In the Internet age a working website can reach millions across the country instantly.
Right? Wrong…
By the numbers:
Week 1:
[gross#/interaction/% of total visitors]
9.47 million: Unique visitors: 100%
5.68 million: # who visited the individual marketplace: 60%
3.72 million: # who attempted to register:40%
1.01 million: # who completed registration:10.7%
271,000: # who successfully logged in:2.8%
196,000:# who began enrollment:2.1%
36,000: # who completed enrollment:.38%
Only .38% of the site's visitors were able to successfully enroll.
No real e-marketplaces would roll out a product this glitchy:
Ebay
Amazon
Craigslist
Yahoo! Shopping
Overstock.com
All regularly have MORE visitors than healthcare.gov's first month.
The nation blamed the GOP for the shutdown
Overall, do you have a favorable or unfavorable impression of…?"
Obama: F=42% Un=51%
Democratic Party: F=46% Un=49%
Republican Party: F=32% Un=63%
Tea Party Movement: F=26% Un=59%
All the democrats needed was a semi-functional ACA website.
Too bad the site:
1.) Had extremely low login success rates.
2.) Long delays and time outs
3.) Confusing Error Messages
4.) Non-functional calculators
5.) Scrambled insurance information
6.) Spouses reported as children
7.) Plan pricing misreported
Leading to the larger questions:
Will enrollment glitches become provider glitches?
Will people who enrolled with the glitchy show up at hospitals with no insurance?
Will the information of those who enrolled be at risk?
DANGER: Centralized data
SSN
Address
Ages
Names
Health conditions
Family History
Leads to centralized power over everyday Americans
Both Good: if we can make an efficient healthcare system
And Bad: Governmental Abuse, and all the data an identity thief could want
But this problem runs deeper than just a website…
Because the numbers just don't add up.
Universal healthcare is important, but crony capitalism doesn't solve anything.
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