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 In a move that administration officials billed as an effort to
bring new accountability to the federal operation, Health and Human
Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell announced that Kevin Counihan
would oversee federal operations, as well as health insurance
regulation, in the new post of marketplace chief executive officer.
His appointment comes less than a year after the botched rollout of
the federal marketplace enrollment portal, HealthCare.gov, which
crashed during its launch on Oct. 1, 2013, plunging President Barack
Obama's healthcare law into a political crisis for months.
A federal technology rescue operation led by outside experts
eventually got the system working, allowing enrollment to surpass
expectations by topping 8 million people.
Many of the problems behind the disastrous launch were attributed to
lax management. White House allies on healthcare reform, including
the Center for American Progress think tank, had pressed the
administration to place the operation under a single CEO before open
enrollment for 2015 resumes on Nov. 15.
Counihan oversaw the successful launch of Connecticut's health
insurance exchange, Access Health CT, which was the first state
marketplace to surpass enrollment targets by signing up nearly
260,000 people. Federal and state officials have credited Counihan's
leadership with helping to cut Connecticut's uninsured rate to 4.0
percent, from 7.9 percent since 2012.
Connecticut was one of 14 states that chose to operate their own
health insurance marketplaces under the Affordable Care Act. But
some state-run operations, including those in Oregon and Maryland,
encountered major problems. Nine states have since contacted
Connecticut about using its technology, according to officials.
"He ran one of the most successful exchanges by understanding what
could be done, and what could not be done, in a very short time,"
said Topher Spiro, healthcare analyst at the Center for American
Progress.
Republicans in Congress, who have attacked the Obamacare marketplace
as a costly and unworkable government program, had no immediate
comment on the appointment.
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About 85 percent of those who enrolled in private insurance for 2014
qualified for federal subsidies to help pay for coverage, according
to officials.
"We are committed to instilling ongoing accountability for reaching
milestones, measuring results and ensuring a successful open
enrollment period," Burwell said in a statement issued by the HHS.
Counihan will report to Marilyn Tavenner, administrator of the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the lead federal agency
for Obamacare implementation.
The administration has also announced the creation of a new chief
technology officer post that would oversee the HealthCare.gov
website and report to Counihan.
On Tuesday, the agency announced that Tim Hughey, an executive with
Accenture PLC, the lead contractor for HealthCare.gov, would fill
the role of CTO through the next open enrollment period, which ends
Feb. 15, 2015. An official said the administration is still looking
for a permanent CTO.
(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Dan
Grebler)
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