Healthcare.gov has doubled its user capacity and eliminated many bugs in time for today's deadline, when the Obama administration pledged the problematic website would operate smoothly "for the vast majority" of people trying to access the site.
Jeffrey Zients, who is leading a technical team charged with fixing the website after its disastrous Oct. 1 rollout, said capacity is being increased to 50,000 simultaneous users and more than 800,000 total consumer visits a day.
That would allow about 1.84 million people to "comfortably" sign up for health insurance coverage through the federal exchange by Dec. 23, or in time for Jan. 1 coverage, he said at a White House briefing. Potentially more than 9.5 million people could sign up before March 31, or the end of the 2014 enrollment period.
"That said, there could be moments in the middle of the day — seems to be the peak — where capacity goes beyond that current user level, at which point there will be a customer-friendly queuing system which would notify you when to come back to the site and sort of be first in line," Zients said. In other words, people will receive an e-mail letting them know when to return to the page.
There are still some glitches, but the improvements are impressive and mean that the time left for Republicans to use the website as an example of Obamacare's failure is almost up.
Once this piece is in place, and functioning appropriately, it should not take long for more stories about successful signups, and reduced premiums, will start filtering in and will soon outweigh those about cancelled policies.
The important thing is for all of this to get squared away before the 2014 election cycle. It would be immensely helpful if the Democrats could run on the success of the ACA rather than feel they have to run away from it.
Obamacare’s Secret Success
ReplyDelete... So, how’s it going? The health exchanges are off to a famously rocky start, but many, though by no means all, of the cost-control measures have already kicked in. Has the curve been bent?
The answer, amazingly, is yes. In fact, the slowdown in health costs has been dramatic.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/29/opinion/krugman-obamacares-secret-success.html?ref=paulkrugman&_r=1&
Obamacare — a question of morality
The talk-show criticism and the pulpit defense crystallized the Obamacare debate. Drawn into sharp relief is the struggle taking place in this country between doing what is right and good and an unashamed indulgence in the immorality of indifference.
The issue couldn’t be put more simply.
Forty-nine million Americans do not have health insurance. For many of them, the ability to deal with their illnesses and injuries depends on their ability to pay. Lacking the money, some of them just go without the care they need. Better to put food on the table for the kids than to check out that awful pain in the gut. Can’t afford to do both.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/colbert-king-obamacare-is-a-matter-of-morality/2013/11/29/90379818-57b4-11e3-8304-caf30787c0a9_story.html
And since we're talking about health, this article is fascinating, Gryphen.
Scientists Have Finally Found The First Real Reason We Need To Sleep
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-first-real-reason-we-need-to-sleep-2013-10
I can hardly wait for the Republicans across the nation and especially the Republican governors having to eat crow over this subject!
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be a kick in the ass to watch the program become very effective.
But, don't be surprised if the Republicans try to overload the system again! That is their method to obstruct (some more!)
from what I've heard and read!
For those of us living in Michigan, that don't get to keep our policies for the next year, we can thank good old King Rick,republican and his insurance commission. He decide to "let the insurance companies" decide whether they would let us keep our old policies and gosh guess what they decided
DeleteHave you done it yet Jesse? Just curious as I'm in the middle of signing up now from AK. Hope it's less than the $550/month Blue Cross/Blue Shield that I cancelled in May. For that price I got no preventive care and had a $5000 deductible! When it became more than an average car payment I scrapped it....hope that we can get something affordable even thru the Federal Exchange. Fingers crossed, I'll let you know how it goes.
ReplyDeleteThis week's Newsweek: "Inside the Company That Bungled Obamacare"
ReplyDeletehttp://www.newsweek.com/too-big-succeed-207325
And someone, OTHER than television comedians, has to keep pointing out that the screaming about the website not working FAST enough, is coming from people who would have happily bankrupted the entire nation, to prevent the healthcare reform from working.
ReplyDeleteThe media is FORCED to ADMIT that it works.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.politicususa.com/2013/11/30/media-finally-catches-aca-website-fixed.html
The GOP saboteurs who've been working behind the scenes to gum up the system and spread lies (From Boehner Down) may STFU soon. Healthcare should be a basic human right, not a privilege or luxury.
Why are churches screaming about contraceptives and abortion, isn't it morally reprehensible that the poor and working poor aren't insured?
Getting quality health care IS NOT ABOUT INSURANCE!!! Why didn't this administration tackle the COST of healthCARE, not cost of insurance (which is still too high, no matter what 'subsidy' you do or don't get!)
DeleteThere are ways to do it! There's still going to be someone at a desk looking over your symptoms, and deciding what's best for your doctor to use to treat you, and your doctor WON'T be the final say.
Anon at 10:48 pm. Face it, the ACA is not all that the Democrats wanted; it is what they finally worked out, after months of ridiculous obstruction, with the GOP in Congress. It is a beginning; it is better than nothing. Medical costs are going down; they will continue to go down, that is part of the original philosophy. But, in this country, you CANNOT simply eliminate the insurance industry. Many of us would love to see a system like that in France or in the Scandinavian countries. We have to be patient and accept that the ACA is a first step in that direction. Too many Americans have been brainwashed by the GOP, by the media, by their old fears of "socialism" over that past six or seven decades to be willing to accept universal single-payer healthcare at once.
DeleteBeaglemom
Origins of Medical Industry Corruption
ReplyDeleteThe modern day mainstream medical industry has a dubious history, deeply rooted by a drive for profit through the subversion and suppression of non-profitable and non-patentable therapies and treatments.
To this day mainstream allopathic doctors and practitioners are heavily indoctrinated into a system that protects ever increasing industry profits while fiercely defending orthodox therapies. The network of allopathic medical institutions and education strictly denies medical freedom and outlaws any treatments that cannot generate market share profits for their monopolized industry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NheKUW6kGuY
Only 50,000 simultaneously? That doesn't seem like enough to me.
ReplyDelete