View source for HealthCare.gov

{{short description|Health insurance exchange website}}
{{Infobox website
| name                 = HealthCare.gov
| logo                 = HealthCare.gov logo.png
| logocaption          =
| screenshot           = Healthcare.gov screenshot 2016-01-05.png
| screenshot_size      = 222px
| collapsible          = on
| collapsetext         = Screenshot of HealthCare.gov
| caption              = Healthcare.gov as it appeared on January 5, 2016
| screenshot_alt       = Healthcare.gov as it appeared on January 5, 2016
| url                  = {{URL|https://www.healthcare.gov/|healthcare.gov}} (English)<br>{{URL|https://www.cuidadodesalud.gov/|cuidadodesalud.gov}} (Spanish)
| commercial           =
| type                 = Health insurance marketplace
| registration         =
| language             = English<br>Spanish
| num_users            =
| content_license      =
| programming language =
| owner                = [[United States Department of Health and Human Services|U.S. Department of Health and Human Services]]
| author               =
| editor               =
| launch_date          = {{Start date and age|2013|10|01|df=no}}
| revenue              =
| current_status       = Active
| footnotes            =
}}

'''HealthCare.gov''' is a [[health insurance exchange]] [[website]] operated by the [[United States federal government]] under the [[Provisions of the Affordable Care Act|provisions]] of the [[Affordable Care Act]] (ACA), informally referred to as "Obamacare", which currently serves the residents of the U.S. states which have opted not to create their own state exchanges.<ref name='fierce'>{{cite news|url=http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/story/healthcaregov-problems-spark-federal-it-recriminations/2013-10-16|title=HealthCare.gov problems spark federal IT recriminations|date=16 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023023325/http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/story/healthcaregov-problems-spark-federal-it-recriminations/2013-10-16|archive-date=2013-10-23|access-date=17 October 2013|publisher=Fierce Government IT|author=David Perera|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=March 2014}} The exchange facilitates the sale of private [[health insurance]] plans to residents of the United States<ref name='bw-opensource'/> and offers subsidies to those who earn between one and four times the [[federal poverty line]], but not to those earning less than the federal poverty line.<ref>[https://www.kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/explaining-health-care-reform-questions-about-health/ Explaining Health Care Reform: Questions About Health Insurance Subsidies], KFF, November 20th, 2018</ref> The website also assists those persons who are eligible to sign up for [[Medicaid]], and has a separate marketplace for [[small business]]es.

On October 1, 2013, HealthCare.gov was rolled out as planned, despite the [[United States federal government shutdown of 2013|concurrent partial government shutdown]]. The launch was marred by serious technological problems, making it difficult for the public to sign up for health insurance.<ref name=":0"/> The deadline to sign up for coverage that would begin January 1, 2014, was December 23, 2013, by which time the problems had largely been fixed. The open enrollment period for 2016 coverage ran from November 1, 2015, to January 31, 2016.<ref name=jumps>{{cite news|url=https://www.healthcare.gov/marketplace-deadlines/2016/|title=Important Marketplace Deadlines - 2016 Open Enrollment dates |publisher=[[Healthcare.gov]]|access-date=September 18, 2015}}</ref> State exchanges also have had the same deadlines; their performance has been varied.<ref name=shuts>{{cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/2013/10/27/news/obamacare-website-malfunction/index.html?hpt=hp_t1|date=October 28, 2013|access-date=October 28, 2013|publisher=[[CNN.com]]|title=Obamacare malfunction shuts down application tool|author1=Kevin Bohn|author2=Gregory Wallace}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/03/massachusetts_to_fire_technolo.html|title=Massachusetts to sever relationship with Health Insurance Exchange technology vendor CGI|work=[[Masslive.com]]|date=17 March 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2014/03/cover_oregon_feds_blast_state.html|title=Cover Oregon: Feds blast state health insurance exchange and lead contractor, Oracle|work=OregonLive.com|date=13 March 2014 }}</ref>

The design of the website was overseen by the [[Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services]] and built by a number of federal contractors, most prominently [[CGI Group]] of Canada. The original budget for CGI was $93.7 million, but this grew to $292 million prior to launch of the website. While estimates that the overall cost for building the website had reached over $500 million prior to launch<ref name='fierce'/><ref name='reuters'/><ref>[http://www.digitaltrends.com/opinion/obamacare-healthcare-gov-website-cost We paid over $500 million for the Obamacare sites and all we got was this lousy 404] by Andrew Couts, [[Digital Trends]], October 8, 2013</ref><ref name='verge'/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/11/06/healthcare-govs-head-tech-guy-is-out/|title=HealthCare.gov's head tech guy is out|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=6 November 2013|access-date=7 November 2013}}</ref> and in early 2014 HHS Secretary [[Sylvia Mathews Burwell]] said there would be "approximately $834 million on Marketplace-related IT contracts and interagency agreements,"<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://beta.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/09/16/eric-trumps-four-pinocchio-claim-that-obamacare-website-cost-more-than-trumps-border-barrier/|title=Eric Trump's Four-Pinocchio claim that the Obamacare website cost more than Trump's border barrier|last=Kessler|first=Glenn|date=16 September 2019|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=16 September 2019}}</ref> the [[Office of Inspector General]] released a report in August 2014 finding that the total cost of the HealthCare.gov website had reached $1.7 billion<ref name=oig /> and a month later, including costs beyond "computer systems," Bloomberg News estimated it at $2.1 billion.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-09-24/obamacare-website-costs-exceed-2-billion-study-finds|title=Obamacare Website Costs Exceed $2 Billion, Study Finds|last=Wayne|first=Alex|date=24 September 2014|work=Bloomberg News|access-date=16 September 2019}}</ref> On July 30, 2014, the [[Government Accountability Office]] released a non-partisan study that concluded the administration did not provide "effective planning or oversight practices" in developing the HealthCare.gov website.<ref name="AP-20140731">{{cite news |last=Alonso-Zaldivar |first=Ricardo |title=Probe exposes flaws behind HealthCare.gov rollout |url=http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140731/us-health-overhaul-de4c72c273.html |date=July 31, 2014 |work=[[AP News]] |access-date=July 31, 2014 }}</ref>

