Monday, January 20, 2014

ObamaCare is as bad in Spanish as it is in English

Si le gusta su seguro médico lo puede mantener. Turns out it’s no better in Spanish than it is in English: “If you like your health plan, you can keep it.” - New York Post

Especially if you are trying to purchase your health plan on the special Web site set up for Spanish-speakers: CuidadoDeSalud.gov.

In the last few days, news reports have focused on what we might call “los glitches” of this site: a debut that was two months late, translations that are more Spanglish than Spanish and navigation issues that some users say are worse than the problems English-speakers have encountered on HealthCare.gov....

Only a year ago, The Los Angeles Times ran such an article in which it quoted a forlorn spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee vowing “to do a better job explaining why this law is negatively affecting all Americans, including the Hispanic community.”

We suspect the ongoing problems with CuidadoDeSalud.gov has just made her job a whole lot easier. Because a broken promise is the same in any language.