- The HealthCare.gov Web site should be shut down as it is full of security flaws that could expose the user data of millions of people, IT experts warned a Congressional hearing yesterday.
- The experts also said the site should be completely rebuilt so that it would run better, as well as making it easier to protect.
- Senior government technology official Henry Chao testified that 30% of the federal health-insurance market is "still being developed." Chao can't guarantee that HealthCare.gov will work for the vast majority of Americans by the end of November, as the White House hopes.
- Should Obamacare enrollment remain weak in the long term, prescription-drug sales could be hit, a report from IMS Health predicts. Under the worst-case scenario, spending would be $320B vs a best case $460B.
- The current problems have prompted WellPoint (WLP) to pull back its marketing of it new healthcare offerings, CEO Joseph Swedish has said. But while enrollment is still "anemic," the potential is there "for a significant uptake" once the issues are resolved.
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