Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius apologized to Americans for the error-laden rollout of the Obamacare website HealthCare.gov at a House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday. She vowed to fix the site’s problems, claiming that Americans “deserve better.”
"Hold me accountable for the debacle. I'm responsible,” Sebelius told Americans as she apologized for the HealthCare.gov rollout.
As Sebelius began her testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, she acknowledged that HealthCare.gov, which is currently offline, did not launch in an acceptable state. Sebelius blamed many of the site’s failures on contractors hired to code the site, saying that they did not meet expectations.
"Access to HealthCare.gov has been a miserably frustrating experience for way too many Americans,” Sebelius told Americans at the beginning of her prepared statement. “You deserve better. I apologize. I'm accountable to you for fixing these problems."
Though Sebelius acknowledged a myriad of faults with HealthCare.gov, she also defended the Affordable Care Act as written. She said that the intense strain on the site, a result of over 20 million unique visitors, was proof that Americans want access to affordable healthcare.
Sebelius also promised to fix the issues currently plaguing HealthCare.gov and acknowledged that a team of workers has been working around the clock to improve the site’s experience. HealthCare.gov has been reportedly updated with bug fixes, more storage capacity and code closing a possible security loophole.
After finishing her prepared statement, Sebelius faced intense questioning from Republicans at the hearing, many of whom grilled her on the site’s privacy issues, security failures and the Affordable Care Act in general.
“There are the highest security standards in place, and people should expect privacy,” Sebelius said. “I do absolutely commit to protecting the privacy of the American public.”
Sebelius is expected to testify about Healthcare.gov again on Nov. 6, this time before the Senate Finance Committee.
Sebelius Says 'I'm Responsible' For HealthCare.Gov Failures At House Hearing
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