Despite the looming Nov. 30 “deadline” given by the White House for a fully functional HealthCare.gov, between 30% and 40% of the site is still being built, an official said Tuesday.
Henry Chao, the chief digital architect for the federal exchange site, revealed the figure in a testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. According to Chao, most of the work left involves “back office systems” like those used to pay participating insurance companies.
“We have yet—we still have to build the financial management aspects of the system, which includes our accounting system and payment system and reconciliation system,” he said, adding that those parts of the system are “still being developed and tested.”
Chao stressed that the government had completed the work most critical for allowing consumers to compare health plans and apply for insurance. However, White House officials told the New York Times that even those parts of the system are still in need of repairs and not fully functional.
The news comes as the administration’s self-imposed deadline for repairs approaches. Jeff Zients, a White House economic advisor overseeing the exchange’s repair, promised in October that HealthCare.gov would be up and running by the end of November.
Now, White House officials are backing away from the statement.
“The 30th of November is not a magic go, no-go date,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told the Associated Press. “It is a work of constant improvement. We have some very specific things we need to complete by the 30th, and that punch list is getting knocked out every week.”
Chao expressed regret at HealthCare.gov’s botched rollout, but denied knowledge of the McKinsey & Company report that warned the administration the site wasn’t ready for a public rollout.
“I wish I had the luxury of a time machine to go back and change things, but I can’t do that,” Chao told the House panel. “My direction from Marilyn Tavenner was to deliver a system on Oct. 1.”
