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(Image source: The Washington Times / Charles Dharapak)
The website that was supposed to give millions of Americans access to health insurance ... is
still a mess three weeks after its debut. (Via U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
...A mess President Obama addressed Monday — while still appealing to the public not
to give up on enrollment.
OBAMA: "Nobody's madder than me about the website not working as well as it should,
which means it's going to get fixed." (Via C-SPAN)
Since its launch at the beginning of the month, frustrated consumers trying to sign up online
have reported error message and delays, and health insurance companies say they've been
getting incomplete and duplication applications. Experts say the site needs a major overhaul.
(Via NBC, CNN)
LUKE CHUNG, DATABASE PROGRAMMER: "It wasn't designed well, it wasn't implemented well,
and it looks like nobody tested it." (Via CBS)
The White House has downplayed the glitches, saying instead the delays reflect an overwhelming
amount of traffic to the site, more so than a flawed website design.
Still, the botched rollout has been somewhat of an embarrassment for Obama's signature
legislative achievement, with Republicans and now fellow Democrats going public with
their frustration.
MARCO RUBIO: [I]n the 21st century, setting up a website where people can go on and buy
something is not that complicated." (Via Fox News)
NANCY PELOSI: "What has happened is unacceptable in terms of the glitches. ... There is much
that needs to be done to correct the situation." http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/10/nancy-pelosi-obamacare-rollout-glitches-unacceptable/(Via
As the administration scrambles to get the website running properly, the Department of
Health and Human Services says it has called in outside help.
In a blog post Sunday, the department acknowledged the site had "not lived up to the expectations
of the American people" and would be bringing in the "best and brightest from both inside
and outside government" to fix the problems. (Via U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
The department didn't provide a timeline of when the public can expect to see an improvement,
and it also didn't say who exactly it had called in.
But Bloomberg reports the administration's Chief Technology Officer Todd Park, as well
as the White House's innovation fellows will be part of that team.
Administration officials say almost half a million people have created applications on
the exchanges. What's not clear is how many have actually been able to enroll. The administration
says it will release that data next month.