Jonathan Easley reports at The Hill:
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday the Obama administration would meet its self-imposed Nov. 30 deadline to have HealthCare.gov running better.
“We are definitely on track to have a significantly different user experience by the end of the month,” Sebelius said on a conference call with state and local elected officials about the ObamaCare rollout.
It is strange that Secretary Sebelius keeps using the phrase "on track," because she used it so many times before the disastrous rollout:
Kansas City Star, September 20:
Sebelius downplayed a Wall Street Journal report Friday that pricing glitches are being found in the federal system.
“Testing is being done,” Sebelius said. “We’re very much on track to be ready Oct. 1.”
She said any “bumps in the road” will be fixed by the opening date.Austin American-Statesman, August 8:
Sebelius, who noted that she knew Perry when she served as governor of Kansas, responded to Perry’s criticism with a chuckle.
“First of all there is nothing that is delayed,” she said. “There is nothing that is not on track. I have, again, no idea what it is that he is anticipating in terms of costs to the state.”Dallas Morning News, August 8:
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius predicted Thursday that computer bugs won’t impede the roll-out of new state health insurance marketplaces on Oct. 1. She also rejected Gov. Rick Perry’s suggestion that Americans grasp Obamacare “all too well” and are rejecting it.
Despite reports that information technology systems may not be fully ready to swap and protect applicants’ information with state Medicaid eligibility computers, Sebelius insisted her federal agency and its contractors are up to the job.
“I’m confident that we will be up and running, and on track, on Oct. 1,” when Americans can begin shopping in the online marketplaces that are being created for each state.McClatchy News, June 24:
“We will be ready on Oct. 1st,” Sebelius said Monday. “I’m confident we’re on track to get it done.”Washington Times, April 12:
In one terse exchange, Mr. Brady repeatedly challenged Mrs. Sebelius on her agency’s ability to have exchanges operating by this fall, citing a series of missed deadlines in recent months.
“I can only tell you what I’m telling you,” Mrs. Sebelius said. “We are on track to meet the Oct. 1 deadline.”
