Sebelius Refuses To Delay Implementing Affordable Care Act During Second Congressional Hearing

Senator Max Baucus criticized the Obama administration for not alerting lawmakers of the potential problems the website might encounter after going live, on Wednesday during a second congressional hearing, Reuters reported.

Baucus, chairman of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, said he worried openly in April that the rollout could become "a train wreck," adding he is "disappointed to hear administration officials say they didn't see problems" with HealthCare.gov before launch, according to Reuters.

At the hearing, Baucus told Kathleen Sebelius, who was in charge of the website's rollout, when he asked for reports on the website, the responses he received were unsatisfactory.

"We heard multiple times that everything was on track. We now know that was not the case," Baucus said at the hearing, according to Reuters. "That's in the past, now it's time to move forward and figure out how to fix it."

As secretary of Health and Human Services, Sebelius has taken full responsibility for the website's problematic launch last week. She's come under extreme fire from the opposition.

Wednesday's hearing was the second time Sebelius has been questioned on the website's roll out, with many Republicans wishing to delay the implementation of Obamacare because of requirements which will impose a fine if a person is not enrolled by a certain date, Reuters reported. Republicans are claiming this is an "unwarranted expansion of the federal government."

The highest Republican on the congressional panel, Senator Orrin Hatch, criticized Sebelius for giving false assurances the website would run smoothly, claiming she broke promises to millions of Americans, Reuters reported.

"More and more promises made at the time this law was passed are now crumbling under the weight of reality on a daily basis," Hatch said, according to Reuters. "While I am glad that you are accepting responsibility for this disastrous rollout, I would have preferred that you and the rest of the administration were honest with us to begin with."

Hatch said he did not want any more excuses and demanded monthly reports on the website.

Sebelius told lawmakers on Wednesday there would be no delay in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, adding officials have set a deadline by the end of November to have the website working without problems, Reuters reported.

"Delay is not an option," Sebelius told lawmakers, according to Reuters. "We are still at the beginning of a six-month open enrollment that ends at the end of March, and there's plenty of time to sign up for the new plans."

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