House Republicans were eager to blast the White House for its failure to disclose more enrollment data about the exchange. “We still don’t know the real picture, as the administration appears allergic to transparency,” said committee chairman Fred Upton (R-MI).
IP Addresses: A unique identifier for an internet connection on a particular computer. Think of it as your computer's phone number.
Cookies: A small text file placed on your computer used to track shopping and browsing habits.
Unique Visitors: The number of visits from a unique IP address over a certain time period (usually per month).
Pageviews/Hits: The total amount of visits a webpage gets, including multiple visits from the same users.
Democrats tried to defend the importance of buying subsidized health coverage. “Let’s make the goal to fix it, not nix it,” said Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ).
But as the hearing intensified, Pallone started arguing with Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) about whether the event was a “monkey court,” with neither of them able to successfully conclude the debate. The New Jersey congressman believed the event had veered toward the simian after Republicans claimed the exchange registration violated user privacy.
aturally, the hearing brought out its share of contradictory metaphors.
“Nobody can be a blind cheerleader for the affordable care act when they see all these problems right before their eyes,” said Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).
But in the middle of this circus, some clarity started to appear about why the federal exchange—which services 36 states—flopped.
he standard excuse by the administration and contractors points to the exchange being overwhelmed by millions of visits, causing the system to crash when users tried to register for an account to review their insurance options. None of the witnesses could identify who in the government made the late-breaking decision to require the registration before looking at the insurance plans developed in accordance with the 2010 Affordable Care Act.
