US President Barack Obama has said there is "no
excuse" for the glitches that have plagued the
rollout of an element of his 2010 healthcare law.
In a White House press conference, Mr Obama said
that despite its problems, the website was delivering
affordable coverage.
Those attempting to sign up for health insurance have
reported persistent issues since the 1 October rollout.
Mr Obama said a "tech surge" was under way to fix the
snags.
The website's issues have been overshadowed by the
recent partial government shutdown, in which
Republican lawmakers attempted to gut the law
through budgetary brinkmanship.
'No sugarcoating'
In Monday's Rose Garden event, Mr Obama conceded
that healthcare.gov "hasn't worked as smoothly as it
was supposed to work".
"The number of people who've visited the site has been
overwhelming, which has aggravated some of these
underlying problems."
Mr Obama added: "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 said that notwithstanding the website's problems,
there was "massive demand" and the homepage had
been visited nearly 20 million times since its launch.
"Precisely because the product is good, I want the cash
registers to work; I want the checkout lines to be
smooth," said Mr Obama. "And there's no excuse for
the problems, and these problems are getting fixed."
He was joined at Monday's event by people who have
successfully enrolled during the first three weeks.
Janice Baker, a Delaware business owner who was the
first person in her state to enrol for coverage through
the exchange website, introduced Mr Obama.
She said she had "a number of frustrating attempts" to
use the site, but kept trying as she had been rejected
from insurance plans previously because of a pre-
existing condition.
Ms Baker said she expected to save $150 (£93) a
month with the policy she had signed up for on the
exchange.
The website is supposed to be a clearinghouse for
uninsured Americans searching for medical coverage.
Software issues
The site acts both as a check on whether applications
qualify for government subsidies for private insurance,
as well as being the first enrolment step for specific
plans.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office projects
the exchanges will be the gateway for providing health
coverage to an estimated seven million Americans
during the first year.
The White House has said almost half a million people
have applied for healthcare through both federal and
state-run exchanges since 1 October.
Exchanges run by individual states do not appear to
have been plagued to the same extent by malfunctions.
White House officials initially blamed the gremlins on
heavy interest in the site, but they recently conceded
the flaws were larger and involved software and system
design issues.
The Department of Health and Human Services, which
runs the exchanges, said in a blog post it had already
begun to make improvements.
But the administration has offered few details on who
was being brought in from outside the government
and the specific causes of the ongoing glitches.
Passed in 2010, the Affordable Care Act, commonly
known as Obamacare, has rolled out in multiple steps,
including coverage requirements on insurance
companies and future tax penalties for those who
remain uninsured.
Republicans have repeatedly attempted to repeal or
remove funding from the law, most recently during a
16-day government shutdown which ended with no
major concessions from Mr Obama.
Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has also been
criticised by Republican lawmakers for declining an
invitation to testify about the snags on 24 October.
But a spokeswoman for the health department said the
secretary would testify at some point.
"We have always indicated to the committee that she
intended to testify but that she had a scheduling
conflict," Joanne Peters said. "We continue to work with
them to find a mutually agreeable date in the near
future."
Although the law remains divisive, a recent Gallup
poll suggests only 29% of the public favours a
complete repeal.
excuse" for the glitches that have plagued the
rollout of an element of his 2010 healthcare law.
In a White House press conference, Mr Obama said
that despite its problems, the website was delivering
affordable coverage.
Those attempting to sign up for health insurance have
reported persistent issues since the 1 October rollout.
Mr Obama said a "tech surge" was under way to fix the
snags.
The website's issues have been overshadowed by the
recent partial government shutdown, in which
Republican lawmakers attempted to gut the law
through budgetary brinkmanship.
'No sugarcoating'
In Monday's Rose Garden event, Mr Obama conceded
that healthcare.gov "hasn't worked as smoothly as it
was supposed to work".
"The number of people who've visited the site has been
overwhelming, which has aggravated some of these
underlying problems."
Mr Obama added: "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 said that notwithstanding the website's problems,
there was "massive demand" and the homepage had
been visited nearly 20 million times since its launch.
"Precisely because the product is good, I want the cash
registers to work; I want the checkout lines to be
smooth," said Mr Obama. "And there's no excuse for
the problems, and these problems are getting fixed."
He was joined at Monday's event by people who have
successfully enrolled during the first three weeks.
Janice Baker, a Delaware business owner who was the
first person in her state to enrol for coverage through
the exchange website, introduced Mr Obama.
She said she had "a number of frustrating attempts" to
use the site, but kept trying as she had been rejected
from insurance plans previously because of a pre-
existing condition.
Ms Baker said she expected to save $150 (£93) a
month with the policy she had signed up for on the
exchange.
The website is supposed to be a clearinghouse for
uninsured Americans searching for medical coverage.
Software issues
The site acts both as a check on whether applications
qualify for government subsidies for private insurance,
as well as being the first enrolment step for specific
plans.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office projects
the exchanges will be the gateway for providing health
coverage to an estimated seven million Americans
during the first year.
The White House has said almost half a million people
have applied for healthcare through both federal and
state-run exchanges since 1 October.
Exchanges run by individual states do not appear to
have been plagued to the same extent by malfunctions.
White House officials initially blamed the gremlins on
heavy interest in the site, but they recently conceded
the flaws were larger and involved software and system
design issues.
The Department of Health and Human Services, which
runs the exchanges, said in a blog post it had already
begun to make improvements.
But the administration has offered few details on who
was being brought in from outside the government
and the specific causes of the ongoing glitches.
Passed in 2010, the Affordable Care Act, commonly
known as Obamacare, has rolled out in multiple steps,
including coverage requirements on insurance
companies and future tax penalties for those who
remain uninsured.
Republicans have repeatedly attempted to repeal or
remove funding from the law, most recently during a
16-day government shutdown which ended with no
major concessions from Mr Obama.
Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has also been
criticised by Republican lawmakers for declining an
invitation to testify about the snags on 24 October.
But a spokeswoman for the health department said the
secretary would testify at some point.
"We have always indicated to the committee that she
intended to testify but that she had a scheduling
conflict," Joanne Peters said. "We continue to work with
them to find a mutually agreeable date in the near
future."
Although the law remains divisive, a recent Gallup
poll suggests only 29% of the public favours a
complete repeal.
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