Obama Administration Knew Healthcare Website Would Crash

Days before the launch of the Obamacare website, government officials and contractors were aware Healthcare.gov would collapse under the pressure of high traffic, but the administration pressed ahead with the Oct. 1 rollout.

According to The Washington Post, the site crashed after a government simulation that had just a few hundred people trying to log on simultaneously. That experience was a precursor to what happened in the first few hours of the Oct. 1 launch: The site locked up after some 2,000 users attempted to register.

Editor's Note: 22 Hidden Taxes and Fees Set to Hit You With Obamacare. Read the Guide to Protect Yourself.

People working on the project, the Post reports, were bracing themselves for the failure. "We named it the tyranny of the Oct. 1 date," one of them told the newspaper.

In addition, people familiar with the roll-out of the project said, a month before the health insurance exchanges opened, the government was warned by a testing group made up of insurers that the system was riddled with problems, including the way the exchange handled enrollment, federal subsidies, and the security of consumers' personal information.

Despite the warnings, some key testing of the system did not take place until the week before the launch, the Post reports. Specifically, as late as Sept. 26, there hadn't been tests to see if the system would be seamless for consumers from beginning to end.

The revelations appear to confirm a report by The Wall Street Journal two weeks before the launch that technical experts were aware of significant software problems and were highly concerned about its readiness by Oct. 1.

Yet the Obama administration insisted the system would be ready and fully operative, according to reports.

On Monday, President Barack Obama admitted there were massive problems with the site but insisted they were being fixed. "No one is madder about the website than I am, which means it's going to get fixed," he insisted.

House Republicans, meanwhile, have scheduled hearings for later this week to investigate the mismanaged roll-out. They are turning up the heat on Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who, after much pressure, finally agreed to appear at an Oct. 30 hearing.

Editor's Note: 22 Hidden Taxes and Fees Set to Hit You With Obamacare. Read the Guide to Protect Yourself.

Some lawmakers are calling for her resignation.

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