==Background and functionality==
[[File:Medicaid expansion map of US. Affordable Care Act.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|[[Medicaid coverage gap#Medicaid expansion|ACA Medicaid expansion]] by state.<ref name=KFF-Medicaid>{{cite web |title=Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisions: Interactive Map |date=8 April 2024 |url=https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/status-of-state-medicaid-expansion-decisions-interactive-map |publisher=[[Kaiser Family Foundation|KFF]]. Map is updated as changes occur. Click on states for details.}}</ref>
{{legend|#2b83ba|Not adopted}}
{{legend|#89CC7F|Adopted}}
{{legend|#FECDAC|Implemented}}]]

The site functions as a clearing house to allow Americans to compare prices on [[health insurance]] plans in their states, to begin enrollment in a chosen plan, and to simultaneously find out if they qualify for government healthcare [[Subsidy|subsidies]].<ref name=":0">{{cite news|title = Obama addresses healthcare website glitches|date = 21 October 2013|url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24613022|access-date = 21 October 2013|work = [[BBC News]]}}</ref> Visitors sign up and create their own specific user account first, listing some personal information, before receiving detailed information about what is available in their area. Designed to assist the [[Health insurance coverage in the United States|millions of uninsured Americans]], the comparison shopping features involve a visual format somewhat analogous to websites such as [[Amazon.com]] and [[Etsy]].<ref name='bw-opensource'/><ref name='verge'/>

HealthCare.gov also details [[Medicaid]] options for individuals. This relates to an expansion of the long-running program undertaken as a joint effort under the ACA.<ref name='usatoday'/> The [[Congressional Budget Office]] (CBO) projected that the exchange would be used by an estimated seven million Americans to obtain coverage during the first year after its launch;<ref name=":0"/> current estimates suggest that the combined figure is slightly above eight million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kff.org/health-reform/state-indicator/state-marketplace-statistics/|title=State Marketplace Statistics, April 2014 - The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation|work=kff.org}}</ref>

== Development and history ==
{{More citations needed|section|date=June 2017}}

President [[Barack Obama]] signed the [[Affordable Care Act]] (ACA) into law on March 23, 2010, in the [[East Room]] before a select audience of nearly 300 people. He stated that the [[Health care reform in the United States|health reform effort]], designed after a long and acrimonious debate facing fierce opposition in the Congress to expand [[Health insurance coverage in the United States|health insurance coverage]], was based on "the core principle that everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health care".<ref name=signed>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/health/policy/24health.html?_r=0|title=Obama Signs Health Care Overhaul Into Law|date=March 24, 2010|access-date=October 27, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|author1=Robert Pear|author2=Sheryl Gay Stolberg}}</ref> The primary purpose of the ACA was to increase coverage to the American people either through public or private insurance and control healthcare costs. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the ACA would reduce the number of uninsured by 32 million, increasing coverage for the non-elderly citizens from 83 to 94 percent. Insurers were not allowed to deny insurance to applicants with pre-existing conditions.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = The Obamacare Website|last = Evans|first = Brad|date = March 18, 2014|journal = Ivey Publishing}}</ref> The [[Sunlight Foundation]] has stated that at least forty-seven private company contractors have been involved with the ACA in some capacity as of fall 2013, with the measure causing a wide variety of policy changes.<ref name="bw-opensource"/> Journalists writing for ''[[The New York Times]]'' have called the ACA "the most expansive social legislation enacted in decades".<ref name=signed/>

A report by [[Reuters]] described HealthCare.gov itself as the "key" to the reform measure.<ref name='reuters'/> Development of the website's interface as well as its supporting [[Front and back ends|back-end]] services, to make sure that the website could work to help people compare between [[health insurance]] plans, were both [[outsourcing|outsourced]] to private companies. The [[Front and back ends|front-end]] of the website was developed by the [[startup company|startup]] [[Development Seed]].<ref name="bw-opensource"/> The back-end work was contracted out to CGI Federal Inc., a subsidiary of the Canadian IT Multinational corporation [[CGI Group]], which subcontracted the work to other companies, as is common on large government contracts.<ref name='verge'/> CGI was also responsible for building some of the state-level healthcare exchanges, with varying levels of success (some did not open on schedule).<ref name='reuters'/>
[[File:Kathleen Sebelius.jpg|thumb|280px|Kathleen Sebelius and [[Todd Park]], chief technology officer of the Department of Health]]

According to author and journalist John J. Xenakis,{{Better source needed|reason=Citation is self-referencing, non-journalistic, contributes to extreme-right news sites only through PR Newswire not actual contributor status with those sites|date=June 2017}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=About John J. Xenakis|url=http://www.generationaldynamics.com/pg/ww2010.about.htm|access-date=2020-07-22|website=generationaldynamics.com}}</ref> CGI Federal's attempt in Massachusetts is characterized as a complete failure. In Xenakis' view, despite the Massachusetts connector being the type of website which a small team of five to ten could create in a few months on a 10 million dollar budget, a team of around 300 with a 200 million dollar budget failed. Xenakis claims CGI Federal were likely to have hired many incompetent programmers due to Massachusetts transferring the development contract to another firm, [[Optum]]. The software created by CGI was of poor quality and unusable by Optum, who had to start from scratch. CGI has also been accused of committing fraudulent tests and reports to those in charge of oversight.<ref name=" Generational Dynamics">{{cite web | url=http://www.generationaldynamics.com/pg/ww2010.i.hcgov150823.htm | title=Obamacare's Healthcare.gov -- The greatest software development disaster in history | date=23 August 2015 | access-date=26 October 2015 | author=Xenakis, John J.}}</ref> Similar problems occurred in many other states.<ref name=" Generational Dynamics"/> {{Citation needed|reason=source dubious, self-referencing|date=June 2017}} {{Better source needed|reason=Citation is self-referencing, non-journalistic, contributes to extreme-right news sites only through PR Newswire not actual contributor status with those sites|date=June 2017}}

