President Obama Says, "No Sugarcoating" Healthcare Rollout Problems
Tuesday, October 22nd, 2013 -- 8:19 AM
-President Barack Obama on Monday offered "no excuses" and little explanation for the computer bugs still frustrating Americans who are trying to enroll online for insurance plans at the center of his health care law. But software developers tasked with building the site said they saw signs a year ago that the debut could fail.One source of the troubles appears to be the testing procedures employed before the rollout three weeks ago. Several developers of the HealthCare.gov website said they were worried for months about the system's readiness and whether the software meant to link key computer systems was being properly put through its paces.
In addition, congressional investigators raised concerns recently that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had taken on the job of testing the computer systems for the new markets during the final weeks before the sign-ups opened Oct. 1. That job is often handled by specialized software companies.
Obama, who emphasized the website's simplicity in the week's leading up to the insurance sign-ups, acknowledged there could now be "no sugarcoating" the problems even as he talked up the benefits of the law at a Rose Garden event.
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