Outrageous 2, the sequel

I'm not particularly tech savvy, but I have enough common sense to understand that the Health and Human Services Healthcare.gov website is a disaster -- not only in the fact that it doesn't work, but also in the fact of how much American taxpayers paid for a website that doesn't work! Charitably calling it a mess, Business Week writer Paul Ford says, "But it’s not just that the kitchen’s on fire. The alarm system doesn’t work either. The waiters can’t hear the screams of the cooks." And from the tech point-of-view he writes, "...the debacle makes clear that it’s time for the government to change the way it ships code—namely, by embracing the approach to software development that has revolutionized the technology industry."

According to a Newsmax article, "figures released Thursday say the total cost of the deeply flawed website and healthcare exchange has topped $1 billion." This figure comes from Bloomberg Government analyst Peter Gosselin, who is widely respected in his field.

Outrageous! Bizarre.

Online Articles

* As Obamacare tech woes mounted, contractor payments soared -- "A Reuters review of government documents shows that the contract to build the federal Healthcare.gov online insurance website - key to President Barack Obama's signature healthcare reform - tripled in potential total value to nearly $292 million as new money was assigned to the work beginning in April this year."
* Final Cost of Obamacare Website Tops $1 Billion -- "Obama says he's as frustrated as anyone and has promised a 'tech surge' to fix the uncooperative website."
* Healthcare.gov contractors point fingers back at Obama administration in House testimony -- "The same contractors, testifying before the same committee on Sept. 10, assured lawmakers that they were ready to handle a surge of users when the federal exchange opened on Oct. 1."
* Obama: Health care website problems inexcusable -- "There's no excuse for the problems' on the website," (the President said, though he continues to make excuses)
* Obamacare’s Rollout Is a Disaster That Didn’t Have to Happen -- "...the disastrous rollout of HealthCare.gov represents everything that President Obama promised would be different about his administration—but isn’t."
* Obamacare's Website Is Crashing Because It Doesn't Want You To Know How Costly Its Plans Are -- "...Obamacare...was designed to force those people to pay more for coverage, in order to subsidize insurance for people with incomes near the poverty line, and those with chronic or costly medical conditions. But the laws’ supporters and enforcers don’t want you to know that..."