Specifically, aspects of HealthCare.gov relating to digital identity [[authentication]] were assigned to [[Experian]]. [[Quality Software Services, Inc.]] (QSSI) also played a role. The total number of companies enlisted in the website's creation, and their names, has not been disclosed by the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services|Department of Health and Human Services]].<ref name='verge'/> The whole effort was officially coordinated by the [[Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services]] (CMS), an agency that commentators such as journalists David Perera and Sean Gallagher have speculated was ill-suited to that task. Social activist and technologist [[Clay Johnson (technologist)|Clay Johnson]] later said that the federal government had issues come up given that it "leans towards a write-down-all-the-requirements-then-build-to-those-requirements type of methodology" not well suited to current IT<ref name="Clay Johnson's Blog">{{cite web|url=http://blog.dobt.co/2013/10/10/how-healthcare-gov-went-wrong/|title=How Healthcare.gov Went Wrong|work=dobt.co}}</ref> especially when government contractors are focused on maximizing profits.<ref name='fmsincblog'>{{cite web|url=http://blog.fmsinc.com/too-big-to-fire-healthcare-gov-government-contractors//|title=Too Big to Fire: How Government Contractors on Healthcare.gov Maximize Profits|author=Luke Chung|date=7 December 2013|access-date=7 December 2013}}</ref>

"The firms that typically get contracts are the firms that are good at getting contracts, not typically good at executing on them," Alex Howard, a fellow at the Harvard [[Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation]], remarked to ''[[The Verge]]'' as he evaluated the back-end of the project. In contrast, the web-magazine's journalist Adrianne Jeffries praised the successful use of an "innovative" startup business for the front-end. However, she found the overall rollout "bone-headed".<ref name='verge'/>

The Obama administration repeatedly modified regulations and policies until summer 2013, meaning contractors had to deal with changing requirements. However, changing requirements are by no means unusual in a large, expensive custom software project; they are a well-known factor in [[List of failed and overbudget custom software projects|historical project failures]], and methodologies such as [[agile software development]] have been developed to cope with them. Unfortunately, regulations pertaining to large government contracts in many countries, including the United States, are not a good match for agile software development.<ref name="bw-opensource"/>

== Statistics ==
Analysis by the [[Reuters]] news agency in mid-October stated that the total contract-based cost of building HealthCare.gov swelled threefold from its initial estimate of $93.7 million to about $292 million.<ref name='reuters'/> In August 2014, the [[Office of Inspector General]] released a report finding that the cost of the HealthCare.gov website had reached $1.7 billion.<ref name=oig>{{cite web|url=http://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-03-14-00231.asp|title=An Overview of 60 Contracts That Contributed to the Development and Operation of the Federal Marketplace|date=26 August 2014|access-date=1 November 2014}}</ref> As pointed out later by commentators such as [[Mark Steyn]], the CGI company had already been embroiled in a mid-2000s controversy before over contract payments. While devising the [[Canadian Firearms Registry]], estimated costs of $2 million ballooned to about $2 billion.<ref name=steyn/>

On March 25, 2019, the [[Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services]] reported that 11.4 million Americans had selected enrolled in or automatically renewed their Exchange coverage during the 2019 Open Enrollment Period.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cms-issues-2019-exchange-open-enrollment-period-final-report|title=CMS Issues the 2019 Exchange Open Enrollment Period Final Report {{!}} CMS|website=www.cms.gov|access-date=2019-04-19}}</ref>

==Concerns about the website==
=== Issues during launch ===
[[File:ACA health insurance exchanges by state.svg|thumb|300px|Health insurance exchange functionality by state:<ref name=KaiserExchanges>{{cite web|title=State Decisions For Creating Health Insurance Exchanges, as of May 28, 2013 - Table|url=http://kff.org/health-reform/state-indicator/health-insurance-exchanges/#table |publisher=Kaiser Family Foundation |date=May 28, 2013 }}<br />{{cite web|title=State Decisions For Creating Health Insurance Exchanges, as of May 28, 2013 - Map|url=http://kff.org/health-reform/state-indicator/health-insurance-exchanges/#map |publisher=Kaiser Family Foundation |date=May 28, 2013 }}</ref>
{{legend|#232|Creating state-operated exchanges}}
{{legend|#898|Establishing state-federal partnership exchanges}}
{{legend|#C8C8C8|Defaulting to federal exchange}}]]

The HealthCare.gov website was launched on the scheduled date of October 1, 2013. Although the [[United States federal government shutdown of 2013|government shutdown]] began on the same day, HealthCare.gov was one of the federal government websites that remained open through the events. Although it appeared to be up and running normally, visitors quickly encountered numerous types of technical problems,<ref name='verge'>{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2013/10/8/4814098/why-did-the-tech-savvy-obama-administration-launch-a-busted-healthcare-website|title=Why Obama's HealthCare.gov launch was doomed to fail|author=Adrianne Jeffries|website=[[The Verge]]|date=8 October 2013|access-date=17 October 2013}}</ref><ref name='fmsinc'>{{cite web|url=http://blog.fmsinc.com/healthcare-gov-is-a-technological-disaster/|title=HealthCare.gov is a Technological Disaster|author=Luke Chung|date=1 October 2013|access-date=1 October 2013}}</ref> and, by some estimates, only 1% of interested people were able to enroll to the site in the first week of its operations.<ref name='bw-opensource'>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-16/open-source-everything-the-moral-of-the-healthcare-dot-gov-debacle|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016135729/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-16/open-source-everything-the-moral-of-the-healthcare-dot-gov-debacle|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 16, 2013|title=The Obamacare Website Didn't Have to Fail. How to Do Better Next Time|access-date=17 October 2013|date=16 October 2013|author=Paul Ford|magazine=[[Bloomberg Businessweek]]}}</ref> Even for those that did manage to enroll, insurance providers later reported some instances of applications submitted through the site with required information missing.<ref name=":1">{{cite news|title = Obama: No 'sugarcoating' problems with health website|date = 21 October 2013|url = http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/21/politics/obamacare-problems/|last = Cohen|first = Tom|publisher = CNN|access-date = 21 October 2013}}</ref>

