How Government Does Business: If It Isn't Working, Smile Big And Launch It Anyway
Lena H. Sun and Scott Wilson write in the WaPo that the health insurance exchange was launched despite serious problems:
Days before the launch of President Obama's online health insurance marketplace, government officials and contractors tested a key part of the Web site to see whether it could handle tens of thousands of consumers at the same time. It crashed after a simulation in which just a few hundred people tried to log on simultaneously.Despite the failed test, federal health officials plowed ahead.
When the Web site went live Oct. 1, it locked up shortly after midnight as about 2,000 users attempted to complete the first step, according to two people familiar with the project.
...Obama said government officials are "doing everything we can possibly do" to repair the site, including 24-hour work from "some of the best IT talent in the country."
"No one is madder about the Web site than I am, which means it's going to get fixed," he added.
Says the man who never ran so much as a lemonade stand before becoming Senator and President.
Of course, if this were a business, we could just choose not to patronize it.
Hilarious bit in a WSJ piece about this:
In an era where Google is making self-driving cars and Amazon offers next-day delivery for just about anything, the White House plunged ahead with a system it knew to be defective and is relying on the technology of the 19th century as the fall-back. Five days before the exchanges launched, the Health and Human Services Department increased the Virginia information technology company Serco's $114 million contract by $87 million--to help process paper applications. Are contingency plans in place to sign up via telegraph?The consequences of this mismanagement go beyond the technical. Mr. Obama bragged that millions of people are using the website and many (he didn't say how many) are signing up for coverage. But this overlooks that no one knows what the risk profiles on the exchanges will look like.
The danger is that those who manage to enroll will mainly be the most expensive patients. Younger and healthier patients who don't need ObamaCare will have to cross-subsidize the sick and old or else the premiums won't cover the cost of claims. So the 36 malfunctioning exchanges could take an entire market down with them.
Insurance companies are also already sending out notices to millions of consumers cancelling individual policies because they are non-compliant with ObamaCare's new mandates. Kaiser Health News, usually a cheerleader for the law, reports that "Florida Blue, for example, is terminating about 300,000 policies, about 80 percent of its individual policies in the state." Kaiser Permanente in California has sent notices to 160,000 people, Highmark in Pittsburgh is dropping about 20% of its individual market customers, and Independence Blue Cross of Philadelphia is dropping about 45%.
Remember when Mr. Obama said you could keep your policy if you liked it?
Jon Stewart on the "spinning beachball of healthcare":
some of the best IT talent in the country."
That's a lie . . . and part of the problem right there - the Best talent is NOT working for this Obama administration - the Best know better than to work for someone who will throw them under the bus when it suits The One's needs.
Charles at October 22, 2013 5:43 AM
Now they're planning at throwing more people at the problem. Which will of course delay things further.
And if you're wondering why it will delay things, well:
The new people have to get up to speed on what already exists, and how the architecture is conceptually laid out. Shorter version too many cooks spoil the broth.
I R A Darth Aggie at October 22, 2013 6:26 AM
The commentators on the Reason Hit & Run blog have been hilarious about this.
Calling something that doesn't function "too slow" is sugar coating it.
There is no sugar coating it, TWA Flight 800 is not going to arrive on time.
http://reason.com/blog/2013/10/21/obamacares-exchanges-are-still-broken-an#comments
Astra at October 22, 2013 6:29 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2013/10/22/how_government_3.html#comment-3998010">comment from AstraTo borrow from one of those commenters, even once you sugar-coat it, it's still a turd.
Amy Alkon
at October 22, 2013 7:03 AM
One part of this people haven't touched on is those who are doing the tests and the reporters making test profiles to see if it is working, are way more tech savvy than many of the actual people who will be using it for real. And they are failing.
Having written code and had others use it and provided tech support, it is a huge difference dealing with tech savvy people and those who aren't. Having done support on a program I know inside and out is a nightmare over the phone if the person having problems isn't tech savvy. Completely different than with one who is tech savvy.
Joe J at October 22, 2013 8:00 AM
I heard someone from the White House bragging last night about how the system had handled 20 million hits so far. Big deal, I thought. Google probably gets that many hits in an hour.
Cousin Dave at October 22, 2013 8:27 AM
You know it is bad when even Jon Stewart is turning on the administration.
Jim P. at October 22, 2013 8:53 AM
The project developers themselves were seeing red flags:
http://news.msn.com/us/builders-of-obamas-health-website-saw-red-flags
Fustercluck in the extreme, and denial is not just a river in Egypt.
Flynne at October 22, 2013 9:10 AM
"You know it is bad when even Jon Stewart is turning on the administration." - Jim P.
I would have a lot more respect for Jon Stewart if he did this more often.
Fayd at October 22, 2013 12:36 PM
And of course, VISA, Master Card, Amex et al already have commercial sites up and running capable of handling serious transaction numbers.
Radwaste at October 22, 2013 6:21 PM
Nothing about Obamacare is going to actually work. The fucked up exchanges are only the beginning. The huge copays are going to keep people from continuing with it once they have it, when they find for routine care, they are better off just paying cash in the first place.
The people signing up for this cant be reading the fine print, on how the policies are going to work, or they would not bother with a policy like this in the first place.
Obamacare is going to operate as the Supreme Court interpreted it, Just another income tax, that will only partially bail out deficit spending on medicare, and medicaid.
Isab at October 22, 2013 6:45 PM
The other thing is that the end-users are essentially self-reporting themselves to the IRS.
To just look at available policies you have to give your families' SSNs to the site. So then when you file your 1040's the IRS is going to have a nice little list of everyone who inquired, but didn't take out a policy.
So if you were laid off in February, and weren't couldn't find your next job until June, so you were looking for coverage, are you subject to the penalty because you were unemployed for ninety days? Or thirty?
Do you have to still pay the penalty if you take three months off between consultancy jobs and drop your coverage?
And then what about the laid-off for 23 days and thought it would be longer?
Jim P. at October 22, 2013 8:21 PM
You bring up some very good points Jim. People switch jobs all the time going from companies that provide insurance to one that don't and they cant be expected to cover themselves with an expensive Cobra like plan on the exchanges, for a couple months work or a couple of months unemployment without insurance.
Lower income individuals will always be better off, just paying the penalty.
My husband and I are not lower income, and we would also be better off, just paying the penalty.
In short this whole piece of legislation was crafted by people with no clue as to how employment works, insurance works, or how medical care is delivered and billed.
Isab at October 22, 2013 9:34 PM
But of course you can apply by dialing 1-800-318-2596 or 1-800-FUCK-YO6. The wait lines aren't much worse.
Jim P. at October 22, 2013 9:46 PM
What? No comment, either of support or condemnation, from Patrick?
I thought this issue was important.
Radwaste at October 23, 2013 10:08 AM
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