Information technology costs for the federal exchange website, HealthCare.gov, through the month of October could reach $677 million, according to a report from The Hill.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told the House Energy and Commerce Committee that although her agency has spent only $319 million so far for that time period, the total costs could go up because of commitments to contractors and government officials, according to the report. Ms. Sebelius has hinted the agency could withhold payments to contractors because of the exchange site's glitch-ridden launch.
In a blog post yesterday, Ms. Sebelius wrote she has asked HHS Inspector General Dan Levinson to conduct a thorough review of the site's development, including contractor performance and program management structure, to better understand the policies that led to technical issues with HealthCare.gov.
Since its launch last month, the federal exchange website has experienced numerous technical issues. However, federal officials have made "substantial progress" in repairing HealthCare.gov, which can now support 50,000 users at a time, according to an HHS progress report. HHS announced yesterday that 137,204 people selected health plans through the federal exchange by the end of November.
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