HealthCare.gov, the online health insurance marketplace
implemented as a result of the Affordable Care Act, went live last week on
October 1. The website is still experiencing many glitches and the unhappy
customers have taken to HealthCare.gov’s social media pages to ask questions
and express complaints.
Through Facebook posts and tweets this past week, HealthCare.gov
has been thanking users for their patience and assuring them that website
improvements are on the way. All the while, users continue to complain about
blank screens, trouble with login information and a lack of assistance from the
HealthCare.gov chat application or Twitter page. However, I did notice
HealthCare.gov began responding to certain comments on the Facebook page
earlier today.
According to an article from the Washington Post, White House officials
were warned about the website’s flaws and technical problems, but the administration
launched the site anyway and assured people there was no reason to be alarmed.
In my opinion, the technical difficulties of the
website have weakened the image of the entire Obamacare system. Many potential
Obamacare consumers are frustrated with the website glitches and have taken to
social media to voice their concerns, but have received little assistance. As
far as I can tell by HealthCare.gov’s social media, the customer service skills
of Obamacare officials are lacking.
How can President Obama and his administration force
Americans to purchase health insurance from the government (or face a penalty
fee) when they can’t even get their website to function properly? Officials had
hundreds of millions of dollars and over three years to prepare for the
implementation of this website, yet Americans are still struggling to figure
out how to successfully apply for Obamacare via HealthCare.gov.
What is your opinion? Do you think the technical
glitches on HealthCare.gov will negatively influence people’s perception of the
Obamacare system?
No comments:
Post a Comment