Emails show officials feared O-Care launch

Top Obama administration officials feared just days before its launch that HealthCare.gov would be unavailable, according to internal emails circulated at that time.

According to documents released by House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), an email exchange on Sept. 25 — less than a week before HealthCare.gov’s unveiling — suggested the administration was gearing up for a shaky rollout. 

{mosads}“When Todd Park and Marilyn [Tavenner] was here yesterday one of the things Todd conveyed was this fear the WH has about hc.gov being unavailable,” wrote Henry Chao, deputy chief information officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Park is the White House Chief Technology Office and Tavenner is CMS’s administrator.

“Todd does have a good point and I think we should have a more comprehensive answer as to how we will ensure high availability,” Chao added.

The email chain included a screenshot of an error page on the ObamaCare website that said “The System is down at the moment.” 

“Jon and Ketan – can you think about a better way to convey to the public when the site is not available?” Chao wrote in an email. “I am picturing in my mind all the major print and online publications taking screenshots of what is below and just ramping up the hyperbole about hc.gov not functional.” 

{mosads}Chao has testified multiple times in the last month before Congress about the website’s implementation.

The error message displayed, however, was what many visitors to the site found once HealthCare.gov launched Oct. 1.

President Obama last week called the rollout “fumbled,” and his administration is tackling the website’s technical problems to make sure it works for most users by Nov. 30.

The repair process will be considered a success if 80 percent of its visitors can enroll in the health insurance using the federal marketplace, the White House has said. 

In October, the administration said 106,185 enrolled in ObamaCare, but only 27,000 of them signed up using the federal insurance marketplace.