The Obama administration has privately encouraged health-care advocacy groups to limit promotion of HealthCare.gov next week to reduce an influx of traffic when the site becomes fully operational. “We want to make sure that those who are reaching consumers at scale know that this isn’t like you flip the switch and everyone can come back on the first day,” an administration official told Talking Points Memo.
According to the news website, the administration is hoping a smaller, less-publicized launch of HealthCare.gov will minimize attention to any problems that may remain. The White House fears that if the website suffers another setback it could further contribute to the controversy surrounding the health-care law. Enroll America and Planned Parenthood are among the groups that have been asked to tamp down their promotion.
A Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services spokesman told reporters that the administration expects HealthCare.gov to double its capacity from 25,000 users to 50,000 users by next week.
Following the website’s initial October 1 launch, the White House announced it would fix the problems facing HealthCare.gov by a self-imposed November 30 deadline.