U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) wants to see the documentation behind the fumbled launch of the HealthCare.gov website, and
has issued a subpoena to Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (pictured right) for answers by Nov. 13.
He and other lawmakers, including Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), want to know how the government tested the website, and how many people have signed up and attempted to sign up for coverage through healthcare exchanges on the site, Reuters reported.
The long-time push from Republicans for details surrounding healthcare reform garnered momentum after the recent debacle with the launch of the website, which serves as the main portal to enrolling in healthcare exchanges, along with hundreds of thousands of people receiving healthcare cancellation notices, according to the article.
"The evidence is mounting that the website did not go through proper testing, including critical security testing, and that the administration ignored repeated warnings from contractors about ongoing problems," Issa said.
The government said there were 4.7 million unique visits to the website in the first 24 hours when the website initially launched, but there were only 248 enrollments across the country, according to notes from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CBS News reported. That's a far cry from the 39,000 enrollees a day needed to meet the 7 million mark by March 1.
Not only are the numbers off, lawmakers are questionning the website's security as well.
New documentation shows CMS administrator Marilyn Tavenner allowed HealthCare.gov to launch without final security testing, FierceHealthIT previously reported, leaving in limbo sensitive dat,a such as Social Security numbers, email addresses, phone numbers and birthdates.
However, a government spokeswoman said CMS has taken steps to address security concerns and personal data is secure, Reuters reported.
To learn more:
- read Reuter's article
- check out CBS News' coverage
Related Articles:
HealthCare.gov website security was at 'high risk' before launching
Sebelius fields accusations, questions on HealthCare.gov in testimony
Republicans demand HHS Secretary Sebelius' head over exchange problems
HealthCare.gov blame game continues
Another day, another HealthCare.gov glitch