You're sick, and you pay for insurance, but you're still afraid to go to the doctor because of what it might cost. That's the reality for millions of Americans, suggests a new survey by Policygenius, an independent insurance marketplace and news site. Copays, deductibles, premiums...all these terms are still confusing to most Americans. This isn't some political football or a chance to score debate points. Health insurance illiteracy is a dangerous, potentially deadly problem in America.

As open enrollment for many 2021 health insurance plans begins today, I speak with Hanna Horvath, a data analyst at Policygenius, about the risks of not understanding your own health insurance.

A few points from the episode:

Even people who you’d consider well-off — earning $100,000 or more each year — often skip health care over coverage confusion.

From the study:

More than one in four people (27.2%) said uncertainty over their coverage had led them to avoid treatment. People making higher incomes were less likely to avoid care, but even among respondents making at least $100,000, nearly 20% said they had skipped treatment.

Politically-motivated misinformation has also contributed to a lot of confusion over Obamacare:

Only 5% of survey respondents could correctly identify basic Obamacare facts, including that you can get aid to buy a plan and there was no tax penalty for forgoing coverage. Almost 44% did not believe plans sold on Healthcare.gov covered legally required benefits like pediatric care or mental health care.

And, the main reason I send this note today: The vast majority of Americans are confused about when it’s time to shop for health insurance. That time is … today!

Nearly nine out of ten Americans (87%) could not identify the correct timing of open enrollment for Healthcare.gov, the federal government’s health exchange website, which runs from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15 this year.

Open enrollment at most healthcare exchanges begins today. Many workers who get insurance through their employees can also begin the process of switching plans now. So, take a break from doomscrolling about the election and check out your options, wherever you obtain health insurance. Listen to this podcast while you shop.

Hear previous episodes at http://redtapechronicles.com/

Also, VOTE!

Trolls...foreign agents...and perhaps even some politicians are playing what should properly be called an "infinite game" -- while good-faith actors and fact-checkers are playing a 'finite game" So there's no way to win. Unless everyone starts playing by infinite game rules.

Here's my conversation with Alex.

To hear previous episodes, visit http://redtapechronicles.com/

Also, if you hear a few bandwidth hiccups this time, that’s not a disinformation attack. It’s because a fire has temporarily knocked me out of my podcast studio (and my home!). But Alex is so engaging I think you’ll barely notice.

U.S. consumers have now filed 203,000 Covid-19-releated complaints with the Federal Trade Commission, and counting. Vctims say scam artists have stolen $144 million, or about $300 per incident, the FTC’s dashboard says.

“While people are scared about their health and finances, con artists are having a field day,” said Lucy Baker, U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s Consumer Program Associate.

Typical scams include sale of false treatments and cures, fake help with government assistance programs, price gouging, and fake text messages or emails about contact tracing.

PIRG, a consumer advocacy group, has been tracking Covid scams since the beginning of the year, chronicling steps taken by the FTC and 14 other federal agencies in response to coronavirus scams. They include: the FTC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sending more than 420 warning letters, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) suspending stock trading for 37 companies, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) shutting down thousands of malicious web domains and email addresses, PIRG says. (Click here for PIRG’s list of government actions against alleged Covid criminals)

"The government should wield every tool at its disposal against scammers,” Baker says. “That includes health care benefits fraud, fake disease treatments and the sale of nonexistent medical supplies. “

Meanwhile, advocacy group Public Citizen released a report earlier this month accusing Amazon.com of turning a blind eye to price gouging.

“This report details 15 essential products that have been sold by Amazon during that COVID-19 pandemic with markups over the recent price on Amazon.com or other national retailers ranging from 76% to more than 1,000%, and 10 products sold on Amazon by third-party sellers during the same period with markups ranging from 225% to 941%,” the report found. “Notably, some state price gouging laws prohibit price increases of as little as 10%.”

Earlier this year, I recorded a podcast with PIRG’s Grace Brombach, who had just authored wrote a report on Covid scams(PDF). Already, nearly 100,000 scam-ready domains have been registered since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

Covid is the Super Bowl for digital criminals, the golden age of computer fraud. Why? Because a con artist’s best friend is urgency.

“We are dealing with so much fear and confusion right now,” Brombach said then. “People are being put in a very difficult situation where they don’t really know what to believe.”

Of particular worry: Homebound computer users are being told to download all kinds of new software and fill out forms full of personal information, doing things that ordinarily they would never do. For example: Employees are working from home, Zooming everywhere.  Think about how believable an email might be that appeared to come from an HR department, promising new video conference guidelines or requiring new software installation.

Making matters worse, as cybersecurity expert Harri Hursti has told me, a lot of corporate security software is designed to look for unusual patterns in network traffic — like massive downloads or a surprising number of remote logins. Everything is unusual now.

“We all need to be on our guard,” Baker warned. “Before you click, pause first. Do your research and ask yourself if that website, email, text, direct message or call is legit. Be wary of handing over your money or personal information.”

How to report coronavirus-related scams

* The DOJ’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline can be reached at 1-866-720-5721 and through an online complaint form, which also includes a list of other agencies where complaints can be filed.

* The FTC’s complaint form is available here.

Dirty digital politics is a fact of life all over the world now. Democracies are going to have to learn how to live with it. One thing that could help US voters understand this murky world is to learn about the kinds of tactics being used in other countries. Fortunately, that's what Nick Monaco does. He's the Research Director of the Digital Intelligence Lab at the Institute for the Future, and he's been studying digital disinformation for a long time. He just co-authored a new report about Taiwan's recent election -- which saw Chinese cyberarmies hired for as little as $330 a month work furiously to help a candidate favored by the Chinese Communist Party. There are accusations of brainwashing and of unleashing a virus on democracy. Nick will explain, and offer a cautionary tale for the home stretch of America's 2020 presidential race.

If you’re interested in this important issue, listen to my recent conversation with Nina Jankowicz, author of How to Lose The Information War.

Here’s more about Nick, and about the Institute for the Future

I wrote about this for CNBC's Grow website recently. You can read the entire story there. 

As I often do, I turned to Logan Mohtashami for help with this story. He's a long time California mortgage broker now an editor at Housing Wire, and his chart wizardry makes him a favorite among journalists and on social media. Logan is an unabashed housing market bull, and I'll let him tell you why.

Visit Apple podcasts to hear our conversation, or just click play above.