In ''[[Bloomberg Businessweek]]'' journalist Paul Ford summed up the issue by remarking, "Regardless of your opinions on the health-care law, this is the wrong way to make software." He also wrote, "In the meantime, it's clear that tens of millions of dollars have been spent to launch something broken."<ref name='bw-opensource'/> A [[Consumer Reports|ConsumerReports.org]] article re-iterated previous advice, with the group recommending for people to stay "away from HealthCare.gov for at least another month". The group stated as well, "Hopefully that will be long enough for its software vendors to clean up the mess they've made."<ref name=":1"/>

In its third week of operations, technical problems continued. A [[CNN.com]] article highlighted the "maddeningly long wait times" as an issue.<ref name='reuters'>{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-healthcare-technology-insight-idUKBRE99G06120131017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112154445/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-healthcare-technology-insight-idUKBRE99G06120131017|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 12, 2016|title=As Obamacare tech woes mounted, contractor payments soared|date=17 October 2013|access-date=17 October 2013|first=Sharon|last=Begley|work=Reuters}}</ref> A variety of other problems included broken pull-down menus that have only worked intermittently, for example.<ref name='usatoday'/>

[[Todd Park]], the U.S. [[chief technology officer]], initially said on October 6 that the [[glitch]]es{{clarify|date=April 2015}} were caused by unexpected high volume when the site drew 250,000 simultaneous users instead of the 50,000-60,000 expected. He claimed that the site would have worked with fewer simultaneous users. More than 8.1 million people visited the site from October 1 to 4.<ref name='usatoday'>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/05/health-care-website-repairs/2927597/|title=Obama adviser: Demand overwhelmed HealthCare.gov|author=Tim Mullaney|work=[[USA Today]]|date=6 October 2013|access-date=17 October 2013}}</ref> White House officials subsequently conceded that it was not just an issue of volume, but involved software and systems design issues.<ref name=":0" /> For example, consumers are required to create an account before being able to compare plans, and the registration process may have created a bottleneck that led to the long wait times.<ref name=":2">{{cite news|title = Obama on healthcare sign-up glitches: 'It's going to get fixed'|date = 21 October 2013|url = http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-obama-healthcare-obamacare-signup-fix-20131021,0,6297787.story|last1 = Parsons|first1 = Christi|last2 = Levey|first2 = Noam|work = [[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date = 21 October 2013}}</ref> Also, stress tests done by contractors 1 day before the launch date revealed that the site became too slow with only 1,100 simultaneous users, nowhere near even the 50,000-60,000 expected.<ref name="nbcpolitics">{{cite web|url=http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/06/21337298-stress-tests-show-healthcaregov-was-overloaded?lite|title='Stress tests' show Healthcare.gov was overloaded|author=Frank Thorp|work=[[NBC News]]|date=6 November 2013|access-date=18 November 2013}}</ref>

Despite later comments, concerns about the readiness of the exchanges had been raised in March 2013, by Henry Chao, the deputy chief information officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), who had said that "let's just make sure it's not a third-world experience". A colleague of his, Gary Cohen, had also remarked, "Everyone recognizes that day one will not be perfect." Even by 2011, when the CMS awarded its private sector contracts, most of the ACA regulations and implementation measures were still in flux.<ref name='reuters'/>

[[The New York Times]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/19/us/politics/administration-open-to-direct-insurance-company-signups.html|title=Officials Were Warned About Health Site Woes|date=November 18, 2013|access-date=January 4, 2014|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|author1=Sharon LaFraniere|author2=Eric Lipton}}</ref> and [[The Washington Post]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/private-consultants-warned-of-risks-before-healthcaregovs-oct-1-launch/2013/11/18/9d2db5f4-5096-11e3-9fe0-fd2ca728e67c_story.html|title=Private consultants warned of risks before HealthCare.gov's Oct. 1 launch|date=November 18, 2013|access-date=January 4, 2014|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|author1=Juliet Eilperin|author2=Sandhya Somashekhar}}</ref> reported in November 2013 that the Obama administration brought in [[consulting firm]] [[McKinsey & Company]] to assess the website. Their report, delivered in March 2013, warned that the effort to build the HealthCare.gov site was falling behind and was at risk of failure unless immediate steps were taken to correct the problems.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

On October 21, 2013, President [[Barack Obama]] addressed the technical problems and other issues in a thirty-minute press conference at the [[White House Rose Garden]], saying that there was "no excuse" for them. He remarked, "There's no sugar coating: the website has been too slow, people have been getting stuck during the application process and I think it's fair to say that nobody's more frustrated by that than I am." He also stated that a "tech surge" was underway to fix the problems.<ref name=":0"/> The President additionally pointed out that people could instead apply through a call center or in person.<ref name=":1" />

[[White House Press Secretary]] [[Jay Carney]] said more time was needed to get the website working properly. Carney also hinted that if the problems remained unresolved for such a long time that it prevented people from meeting their legal obligation to obtain insurance in time for the February deadline, the legal penalty for not obtaining insurance would not be applicable because the Obamacare law states that if affordable care is not available, the penalty will not be payable.<ref name=":1" />

So, shortly after HealthCare.gov's launch, the problems still did not affect the legal requirement for Americans to have health insurance by December 15, which remained on the books as stated.<ref name='verge'/> However, on October 23, the effective legal deadline for applying for health insurance via HealthCare.gov without getting a penalty via the [[individual mandate]] was extended to March 31, 2014, possibly because of the problems with HealthCare.gov and some of the state healthcare exchanges (but without a ''[[de jure]]'' explanation as such given).

