Senior White House and Department of Health and Human Servicesofficials were told last spring of problems that could derail the launch of healthcare.gov, according to a report compiled for the Obama administration and obtained by the Washington Examiner.
Even though senior administration officials repeatedly gave assurances about the readiness of the Obamacare website, they were privately told by outside consultant McKinsey & Co. of risks threatening the functionality of the online marketplaces.
A 14-slide presentation warned of “insufficient time and scope of end-to-end testing,” that the website would launch at “full volume” rather than staggered over time, so-called “stacking” of all phases and “significant dependency on external parties/contractors.” The report also flagged “multiple definitions of success” and “evolving requirements” for the website.
According to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which provided the report to theExaminer, White House and HHS senior officials were briefed on the findings between March 28 and April 8.
White House Chief Technology Officer Todd Park attended a meeting about the report on March 28. Among those present at an April 4 briefing were Health and Human Services SecretaryKathleen Sebelius and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner. Jeanne Lambrew, Obama's health policy adviser, and then-White House deputy chief of staff Mark Childress were briefed on the report April 8 at the White House, according to the House committee.
For weeks, President Obama has been on the defensive over the problem-ridden healthcare.gov website and his broken promise that all Americans could keep their current insurance plans under Obamacare. The president's approval ratings have hit all-time lows in a series of recent polls.
White House officials, however, dismissed GOP attempts to pounce on the previously undisclosed report.
“As we have said many times now and as has been frequently reported, flags were definitely raised throughout the development of the website, as would be the case for any IT project this complex,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz said.
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