have to get something out of this. And I don’t know what that even is”
Representative Marlin Stutzman: “We’re not going to be disrespected,” Stutzman said. “We have to get something out of this. And I don’t know what that even is.”

House Republican Admits To Donors: GOP Had To Shut Down The Government To Please The Tea Party

House Republican Admits To Donors: GOP Had To Shut Down The Government To Please The Tea Party: Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) has joined with his GOP colleagues several times for measures to force the government shutdown.

Right-Wing Media Downplaying Government Shutdown?

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Lawmakers Benefit From Congressional Pensions

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Obamacare Suicide Counseling? Ted Cruz's Father's Insanity

Who is Behind the Tea Party?

Melber On Finding Out Why D.C. Is 'Broken'

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Meet Butch Matthews, A Republican Who Came To Love Obamacare After Realizing It Will Save Him $13,000

Meet Butch Matthews, A Republican Who Came To Love Obamacare After Realizing It Will Save Him $13,000: But after doing a little research, Matthews eventually realized how much the law could help him. And on Tuesday, his local Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) provider confirmed that he would be able to buy a far better plan than his current policy while saving at least $13,000 per year through Arkansas’ Obamacare marketplace.

The Shutdown...Brought To You By Citizens United

Republican House Members Live In World Of Talk Radio, Tea Party Conventions & Fox News

Republican House Members Live In World Of Talk Radio, Tea Party Conventions & Fox News
"These people represent a tiny sliver of the populace, but are now running things. The Suicide Caucus is alive and well and insulated. The first episode of Game of Thrones was entitled, Winter is Coming. The problem is that it's already here. What we see and hear on Fox News and their co-conspirators is the will of the party now and there's no end in sight to what harm they will do unless Americans reject this callous form of extremism."

Vote Count: John Boehner Could Reopen The Government Immediately

Vote Count: John Boehner Could Reopen The Government Immediately: Seventeen House Republicans say that they would support a "clean" continuing resolution, like the one passed by the U.S. Senate, to reopen the government. But while these members could join the 200 House Democrats to end the shutdown, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) would have to first allow a vote.

Five Facts That Show The GOP’s Newfound Desire To Compromise Is Bogus

Five Facts That Show The GOP’s Newfound Desire To Compromise Is Bogus: The GOP's blame game talking points run afoul of the facts.

Republicans In Denial Over Shutdown Severity

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Pro-Shutdown GOP Ignorant To Lessons Of '95

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Conservatives Celebrate Shutdown Of Government They Hate | Common Dreams

Conservatives Celebrate Shutdown Of Government They Hate | Common Dreams
"Republicans are exercising the one power that the American People have not yet been able to take away from them: the power to destroy. Conservatives are “giddy” over shutting down the government. This is who they are."

GOP congressman on Obamacare: “We lost this battle”

GOP congressman on Obamacare: “We lost this battle”
"Rep. Dennis Ross of Florida told National Journal, “Ultimately [Obamacare's] going to happen, in my opinion. We have voted 41 times to defund it or get rid of it. If my people back home say: Oh my gosh you voted to fund Obamacare, so be it. We’ve lost this battle. We need to move on to the next one"."

Republican Congressman: 30 Or 40 Birthers Are Driving Government Shutdown

Republican Congressman: 30 Or 40 Birthers Are Driving Government Shutdown:
"During an appearance on MSNBC’s Hardball on Tuesday, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) told host Chris Matthews that “probably 30 or 40 Republicans” in Congress reject President Barack Obama’s legitimacy in office and are essentially trying to undo his presidency."

The Radical Republican Attempt To Defund Obamacare

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Shutdown Backfires: New Poll Shows Democrats Opening Big Midterm Lead 43-34

www.politicususa.com/2013/10/01/2014-warning-poll-democrats-win-republicans-43-34.html
"If you’re wondering where Paul Ryan is hiding for the days leading up to the shutdown, rumor has it that he’s busy drafting Republican demands over the debt ceiling. I kid you not."

Where Does The GOP's Suicide Caucus Live?

Where Does The GOP's Suicide Caucus Live?
"These congressman don't represent the country at large, but small slivers of white, less educated conservatives who voted heavily for Mitt Romney."

Obamacare Enrollment Is Beating Expectations

Obamacare Enrollment Is Beating Expectations: On the first morning that Obamacare's new exchanges have been open to the public, some state officials are being met with a flood of people who want to enroll.

Republicans’ health care delusion could kill Americans

Republicans’ health care delusion could kill Americans
"Today, hundreds of millions of Americans already have more affordable and more reliable, quality health care thanks to Obamacare. And that was even before the main part of the law, the state-based health insurance exchange markets, took effect. Soon, millions more Americans — yes, myself included — will take advantage of an expanded, competitive private insurance market that offers more affordability and choice in coverage. The cost of insurance for all Americans will continue to go down while access to insurance and health care goes up."

The Shutdown Will Cost $300 Million Today. Then It Will Get Worse.

The Shutdown Will Cost $300 Million Today. Then It Will Get Worse.: The economic costs of a shutdown are hard to pin down, but it's clear they'll rack up quickly.

The Official Health Plan Marketplace For New York State

http://info.nystateofhealth.ny.gov/
NY State of Health is an organized marketplace designed to help people shop for and enroll in health insurance coverage. Individuals, families and small businesses will be able to use the Marketplace to help them compare insurance options, calculate costs and select coverage online, in-person, over the phone or by mail. The Marketplace will help people to check their eligibility for health care programs like Medicaid and sign up for these programs if they are eligible. The Marketplace will also be able to tell what type of financial assistance is available to applicants to help them afford health insurance purchased through the Marketplace. Insurance coverage can be purchased through NY State of Health beginning in October 1, 2013