The Obama administration appointed a contractor, [[Quality Software Services, Inc]] (QSSI), to coordinate the work of the fixing of the website problems. The company had already worked on the website's back-end before the website went live. As stated before, prior to the launch, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) had been playing the role of coordinator, but critics charged that it was ill-suited for such a [[System integration|systems integration]] role. The administration appointed [[Jeffrey Zients]] to act as their adviser in the matter.<ref name=fixes-2013 />

On October 25, Zients promised, in a conference call to the media, that the site would be working well "for the vast majority of users" by the end of November. He also claimed that 90% of visitors are now able to complete the account-creation process and actually used HealthCare.gov to compare plans. Perhaps the largest issue he faces, as he acknowledged in the call, are the error-riddled reports given to insurers, often messing up basic details such as an individual's gender.<ref name=fixes-2013>{{cite news|title = HealthCare.gov fixes won't be done until end of November|date = 25 October 2013|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/healthcaregov-fixes-wont-be-done-until-end-of-november/2013/10/25/22df29ba-3d93-11e3-b7ba-503fb5822c3e_story.html|last = Somashekhar|first = Sandhya|newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]|access-date = 25 October 2013}}</ref>

As stated before, HealthCare.gov problems have persisted even weeks after the launch. For example, a networking failure error at the related data services hub killed the website's functionality again October 28. This occurred the exact day after [[United States Department of Health and Human Services|Health and Human Services]] head [[Kathleen Sebelius]] had highlighted the design of that data hub as a government success. However, state-based exchanges have mostly worked well in registering individuals during this time period, with [[CNN.com]] describing them as "largely error free".<ref name=shuts/>

A large number of technical fixes took place through October and November, with an [[NPR.org]] report later remarking that the website seemed to be "working more smoothly." Yet, on November 13, the Obama administration revealed that fewer than 27,000 people had signed up to private health insurance through the site.<ref name='mst'>{{cite news|url=http://www.newser.com/article/daa22lcg0/fewer-than-27000-health-care-sign-ups-through-federal-website-79000-more-in-state-sites.html|title=Fewer than 27,000 health care sign-ups through federal website; 79,000 more in state sites|date=November 13, 2013|access-date=December 12, 2013|last=Kellman|first=Laurie|publisher=[[Newser.com]]}}</ref> By November 30, more than 137,000 people had obtained health insurance through the federal website. That figure represented a strong increase, but enrollment figures were still vastly below past U.S. government forecasts.<ref name=jumps-2013 />

[[Accenture]] was chosen to replace [[CGI Group]] as the lead contractor for the website in January 2014.<ref name=accenture>{{cite web|title=Accenture chosen as lead contractor of Obamacare website|date=11 January 2014 |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/accenture-chosen-lead-contractor-obamacare-website-government-220550193--sector.html|publisher=Yahoo!|access-date=28 February 2014}}</ref>

A large issue with future enrollments is dealing with the accuracy of HealthCare.gov information sent to insurance companies. As stated in an NPR.org article citing "continuing problems" with HealthCare.gov, about one in ten enrollment notices have contained a significant error.<ref name=jumps-2013>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/12/11/250023704/enrollment-jumps-at-healthcare-gov-though-totals-still-lag|title=Enrollment Jumps At HealthCare.gov, Though Totals Still Lag|date=December 11, 2013|publisher=[[NPR.org]]|access-date=December 12, 2013|first=Scott|last=Horsley}}</ref>

=== 2015 open enrollment period ===
Enrollment for the 2015 year through the federal government website, which serves 37 states with no enrollment websites, started at midnight of Nov 15, 2014, and ended on February 15, 2015.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

The [[United States Department of Health and Human Services]] reported a relatively smooth experience for users. However, scattered reports of problems, such as blocking login access and long wait times, were encountered. In one case, a call center worker told a reporter that resolving their issue may take five to seven business days.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/15/open-enrollment-healthcaregov-affordable-care-act-site-performance/19085637/|title=State, federal insurance sites face first-day hiccups|date=15 November 2014|work=USA TODAY}}</ref>

In January [[USA Today]] reported that more health plans  were offered in about 75% of counties for 2015, and while average insurance premium increased less than the average 10% annual jumps for plans before the [[Affordable Care Act]], there were still some very large increases.<ref name=janupdate>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/01/27/obamacare-enrollment--update-january/22217109/|title=Florida tops Obamacare sign-ups; Texas lags|date=27 January 2015|work=USA TODAY}}</ref>

State and federal health care exchanges have enrolled more than 9.5 million people, but the numbers vary. [[Florida]] accounted for almost a seventh of all people who have selected plans on the exchanges. [[Texas]], however,  has  the largest share of uninsured adults while  enrollments lag.<ref name=janupdate/>

=== 2016 open enrollment period ===
The open enrollment period for 2016 began on November 1, 2015, and ended on January 31, 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|title = 2016 Open Enrollment dates|url = https://www.healthcare.gov/marketplace-deadlines/2016/|website = HealthCare.gov|access-date = 2015-09-19}}</ref>

===Fake websites===
Before HealthCare.gov went online, there was concern about misleading or fake websites at the state or local level.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kelsey|first=Miller|title=Officials Worry Fake Health Exchange Websites Could Defraud, Confuse Consumers|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/13/fake-health-exchange-websites_n_3916399.html|access-date=4 December 2013|newspaper=Huffington Post|date=13 September 2013}}</ref> In early December 2013, a third fake health insurance site was shut down in [[Kentucky]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Lisa|first=Bernard-Kuhn|title=Ky. shuts down 3rd fake Obamacare website|url=http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20131203/NEWS0103/312030083/Ky-shuts-down-3rd-fake-Obamacare-website|access-date=4 December 2013|newspaper=Cincinnati.com|date=3 December 2013}}</ref> [[California]] Democratic Party politicians condemned a California Republican Party-created website which resembled the state's official Obamacare sign-up website but provided political criticisms of the law instead of insurance coverage.<ref>{{cite news|last=Melanie|first=Mason|title=Rep. Janice Hahn calls on state GOP to take down 'fake' Obamacare site |url=http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-gop-healthcare-site-20131204,0,722113.story |access-date=4 December 2013|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=4 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/12/california-republicans-defend-fake-obamacare-site/|title=California Republicans Defend Fake Obamacare Site|author=ABC News|work=ABC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-underhanded-20131202-story.html|title=An underhanded anti-Obamacare stunt by the California GOP [updated]|author=Los Angeles Times|date=2 December 2013|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>

===Privately-operated exchanges===
Partly in response to the Healthcare.gov outages, a number of privately operated services have launched to provide tools for consumers to calculate subsidy eligibility, as well as research, compare, and enroll for plans examples include [[HealthSherpa]], [[Stride Health]] and [[Health Insurance Innovations|HealthPocket]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Taylor |first1=Erin Audrey |last2=Carman |first2=Katherine Grace |last3=Lopez |first3=Andrea |last4=Muchow |first4=Ashley N. |last5=Roshan |first5=Parisa |last6=Eibner |first6=Christine |title=Consumer Decisionmaking in the Health Care Marketplace |website=www.rand.org |date=2016 |url=https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1567.html |access-date=10 October 2019 |language=en}}</ref> In November 2013, HealthSherpa was launched by a team of coders in San Francisco and received media attention for its comparative ease of use.<ref>{{Cite web|title = S.F. programmers build alternative to HealthCare.gov|url = http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sf-programmers-build-alternative-to-healthcaregov/|website = www.cbsnews.com|access-date = 2015-09-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = Three Guys Built a Better Healthcare.gov|url = http://www.thewire.com/technology/2013/11/three-guys-built-better-healthcaregov/71195/|access-date = 2015-09-19}}</ref> Critics pointed out that by focusing only on providing information, the HealthSherpa site did not resolve some of the most difficult problems, including allowing consumers to actually enroll in a plan.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Why HealthSherpa.com is not a replacement for Healthcare.gov [UPDATED]|url = http://e-pluribusunum.org/2013/11/11/why-healthsherpa-com-is-not-a-replacement-for-healthcare-gov/|website = E Pluribus Unum|access-date = 2015-09-19}}</ref> Stride Health launched in 2014, and focused on simplifying health care enrollment by recommending plans to its users based on their data and offering a full service team on the phone who can help its users enroll in plans. The company saw early success through partnerships with a number of large companies. By March 2014, HealthSherpa had become a full-service broker allowing users to enroll directly on the HealthSherpa site.<ref>{{Cite web|title = More Than One Way to Buy a Plan|url = https://www.nytimes.com/news/affordable-care-act/2014/03/06/more-than-one-way-to-buy-a-plan/|website = The New York Times - In Practice|date = 2014-03-06|access-date = 2015-09-19|first = Jess|last = Bidgood}}</ref>

===Security===
In July 2014, a hacker broke into a test server for HealthCare.gov and uploaded malicious software.<ref name="hacker hacked healthcare.gov test server">{{cite web|title=Hacker Breached HealthCare.gov Insurance Site|work=Wall Street Journal|first=Danny|last=Yadron|date=September 4, 2014| url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/hacker-breached-healthcare-gov-insurance-site-1409861043}}{{subscription required}}</ref> By the end of 2014, HealthCare.gov had apparently rewritten a large portion of the site and moved important functions "server-side," instead of being executed client-side in the user's [[web browser]].<ref name="healthcare.gov security improved">{{cite web|title=Healthcare.gov Web Security Review|date=December 19, 2014|url=https://planetzuda.com/2014/12/19/healthcare-gov-web-security-review/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403141343/https://planetzuda.com/2014/12/19/healthcare-gov-web-security-review/|archive-date=3 April 2015|website=Planet Zuda }}</ref>

====Data privacy====
The initial launch of HealthCare.gov was plagued with security concerns and led to [[information security]] experts publicly testifying before the [[United States House Committee on Science, Space and Technology|Congressional Committee on Science, Space and Technology]]<ref name=congress-hearing>{{cite web|title=Full Committee Hearing - Is My Data on Healthcare.gov Secure?|url=http://science.house.gov/hearing/full-committee-hearing-my-data-healthcaregov-secure|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131122014706/http://science.house.gov/hearing/full-committee-hearing-my-data-healthcaregov-secure|archive-date=22 November 2013|work=Congressional Committee on Science, Space and Technology}}</ref> and others speaking to the government about security vulnerabilities in HealthCare.gov.<ref name=house-oversight-committee>{{cite web|title=Speaking to house oversight committee on healthcare.gov security|url=https://planetzuda.com/2014/01/27/spoke-congress-healthcare-gov/|access-date=2015-03-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407202533/https://planetzuda.com/2014/01/27/spoke-congress-healthcare-gov/|archive-date=2015-04-07|url-status=dead}}</ref> David Kennedy was able to locate 70,000 health records that were supposed to be private but were publicly available via a [[Google hacking|google dork]].<ref name="david kennedy healthcare.gov google dork">{{cite web|title=Explaining security issues with healthcare.gov| url=https://www.trustedsec.com/january-2014/explaining-security-issues-healthcare-gov/|website=TrustedSec}}</ref>

There are concerns that personal information put into the website may not be secure in the way that users expect: on January 24, 2015  [[Kevin Counihan]], the C.E.O. of Healthcare.gov, addressed concerns about privacy on the federal website. He said they launched a review of their privacy policies, contracts for third-party tools, and URL construction. He said that Healthcare.gov had encrypted a URL that contained data on users' income, age, and whether they were pregnant.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://op-talk.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/23/is-your-data-safe-at-healthcare-gov/?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&_r=0 |title=Is Your Data Safe at Healthcare.gov? |first=Anna |last=North |work=op-talk.blogs.nytimes.com |date=23 January 2015 |access-date=28 January 2015}}</ref>

On Jan. 20, 2015, the [[Associated Press]] reported in an article titled: "Government health care website quietly sharing personal data" that  HealthCare.gov is providing access to enrollees' personal data to private companies that specialize in [[advertising]]. The data may include age, income, ZIP code, whether a person smokes, and if a person is pregnant. It may also include a computer's Internet address, which can identify a person's name or address when combined with other information collected by [[information broker|data brokers]] and [[online advertising]] firms.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

There is no evidence that this data has been misused, but connections to dozens of third-party tech firms were documented. Some of these companies were also collecting highly specific information.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Alonso-Zaldivar, Ricardo|author2=Gillum, Jack|title=Government health care website quietly sharing personal data|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/31490a20926d4ed3b98ff2d0ed8fc81d/new-privacy-concerns-over-governments-health-care-website|publisher=Associated Press|access-date=20 September 2015|date=20 January 2015|quote=The government's health insurance website is quietly sending consumers' personal data to private companies that specialize in advertising and analyzing Internet data for performance and marketing, The Associated Press has learned.|archive-date=14 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714061716/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/31490a20926d4ed3b98ff2d0ed8fc81d/new-privacy-concerns-over-governments-health-care-website|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Copyright infringement===
In October 2013, ''[[The Weekly Standard]]'' reported the site was violating the [[copyright]]s of SpryMedia, a UK-based technology company, by utilizing their software with the copyright notices removed. The software was DataTables, a [[free software|free]] and [[open-source software|open-source]] plugin for [[jQuery]] designed to improve presentation of data, and was [[multi-licensing|dual-licensed]] under the [[GNU GPL]] version 2 and a modified 3-clause [[BSD license]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Bier|first1=Jeryl|title=Obamacare Website Violates Licensing Agreement for Copyrighted Software|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obamacare-website-violates-licensing-agreement-copyrighted-software_763666.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018074632/http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obamacare-website-violates-licensing-agreement-copyrighted-software_763666.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 18, 2013|magazine=[[The Weekly Standard]]|access-date=29 March 2015|date=17 October 2013}}</ref> HealthCare.gov subsequently rectified the license violation by providing appropriate attribution, license and copyright notices.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Fran|first1=Berkman|title=U.S. Government Fixes Copyright Violation in Healthcare.gov Code|url=http://mashable.com/2013/10/24/obamacare-code-copyright/|publisher=[[Mashable]]|access-date=29 March 2015|date=24 October 2013}}</ref>

==Reception and possible ramifications==
[[File:Kathleen Sebelius Secretary of Health and Human Services nomination.jpg|right|thumb|375px|[[Kathleen Sebelius]] formally accepts her nomination as [[Secretary of Health and Human Services|Secretary]] with President Obama by her side.]]

The technical problems were heavily criticized, and Republican representatives sent President Obama a list of questions, demanding explanations for what went wrong. Some Republicans called for the [[Secretary of Health and Human Services]], [[Kathleen Sebelius]], to be fired, because she oversaw the planning for the site launch.<ref name=":2" /> Former [[White House Press Secretary]] [[Robert Gibbs]] described the technical problems as "excruciatingly embarrassing", and he said that some people should be fired. Scott Amey of the [[Project on Government Oversight]] pointed to the development cost ceiling being raised from $93.7 million to $292 million, and he asked: "Where was the contract oversight?"<ref name='reuters'/>

[[Conservatism in the United States|American conservative]] commentators such as ''[[National Review]]'' writers [[Jonah Goldberg]] and [[Mark Steyn]] have argued that the website's launch was a disaster that presages larger problems throughout the entire law, with Goldberg asserting that "the Republicans who insisted that this monstrosity had to be delayed are looking just a little bit more reasonable with every passing tick."<ref name=steyn>{{cite magazine|author=Mark Steyn|author-link=Mark Steyn|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/362255/obamacares-magical-thinkers-mark-steyn|title=Obamacare's Magical Thinkers|magazine=[[National Review]]|access-date=October 26, 2013|date=October 25, 2013}}</ref><ref name=tick>{{cite magazine|author=Jonah Goldberg|author-link=Jonah Goldberg|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/362153/obamacares-ticking-clock-jonah-goldberg|title=Obamacare's Ticking Clock|magazine=[[National Review]]|access-date=October 26, 2013|date=October 25, 2013}}</ref> In a statement, the [[Republican National Committee]] (RNC) responded to President Obama's comments that the "tech surge" was code for a "spending surge" and will waste millions of dollars. Said statement also read, "The federal bureaucracy has proven itself too slow, too bloated, too incompetent, and too outdated to manage America's health care."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gop.com/trending/rnc-statement-on-obamacares-continuing-failures/|title=RNC Statement on ObamaCare's Continuing Failures|access-date=October 26, 2013|date=October 21, 2013|publisher=[[Republican Party (United States)|Gop.com]]}}</ref>

[[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House]] [[John Boehner]], a Republican [[United States House of Representatives|Representative]] from Ohio, told reporters that throughout November "more Americans are going to lose their health care than are going to sign up."<ref name=upbeat/> [[Governor of Ohio|Ohio Governor]] [[John Kasich]] stated on NBC's ''[[Meet the Press]]'' program on October 27 that the roll-out has "got everybody just shaking their heads". He also added that it seemed highly likely that most Ohioans would pay more on the HealthCare.gov plans. [[Governor of Kentucky|Kentucky Governor]] [[Steve Beshear]] counter-argued that while the website didn't work well yet that it soon would since HealthCare.gov represents "the future of health care", and he commented as well, "You know, the advice I would give the news media and the critics up here is take a deep breath."<ref name=mtp>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna53387824|publisher=[[NBC News]] - [[Meet The Press]]|title=Oct. 27: John Kasich, Steve Beshear, Patrick J. Geraghty, Andrea Mitchell, Peter King, Rick Santorum, Jennifer Granholm, Neera Tanden, Alex Castellanos, Brian Williams|access-date=October 27, 2013|date=October 27, 2013}}</ref>

''[[The Daily Show]]'' host [[Jon Stewart]] notably lampooned the HealthCare.gov controversy during an interview with Sebelius. He jokingly challenged her to an online race: "I'm going to try and download every movie ever made, and you're going to try to sign up for Obamacare, and we'll see which happens first." She also faced grilling over the Obama administration's opposition to an extended [[individual mandate]] delay.<ref name="stay put">{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2013/10/26/240839038/loyal-soldier-sebelius-vows-to-stay-put-fix-healthcare-gov|title='Loyal Soldier' Sebelius Vows To Stay Put, Fix HealthCare.gov|first=Brian|last=Naylor|publisher=[[NPR.org]]|access-date=October 26, 2013|date=October 26, 2013}}</ref>

Sebelius later said in response to criticism, "The majority of people calling for me to resign I would say are people who I don't work for and who do not want this program to work in the first place". She also said, "I have had frequent conversations with the President and I have committed to him that my role is to get the program up and running, and we will do just that." Her popularity in her native [[Kansas]] where she previously served as [[Governor (United States)|governor]], according to [[University of Kansas]] [[political science]] professor Burdett Loomis, has spurred her on to stay on.<ref name="stay put"/>

[[Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives#Minority Leader|U.S. House Minority Leader]] [[Nancy Pelosi]], a Democratic [[U.S. House of Representatives|Representative]] from California, commented about the controversy that she feels optimistic about things being fixed, saying "I have faith in technology" as well as "while there are glitches, there are solutions, as well." Democrats in Congress have accused Republican critics of HealthCare.gov of acting in bad faith. "We want the process to improve, but we're not interested in torpedoing the process," said Representative [[Xavier Becerra]], another Democrat from California and chairman of the [[Democratic Caucus of the United States House of Representatives|House Democratic Caucus]].<ref name=upbeat>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amid-healthcaregov-problems-democrats-stay-upbeat/|title=Amid HealthCare.gov problems, Democrats stay upbeat|first=Stephanie|last=Condon|publisher=[[CBS News]]|access-date=October 26, 2013|date=October 23, 2013}}</ref>

Republican Senator [[Marco Rubio]] has drafted legislation as a result of the controversy to delay the individual mandate. The proposed legislation has drawn scattered Democratic support.<ref name=tick/> Professor and author Victor Lombardi commented to ''Bloomberg Businessweek'' that the website's issues "don't sound catastrophic", and he added that history "may judge this project as the catalyst that revolutionized the United States health-care system" such that "no one will remember a few hiccups at launch."<ref name='bw-opensource'/>

Although the law that decreed the creation of HealthCare.gov has been divisive and political speculation has taken place, polling done by the [[Gallup (company)|Gallup]] organization around the time of the difficult roll-out still have found that a majority of Americans support keeping at least some aspects of Obamacare. Specifically, just 29% of the public favoured a complete repeal.<ref name=":0"/> However, a joint ''[[The Washington Post]]'' and [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] survey stated that 56% of respondents consider the website's problems a harbinger of other problems with the health care measure.<ref name=":1"/>

On October 29, 2013, [[Lee Terry|Rep. Lee Terry (R, NE-2)]] introduced the [[Exchange Information Disclosure Act]].<ref name=3362allactions>{{cite web|title=H.R. 3362 - All Actions|url=http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/3362/all-actions/|publisher=United States Congress|access-date=7 January 2014}}</ref> The bill would require the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services]] to submit weekly reports to Congress about the how many people are using HealthCare.gov and signing up for health insurance.<ref name=GOPdemand1>{{cite news|last=Kasperowicz|first=Pete|title=House GOP to demand O-Care updates|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/194421-house-gop-to-demand-regular-obamacare-updates/|access-date=7 January 2014|newspaper=The Hill|date=4 January 2014}}</ref> These reports would be due every Monday until March 31, 2015, and would be available to the public.<ref name=govtracktext>{{cite web|title=Text of H.R. 3362|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr3362/text|publisher=Govtrack.us|access-date=7 January 2014}}</ref> The bill would "require weekly updates on the number of unique website visitors, new accounts, and new enrollments in a qualified health plan, as well as the level of coverage," separating the data by state.<ref name="GOPdemand1"/> The bill would also require reports on efforts to fix the broken portions of the website.<ref name="GOPdemand1"/> The House was scheduled to vote on it on January 10, 2014.<ref name=leadersschedule>{{cite web|title=Leader's Weekly Schedule Week of January 6, 2014|url=http://majorityleader.gov/floor/1-6-14.pdf|publisher=House Majority Leader's Office|access-date=7 January 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107230909/http://majorityleader.gov/floor/1-6-14.pdf|archive-date=7 January 2014}}</ref>

[[Kathleen Sebelius]] resigned as Secretary of Health and Human Services on April 10, 2014. She was replaced by [[Sylvia Mathews Burwell]] on June 9.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

== See also ==
<!-- Please maintain in alphabetical order -->
{{portal|Internet|United States}}
* [[Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services]]
* [[eHealthInsurance]]
* [[Health care in the United States]]
* [[Health care reform in the United States]]
* [[Health care reforms proposed during the Obama administration]]
* [[Health insurance coverage in the United States]]
* [[Health insurance marketplace]]
* [[List of failed and overbudget custom software projects]]
* ''[[The Mythical Man-Month]]''
* [[Provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]]
* [[United States Department of Health and Human Services]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{citation |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/07/the-secret-startup-saved-healthcare-gov-the-worst-website-in-america/397784/ |work=The Atlantic |date=July 2015 |title=The Secret Startup That Saved the Worst Website in America }}

== External links ==
* {{official website|https://www.healthcare.gov/}}
* [https://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/index.html HHS.gov/HealthCare]
* [https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/01/healthcare.gov-sends-personal-data HealthCare.gov Sends Personal Data to Dozens of Tracking Websites] Electronic Frontier Foundation, 2015

{{PPACA|state=expanded}}

[[Category:Internet properties established in 2013]]
[[Category:CGI Group]]
[[Category:Custom software projects]]
[[Category:Healthcare reform in the United States]]
[[Category:Health insurance marketplaces|HealthCare.gov]]
[[Category:Health insurance in the United States]]
[[Category:Government services web portals in the United States]]
[[Category:United States Department of Health and Human Services]]
[[Category:2013 in American politics]]
[[Category:2014 in American politics]]
[[Category:Obama administration controversies]]
[[Category:Online marketplaces of the United States]]