By Robert Laurie ——Bio and Archives--November 13, 2013
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Software problems with the federal online health insurance marketplace, especially in handling high volumes, are proving so stubborn that the system is unlikely to work fully by the end of the month as the White House has promised, according to an official with knowledge of the project. The insurance exchange is balking when more than 20,000 to 30,000 people attempt to use it at the same time — about half its intended capacity, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose internal information. And CGI Federal, the main contractor that built the site, has succeeded in repairing only about six of every 10 of the defects it has addressed so far. Government workers and technical contractors racing to repair the Web site have concluded, the official said, that the only way for large numbers of Americans to enroll in the health-care plans soon is by using other means so that the online system isn’t overburdened.Those "other means" are, so far, limited to telephone and snail mail applications which - as we discussed a while back - aren't working either. As ABC News reported back on November 4th:
“The same portal is used to determine eligibility no matter how the application is submitted (paper, online),” reads a Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight memo from Oct. 11. “The paper applications allow people to feel like they are moving forward in the process and provides another option,” it says. “At the end of the day, we are all stuck in the same queue.”In short, if Healthcare.gov is still not functional, the "other means" are also not functional. It's difficult to overstate the predicament the Obama administration has created for itself. Obama can't back down, and will never tolerate repeal, but he has no legitimate way forward. The President has already squandered whatever meager credibility he had with the "if you like it you can keep it" lie, and now he's facing a blown December 1st deadline. His allies on the left recognize this, and are jumping ship in droves. Meanwhile, millions of people are still losing the insurance with which they were perfectly happy. It's a political implosion on a spectacular scale.
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