The White House was reportedly so committed to implementing Obamacare that its official website (you know, the place where in theory millions of Americans would enter their personal information and then enroll in the federal exchanges) was never sufficiently tested before Team Obama launched it. Put crudely, things weren’t going well so they simply said, 'Ah, the hell with it, we’ll launch it anyway.' I suspect they were just hoping everything would work itself out, or something.
Now in an exclusive report, CBS News exposes this corrupt gamble, underscoring why some Americans might be regretting the administration’s questionable decision-making process:
A CBS News analysis finds key tests to ensure the security and privacy of customer information on troubled Obamacare website fell behind schedule.
A deadline for final security plans was delayed three times over the summer, and final top-to-bottom security tests never were finished before the launch.
All of that is adding to concerns about the safety of personal information on the site.
Technology experts say this website did not go through proper security testing before it went live on October 1 -- and they've shared with CBS News several flaws that could expose personal information. Now we're starting to see real-like examples of what can go wrong.
With critics openly mocking the Obama administration about problems with HealthCare.gov, officials insist on one thing: at least the website is safe. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said, "Consumers can trust that their information is protected by stringent security standards."
Can they? In truth, we know for a fact that Americans’ personal information is not secure. Back to the article:
South Carolina attorney Thomas Dougall is not so sure. He said: "My information is out there, and I want it deleted from their website."
Dougall and his wife signed up on the website in October, but over the weekend got a disturbing call about a man in North Carolina who also registered, and was shocked to get the Dougalls' eligibility letters, including their names and home address.
"It's just a system that we've continually been told was secure and now I've found out it's not secure," Dougall said.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed: "An incident involving the personal information of one consumer was reported...and we took immediate steps. We identified a piece of software code that needed to be fixed and that fix is now in place."
This raises questions. How many other people are now getting unexpected phone calls from complete strangers, informing them that their personal information is not secure? How many more are now worried this same information could be exposed online, but can’t do anything about it? Americans weren't signing up for a daily newsletter or Groupon deals here, my friends; they were signing up for health insurance. One would expect, then, that the administration would at the very least have made absolutely certain that before any American entered personal information, the website would be 100 percent secure. Nope. They couldn't even get that right, it seems. On top of the millions of Americans already losing their doctors and health care coverage, now millions more might being exposed to fraud, theft, and internet robbery.
Could the Obamacare "train wreck" get any worse?