Nearly 500,000 people have filled out health insurance applications through federal and state exchanges. But website glitches have plagued the application process since enrollment opened up October 1. President Barack Obama will talk this week about the flawed roll out, reports CNN.
During a healthcare event, the President will give remarks about the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) and reiterate his stance that he finds the technical problems unacceptable and will discuss steps his administration has taken to get them fixed, according to a White House official.
The site has seen many problems with people trying to log on as well as issues once they have applied, such as some people applying for different plans. Insurance industry sources have said they are getting some applications with missing information.
The administration reportedly is working to fix the problems. An administration official confirmed to CNN that additional government and private technology experts will be brought on to help solve the problems but did not provide any details.
“The website is unacceptable, and we are improving it,” one senior administration official told CNN. “But the underlying insurance product is good, and across the country, people are getting access to affordable care on January 1.”
But this hasn’t stopped Republicans from taking aim. “They’ve had three or four years here to get this ready. God only knows how much money they’ve spent, and it’s a failure. You know, the government simply isn’t going to be able to get this job done correctly,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
“Obamacare is a disaster. It’s not working. It’s hurting people all across the country,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash.