Dive Brief:
- Health insurers were given the opportunity to begin testing HealthCare.gov on Tuesday to prepare for the second open enrollment period in November, but the Obama administration is requiring them to remain quiet about the results, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
- Insurers are forbidden from using, disclosing, describing or providing any public information regarding the test data with anyone, including the media, according to the paper. No such agreement was used during last year's testing period.
- The administration is hoping that the extended testing will help reduce the possibility of problems like the site encountered last year during its initial launch. The gag order is there to help retain confidentiality of the proprietary information in the system.
Dive Insight:
Creating a smooth opening of Healthcare.gov in November is pivotal after the myriad problems with its initial launch. The administration has had a year to correct any problems in the system and hundreds of millions of dollars were spent to repair issues after the launch. One continuing challenge appears to be the site's contractor. According to an article in the Weekly Standard, the Department of Health and Human Services announced last June that Terremark, a subsidiary of Verizon, was being replaced by Hewlett-Packard as the site's main contractor. Terremark will be used for the launch in 2015, however, because HHS claims there has not been enough time for end-to-end testing of the marketplace with HP. HP will serve as a development environment and alternate backup for the site. The additional contract is estimated to cost more than $15 million through March 2015.