Sebelius: I'd have delayed Obamacare web rollout had I known of glitches

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/11/kathleen-sebelius-healthcare-rollout-glitches-congress

Version 0 of 1.

Barack Obama's top healthcare official said on Wednesday that she would would have delayed the rollout of the troubled healthcare.gov website had she known about its technical problems before it launched in October.

Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, told a congressional committee that she would have ordered a staggered launch with a limited user base had she been aware of the site's true state of readiness.

"I would have probably done a slower launch with fewer people and would have done additional data testing," she told the House energy and commerce committee.

Before the hearing, Sebelius announced an investigation by the inspector general for health and human services into the management and contracting decisions behind the flawed rollout.

She also revealed new enrolment statistics, which showed that 365,000 individuals signed up for private coverage under the law during November. Although the figure was more than three times the October total, it is less than a third of the 1.2 million people officials had originally projected would enroll by that time.

If consumers want coverage by 1 January, they must sign up by 29 December.

Technical issues have plagued the federal website since it was launched on 1 October. It is now performing much better, but consumers, including the group that would most benefit from the new law, have been put off, according to recent polls. A New York Times/CBS poll published on Tuesday found that the majority of Americans (58%) do not think the healthcare exchange site is doing well, with 36% saying they think it is improving. An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll on Wednesday found that disapproval of President Obama was an an all-time high, at 54%, with 60% of those surveyed citing the Affordable Care Act as a chief factor.

Republicans have called for Sebelius to resign over the affair, but Obama has so far stood by her. "I believe strongly in the need for accountability, and in the importance of being good stewards of taxpayer dollars," Sebelius said in a blogpost on her department's website.

"The launch was flawed and simply unacceptable," Sebelius wrote. "As we continue our relentless efforts to enhance healthcare.gov – and as we continue to adapt and improve based on the feedback we are getting from customers and issuers – we must take concrete action to prevent these problems in the future."

The website has cost taxpayers more than $600m so far, according to the congressional Government Accountability Office.

Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.