WASHINGTON–An official from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration told Congress Wednesday he’s concerned there isn’t enough time to fully test a federal-health insurance marketplace that is being built to allow people to sign up for health insurance on Oct. 1.
However, top Obama administration officials said at a joint hearing of two House subcommittees the federal insurance marketplace will be fully operational and will allow uninsured Americans to shop for health insurance.
“I want to assure you we are on target to have those systems ready…on Oct. 1,” said Marilyn Tavenner, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the lead agency building the federal marketplace.
Ms. Tavenner told lawmakers on subcommittees of the House Oversight and Government Reform and Homeland Security panels that the system is similar ones already being used to let people sign up for Medicare, the federal health insurance program for about 50 million older Americans.
While parts of the system are currently being tested and will continue to be tested prior to Oct. 1, Alan Duncan, assistant inspector general for audit, said it’s not clear if “final integration” testing between government agency systems that will run behind the marketplace will be completed.
“The lack of adequate testing could result in significant delays and errors in accepting and processing [Affordable Care Act] applications for health insurance coverage,” Mr. Duncan said.
The federal government is building a marketplace, also called an exchange, that will cover 36 states in 2014, while 14 states and the District of Columbia are running their own insurance exchanges.
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Thu Jul 18, 2013 6:46 am
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