Healthcare.gov and Defining Success

Cal Thomas | Syndicated Columnist | Updated: Dec 03, 2013

Healthcare.gov and Defining Success

You might expect the Obama Administration to be claiming success in fixing most of its dysfunctional healthcare.gov website and so it has. The Health and Human Services Department claims a 90 percent success rate when people try to sign up on the exchanges.

As usual with this administration, one must define success. Insurers and some states are still looking for ways to bypass the website and the law.

Fixing part of what's wrong with the website doesn't mean everyone who signs up for insurance can enroll in a health plan, acording to the New York Times.

"The problem," says the newspaper, "is that so-called back end systems, which are supposed to deliver consumer information to insurers, still have not been fixed. And with coverage for many people scheduled to begin (January 1), insurers are worried the repairs may not be completed in time."

The big question remains: if the government can't run a computer, what makes anyone have faith it can run our health care system?

I'm Cal Thomas in Washington.

Publication date: December 3, 2013

Healthcare.gov and Defining Success