Problems with the federal marketplace's entry portal serving 36 states, the website Healthcare.gov, continued for a 10th day on Thursday.
Congress launched a new investigation into the technical glitches, sending letters to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and two of the website's contractors, asking for details on what is causing the failures and any system changes or testing that had been performed.
The House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, in letters to Sebelius and contractors CGI and Quality Software Services Inc, questioned the nature of the glitches against testimony from federal officials and company representatives ahead of Healthcare.gov's launch on October 1.
"Despite the widespread belief that the administration was not ready for the health law's October 1 launch, top officials and lead IT contractors looked us in the eye and assured us all systems were a go," said committee chairman Fred Upton, a Republican from Michigan. "The American people deserve to know what caused this mess."
Patience has also begun to run thin among Democrats who worry that the administration is not acting decisively enough.
"They don't seem to be addressing these problems quickly enough. They've had three years to get their ducks in a row. It gets to the point where it becomes inexcusable." said a senior Democratic aide in Congress.
"With the amount of support the president and the White House have from Silicon Valley, you would think they'd be able to nip these problems in the bud. They could call up any of these people and ask for their assistance. Why not put together a blue ribbon panel with all the guys from Google and Twitter? This should have been done beforehand."
Democratic Senator Edward Markey said Obamacare came up at a White House meeting between the president and Democratic Senators on Thursday.
"They need a geek squad." Markey told reporters
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/10/us-usa-healthcare-idUSBRE9991AL20131010?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=71&google_editors_picks=true
Congress launched a new investigation into the technical glitches, sending letters to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and two of the website's contractors, asking for details on what is causing the failures and any system changes or testing that had been performed.
The House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, in letters to Sebelius and contractors CGI and Quality Software Services Inc, questioned the nature of the glitches against testimony from federal officials and company representatives ahead of Healthcare.gov's launch on October 1.
"Despite the widespread belief that the administration was not ready for the health law's October 1 launch, top officials and lead IT contractors looked us in the eye and assured us all systems were a go," said committee chairman Fred Upton, a Republican from Michigan. "The American people deserve to know what caused this mess."
Patience has also begun to run thin among Democrats who worry that the administration is not acting decisively enough.
"They don't seem to be addressing these problems quickly enough. They've had three years to get their ducks in a row. It gets to the point where it becomes inexcusable." said a senior Democratic aide in Congress.
"With the amount of support the president and the White House have from Silicon Valley, you would think they'd be able to nip these problems in the bud. They could call up any of these people and ask for their assistance. Why not put together a blue ribbon panel with all the guys from Google and Twitter? This should have been done beforehand."
Democratic Senator Edward Markey said Obamacare came up at a White House meeting between the president and Democratic Senators on Thursday.
"They need a geek squad." Markey told reporters
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/10/us-usa-healthcare-idUSBRE9991AL20131010?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=71&google_editors_picks=true