The federal government didn’t have the best track record for October. The month started with the first government shutdown in years, during which thousands of federal workers were furloughed. Soon after the government was back in business, it launched the HealthCare.gov website, which was supposed to give citizens information about the Affordable Care Act and help them enroll in healthcare plans. So far, however, the site has more or less been a total failure. The site itself is plagued with problems, and periodic site crashes have prevented many users from accessing it at all. In light of all of the problems visitors to HealthCare.gov have experienced, Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, issued a public apology on Wednesday morning.
How and Why it Failed
Fred Upton, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said there were a number of “red flags” about HealthCare.gov in the months prior to its launch. At first glance, HealthCare.gov’s design and navigation scheme leave something to be desired; some critics have unflatteringly pointed out that most workers’ compensation attorney websites are far better. However, the layout of the site is a minor concern when you take its terrible performance into account. According to both Upton and Sebelius, the site was inadequately tested before it went live. Sebelius said that each part of the site was tested individually, but there was a lack of comprehensive, end-to-end testing.
Two private contractors, CGI and Quality Software Services, Inc., said the government did not begin testing the site against online healthcare markets soon enough. However, Marilyn Tavenner, the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said CGI itself may bear some of the blame. Ms. Tavenner explained some providers like CGI did not deliver the results in the timeframe they promised.
Dire Straits
Most people who have tried to use the site so far have been outraged at its failure. Many citizens need new healthcare plans, and fast. Although the Obama administration promised that people could keep their plans, some independent providers have decided to either cancel certain plans or jack up the prices. Many insured Americans wanted the opportunity to shop around for another plan and felt let down when they were not able to do so.
A Shared Blame
Understandably, those who have been disappointed by HealthCare.gov want someone to blame. A lot of people have been pointing fingers, though it seems a number of factors have caused the failed launch. Sebelius and the rest of the Department of Health and Human Services have borne the brunt of the blame for the fiasco. Any web designer will tell you that a major site requires months of testing, and clearly Ms. Sebelius did not budget enough time.
At the same time, however, the situation is not entirely Ms. Sebelius’s fault. As mentioned above, some contractors failed to meet their deadlines. The launch of any system can also be unpredictable, especially when it affects the entire country. Even the tech giant Apple has released bug-ridden systems and applications in the past.
Could it Be Sabotage?
It’s no secret that the Affordable Care Act has been unpopular among some factions. Considering the vehement opposition the act received by some politicians and private citizens alike, could it be possible that some of those involved with the website wanted to see it fail? Certainly, the launch of HealthCare.gov was something of a colossal failure. But it would be difficult — if not impossible — to prove someone was trying to make the site crash. However, there’s been enough public opposition to the Affordable Care Act lately to suggest that there are those people who would want to see HealthCare.gov fail.