Ezra Klein concludes that the launch of the PPACA’s health insurance exchanges has been a “failure.”
Not “troubled.” Not “glitchy.” A failure. But “so far” only encompasses 14 days. The hard question is whether the launch will still be floundering on day 30, and on day 45. . . .
We’re now negative 14 days until the Affordable Care Act and most people still can’t purchase insurance. The magnitude of this failure is stunning. Yes, the federal health-care law is a complicated project, government IT rules are a mess, and the scrutiny has been overwhelming. But the Obama administration knew all that going in. They should’ve been able to build an online portal that works.
Early on, President Obama like to compare the launch of the Affordable Care Act to Apple launching a new product. Can you imagine how many people Steve Jobs would’ve fired by now if he’d launched a new product like this?
Megan McArdle and Avik Roy have more on what’s behind the failures.
Klein also notes that the failure of the exchange rollout would have been more politically significant were it not for the government shutdown and debt ceiling debate.